State lawmakers plan to introduce legislation this week that would make Illinois the first state to fully decriminalize sex work.
Equality Illinois and the Sex Worker Advisory Group, a coalition of Black and Brown current and former sex workers, have spent more than three years advocating for this bill, which aims to reduce threats of violence and create safer conditions for sex workers.
“For over 20 years, I worked as a sex worker here in the city of Chicago, and for over 20 years lived under the fear and threat of violence,” said Reyna Ortiz, chair of the Sex Worker Advisory Group. “By passing this legislation, we will make Illinois a safer place for everyone, especially the most vulnerable in our communities.”
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, and state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, would remove criminal penalties for adults engaging in consensual sex work, remove arrest and conviction records for sex workers and establish a sex workers’ bill of rights.
Advocates believe these policy changes would offer sex workers the ability to better vet clients and meet with them in safer places. The proposed policy changes would also allow sex workers to report crimes against them without fear of consequences in their own lives.
Blue state update.
