(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Illinois Department of Public Health is launching a new process to change gender on birth certificates.
The new law allows residents to change the gender on their birth certificate without the need for a health care professional. The amendment to the Vital Records Act, took effect at the beginning of this month.
“In Illinois, we are proud to uplift our LGBTQIA+ community and provide the tools that ensure they are seen and empowered as who they are," said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton said in a statement.
"By removing barriers to changing gender markers on birth certificates, we are taking a major step in our continued journey to foster an inclusive, safe, welcoming state. This is how we build the bridge to equity and justice for all, and I thank the state leaders and team at IDPH for taking us further."
A new birth certificate request will cost $15 to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Governor Pritzker said the LGBTQ+ community "deserves to have documentation that affirms their identity without having to jump over dozens of bureaucratic hurdles."
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