Springfield, IL (June 21, 2023)A Springfield leader who works to facilitate networking for the LGBTQ community was honored at a Pride month ceremony hosted by Illinois comptroller Susana Mendoza on Wednesday.
April Poole, treasurer for the Coalition of Rainbow Alliances, was among five Illinois leaders who received certificates of recognition for their contributions to the state.
“As we have seen recently in other states, the rights of our LGBTQ friends can never be taken for granted. We in Illinois stay strong in our support – we passed marriage equality before it was federal law,” Mendoza said. “We have enshrined protections for our transgender residents, but we must stay vigilant, and we must continue to set the standard for other states to follow. We must continue to show what is possible when you truly believe in freedom, liberty and justice for all.”
Poole said she was humbled by the recognition. "I just feel like one of the worker bees," she said. "A lot of people come up with great ideas for us to do and how we can work within the community. I'm just one of the ones that's always there trying to make it better and get things done."
Poole said ceremonies that celebrate the diversity of Illinois should happen more often and there's still more work to be done. "We're going through pride month right now but there are a lot of people out there that don’t understand LGBTQ people. Not unlike the Asian month where people are learning about Asian culture or Black history, which we still have to learn because people are trying to erase that. We’re trying not to be erased so we appreciate the recognition."
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