Julio Flores, PHIMC Program Director for The Alliance, was among those interviewed by Chalkbeat Chicago reporter Lindsay Eanet for As Trump dismantles gender-affirming policies, Chicago LGBTQ+ students and staff mobilize, an article published on April 3, 2025.

Here are two excerpts from the article:

In his first day in office, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, including one declaring that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, male and female. The U.S. Department of Education has also tossed out protections for gender identity in schools adopted by the Biden administration and told educators they must share information about students’ gender identity with parents.

Before too long, Chicago and the state felt the effects of these dramatic policy shifts.

—

Julio Flores, program director for the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, an organization that advocates families with LGBTQ+ youth experiencing challenges at schools, said he has received several requests from schools seeking professional development to be proactively supportive.

“Some young people are not wanting to use they/them pronouns for a nonbinary person because they think the executive order says they don’t have to,” said Flores, referring to Trump’s directive.

Read more

Learn more here about how the Alliance collaborates with and supports LGBTQ+ youth.