Group challenges Illinois’ restrictions on using ‘Democrat,’
‘Republican’ in org names
[January 30, 2026]
By Jenna Schweikert and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)
A first amendment advocacy group is suing Illinois’ secretary of state
over a 40-year-old law that prohibits nonprofits from having the word
“Democrat” or “Republican” in their name without the party’s approval.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Democrats for an Informed Approach to
Gender, seeks to overturn an Illinois law that dates back to the 1980s,
arguing that it violates the organization’s First Amendment rights.
The nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE,
filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Illinois Secretary of State Alexi
Giannoulias in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois.
Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, or DIAG, is a national
nonprofit organization formed by current and former Democrats who
separate with the national party on the issue of transgender identity.
But the secretary of state’s office denied the group’s application to
operate as a nonprofit in Illinois because it had not obtained
permission from the Democratic Party of Illinois to use the word
“Democrats” in its organization name.
“We haven’t gotten a request from this group,” a spokesperson for the
Democratic Party of Illinois said in a statement. “But frankly, whether
we did or not, the fact that they’re proudly anti-transgender does not
align with the Democratic Party of Illinois’s values. We believe in
progress and inclusivity. It does not appear that this group does.”\
Calling the national party stance on gender identity contrary to “core
liberal values,” DIAG says its mission is to end “ideology-driven
medicine” and guide “our fellow liberals back to reality and reason.”
“The Illinois Democratic Party doesn’t get to decide whether we can call
ourselves ‘Democrats,’” Jenny Poyer Ackerman, DIAG’s board secretary,
said in a statement. “DIAG was founded on our belief in open inquiry,
challenging ideological conformity, and above all, the freedom to speak
out. Backing down would go against everything we believe in.”
The 1986 nonprofit naming provision
Giannoulias’ office denied the request based on a provision from the
state’s 1986 law governing the incorporation of nonprofits that bans
them from using the names of established political parties without
consent from the state committee.
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Alexi Giannoulias, now the Illinois secretary of state, speaks at a
Democratic Party event in 2021. He’s being sued over a 40-year-old
law governing which companies can use the word “Democrat” or
“Republican” in their name. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry
Nowicki)
The law also gives that committee power to revoke consent at any time.
“We just don’t think we should have to ask permission of the Illinois
Democratic, you know, central party, to make a judgment on what we can
call ourselves,” Ackerman said in an interview. “We are lifelong
Democrats and also, no other state is responding in any way like this.
So for me, the conversation kind of stops there.”
Of the 37 states in which DIAG operates, Illinois is the only one which
has blocked the organization’s registration, according to the lawsuit.
The organization said it has applied to Giannoulias’ office three times
and been denied each time.
The suit calls the provision “constitutionally problematic” based on its
“speaker-based” and “content-based speech restriction.”
“The Democratic and Republican parties don’t have a monopoly on the
concepts of what is democratic or republican,” Daniel Zahn, an attorney
for FIRE, said in a statement. “When the government tries to give them
that monopoly, it’s absurd and unconstitutional.”
FIRE also filed a preliminary motion asking the court to allow DIAG to
engage in activities like fundraising and supporter meetings while the
case proceeds.
“The blue states in particular are states where we feel we really need
to be heard, because there are just so many people who feel the same
frustrations we do with the elected Democrats who just won’t listen to
us,” Ackerman said. “We want to be a resource for elected Democrats and
Democrats who are running for office because we really want them to
succeed.”
Giannoulias did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
