The Illinois House and Senate have passed a bill that will make name changes for transgender people and victims of domestic violence easier, proponents say. But Republicans claim its an invitation from Illinois for immigrant criminals to evade federal authorities and commit crimes in the Land of Lincoln.The bill an initiative of Equality Illinois, Planned Parenthood, the Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Coalition Against Domestic Violence repeals a requirement for those seeking a name change to publish a notice in a local newspaper. Related Ohio changes campaign forms to tell trans candidates to deadname themselves when filing Trans candidates are now being told to disclose any previous names when they file for their campaigns. We are forcing survivors of domestic violence, of human trafficking, people who are trans, to out themselves. For what? bill sponsor Rep. Kevin Olickal (D) said Tuesday. It doesnt serve a public safety purpose. It only seeks to serve predators and violent extremists who want to find victims, track them down. People want to live in peace. This bill is about privacy and protection. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Under current law in Illinois, when someone changes their name due to marriage or divorce, they do not have to publish a notice in a newspaper. But when people change their names due to other reasons, theyre required to publicize the changes.Mike Ziri, public policy director for Equality Illinois, said his organization regularly hears from transgender people in Illinois who fear publishing details about their name change.In fact, having to publish your name change in a newspaper creates a public list of trans people and puts them at real risk for harassment and harm, Ziri said in a statement after the bill passed. We know this bill will help people and is consistent with our states values of equality and the freedom to live our lives without harassment or harm. House Bill 5164passed the state Senate 33-16 on Sunday, while the House voted 71-38 in favor of it on Tuesday, Capitol News Illinois reported. The bill goes into effect March 1 with a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who is expected to sign it.In addition to dropping the archaic newspaper announcement, the bill also allows those seeking a name change to ask the court to impound related court documents, a similar, though less restrictive procedure to sealing court documents.The bill also reduces the residency requirement for changing a name from six months to three.That will make it easier for people moving to Illinois from states that have hostile, dangerous, and discriminatory laws, according to Avi Rudnick, director of legal services at Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois, which helps transgender people change their names. Republicans were more concerned with the bills supposed impact on immigrant crime than on peoples privacy and protection.State Sen. Steve McClure (R) said the bill did not contain strong enough language to prevent the possibility of whitewashing of criminal backgrounds, while state Sen. Sue Rezin (R) complained self-attestation to impound records would be a magnet attracting undocumented immigrant criminals on the run.This allows for extraordinary potential to abuse the system and manipulate the process and evade federal immigration authorities, Rezin said.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.