Illinois Sued Over Nonprofit Demographic Data Requirements

A new Illinois law violates free speech protections by mandating that nonprofit groups collect and publish demographic data of their employees, including their race and sexual orientation, a new federal suit says.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, contends that by forcing nonprofits to publicize such data, the law pressures the groups to discriminate when choosing board members. “That discrimination is by design: The law’s sponsors drafted [the bill] to ‘encourage more diversity’ in the nonprofit sector,” the suit says.

The American Alliance for Equal Rights, an advocacy group led by ...