Yes, the chicken is good. But UIC can and should do better. 

UIC is named among the nation’s top 40 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities by Campus Pride. UIC is among just three universities in Illinois to receive the honor.

Nonetheless, UIC profits from having Chick-Fil-A on campus. At this time, the university is hesitant to consider other restaurants because Chick-Fil-A is the restaurant that provides higher revenue to the university. UIC receives around 1.5 million dollars yearly in profit.

Chick-fil-A has been known for having ties to homophobia since its establishment. Founder's son Dan Cathy, the current chairman of the company, has repeatedly made comments in opposition to same-sex marriage. For decades, the company’s foundation has donated considerable sums of money to groups working to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage. Since 2011 students across the US have organized to remove the chain from campuses. In 2015 the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave nearly one-sixth of its total grants to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes which requires staff and volunteers to adhere to a strict “sexual purity” policy, prohibiting any “homosexual acts".

Since then, Chick-fil-A has been assuring customers for nearly a decade that it has stopped donating to anti-LGBTQ causes, only to be caught doing so time and again. Now the fast food chain’s billionaire co-owner, Dan Cathy, is using the company’s profits to fund hate groups that are passing anti-transgender bills all over the country and a campaign to stop the Equality Act from becoming law. 

When UIC decided to open a Chick-fil-A franchise on campus back in 2017-18, the Gender & Sexuality Center was excluded from conversations. In fact, the restaurant opened during the summer which strategically minimized opposition. 

UIC should have cohesive values and should not be profiting from the oppression of the LGBTQIA+ Community while at the same time being praised for being a safe space. 

If you would like to give testimony in support of this petition please use this form. Responses will be used to advocate for a better restaurant choice.

Drop restaurant recommendations that could replace Chick-Fil-A using this form. 

At this moment, the contracts of most UIC restaurants (including Chick-Fil-A) are ending, we have the opportunity to bring positive change to campus! The chicken is good, but we can have better food and cohesive values.