When Reyna Ortiz decided to change her name, she discovered she would need to change society first.

Like many trans people, Reyna’s chosen name didn’t match what was printed on her driver’s license—a name no one had called her since adolescence. Unless the law was changed, it seemed a part of Reyna would always be stuck in “the past.”

For decades, an Illinois statute barred people with felony convictions from legally changing their names. That might not have been the law’s intent, but in practice it trapped thousands of transgender people in identities that no longer reflected who they were. It meant carrying identification that could expose them to harassment, discrimination, and even violence.

So Reyna took the Cook County State’s Attorney to court.

In the final episode of Building Aquí, we follow Reyna Ortiz’s quest to change not just her name, but the state law that prevented her from doing so. Along the way, we meet fellow “Battle Queen” Tania Còrdova—an immigrant and trans activist who helped push lawmakers to confront the issue, even engaging skeptical and often openly transphobic voters in rural parts of Illinois.

Their fight would stretch from the courtroom to the statehouse, revealing something deeper about the way change actually happens: slowly, unevenly, and often only after the people most affected refuse to give up.

It’s a story about the unintended consequences of incomplete laws, the persistence required to move a system that feels immovable—and the power of people determined to claim something as simple, and as fundamental, as their own name.

Episode Resources:

Max Lubbers' interview with Eisha Love
https://www.injusticewatch.org/criminal-courts/reentry/2022/illinois-name-change-laws-impact-transgender-people/

Ortiz v Foxx
https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/ortiz-v-foxx/

Watch for the upcoming documentary film "What's In A Name"
https://www.carycronenwett.com/whatsinaname

Visit Aquí en Chicago! Now through November 8, 2026

https://www.chicagohistory.org/exhibition/aqui-en-chicago/

¡Visita a Aquí en Chicago! Ahora hasta el 8 noviembre 2026

https://www.chicagohistory.org/exhibition/aqui-en-chicago-es/

What does it mean to serve a country that doesn’t always serve you back?

In this episode of The Missing Exhibition: Building Aquí, we trace the life of Frank Corona — a Vietnam War veteran and the first Latino firefighter hired by the Chicago Fire Department — whose story embodies both sacrifice and endurance. Corona agreed to put his life on the line overseas and at home, navigating racism from fellow soldiers and firefighters while remaining steadfast in his commitment to public service.

“We Came Here To Work” also widens the lens, examining the long history of “pendulum policies” that welcome labor from Latine countries in moments of economic need, only to criminalize and expel those same workers when political winds shift. Through the connections between U.S. foreign policy across the Americas and migration driven by the search for work, the episode situates Corona’s story within a much larger system.

At once a declaration of purpose, a shield against bigotry, and a demand for dignity, “we came here to work” emerges as a phrase layered with pride, pain, and unresolved tension — and a reminder of how deeply Latine labor has shaped Chicago and the nation itself.