The Advocacy Council for Human Rights was formed in 1995 from a community meeting at The Bistro in downtown Bloomington IL. The organization, also known by its acronym known as ACHR, was a not-for-profit organization based in the Bloomington-Normal area. It was at the forefront in fighting to include sexual orientation in local human rights ordinances. The members of the Council, such as David Bentlin, organized speeches and events, provided McLean County constituents with candidate positions and information on LGBT issues, and cooperated with other organizations to support the LGBT community. They also surveyed residents of Bloomington-Normal to gather the public sentiment on gay rights. Although their initial lobbying efforts were unsuccessful in both Bloomington and Normal in 1996, the Advocacy Council did eventually prevail: Normal changed its ordinance in 2001; Bloomington in 2002.
The Advocacy Council published The Rainbow Connection to promote its mission locally. Festivals, concerts, and open community events such as "Your Normal LGBT Film Festival" at the Normal Theatre and “family reunion” picnics helped to spread the word, as well. The underlying mission remained to gain passage of human rights ordinances in Bloomington and Normal.
Once the ordinances were passed, the organization decided to broaden its mission to offer a variety of services and support for the gay community beyond the Twin Cities. In 2013, the organization became the Prairie Pride Coalition, PPC for short. This organization is committed to advocating for the rights and equality of individuals who are marginalized due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, with a particular focus in McLean County.