Justin's Political Corner

GALESBURG, Ill. – Attorney General Lisa Madigan expressed disappointment Saturday that there weren’t enough votes in the House last month to legalize same-sex marriage but predicted gays and lesbians in Illinois eventually would get the same right to marry that straight couples have.

The three-term attorney general said the plan’s failure to even get called for a House vote came despite her commitment to the issue that involved spending “a lot of time” lobbying individual legislators on the merits of Senate Bill 10.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who Tuesday said he is “very disappointed” the Democratic-led House failed to vote on a marriage bill, today called for a special session of the state legislature this month. While the Illinois Governor is demanding the legislature fix the state’s underfunded pension plan, could he also force a vote to extend marriage to same-sex couples?

The special session begins June 19, less than two weeks from now.

Strategically, it might prove wiser to wait until November, when lawmakers and activists have done their homework. If the bill passes in June, or August, or November, marriages could not begin immediately — they would all, regardless of the date of the bill’s passage, likely begin in June of next year, based on legislative requirements.

H/T: The New Civil Rights Movement

With just days left before the Illinois General Assembly ends its regular session, activists are scrambling to get a gay marriage bill to the finish line.

Supporters have racked up an impressive number of high-profile victories in recent months, including adding three states to the marriage equality column through the ballot box in November – Washington, Maine and Maryland – and an equal number through legislative votes held this month, the latest state being Minnesota. Wedding bells will also soon ring for gay couples in Rhode Island and Delaware.

(Another victory came earlier this year in Colorado, where lawmakers approved a civil unions law, possibly the best outcome for marriage equality supporters until a constitutional amendment is repealed.)

With Democrats in control of both chambers of the General Assembly and Democratic Governor Pat Quinn in support, the move from civil unions to full marriage wasn’t expected to come down to the wire in Illinois. After all, Rep. Greg Harris, the sponsor of the civil unions bill in the House, committed his support for a marriage bill even before the civil unions law took effect in 2011.

The marriage bill already has had one false start. Last year during a brief lame-duck session the bill was added to the agenda in the Senate but never came up for a vote. Its champion in the chamber, Democratic Senator Heather Steans, said that time was the main factor behind the decision to postpone a vote.

Six weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, the Senate approved the measure. A House panel agreed a month later, leaving only one hurdle for the marriage bill to clear.

H/T: OnTopMag.com

Four months after ranking gay marriage as his No. 3 legislative priority in Springfield, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday turned up the heat on state lawmakers in an effort to put the bill over the top in the Illinois House.

In an email to the vast network of supporters he created during the mayoral campaign, Emanuel created a vehicle for gay marriage proponents to pressure their state representatives with the click of a mouse.

“The clock is ticking. The House is poised to vote…in the coming days. And I know from talking with several of my friends in Springfield that some members of the House still haven’t decided which way they’ll vote,” Emanuel wrote in a personalized email to supporters Monday.

“If we’re going to pass this bill, it’s crucial that members of the House hear from marriage supporters every single day until the freedom to marry becomes law in Illinois.”

Gay marriage proponents were urged to “click here to send a message to your Representative now.” The mayor’s email includes a separate link for those who want to “urge the House to pass [Senate Bill] 10 and extend marriage to all Illinois families.”

The bill was approved by the Illinois Senate by a 34-21 roll call on Valentine’s Day. On that day, House sponsors predicted they would have the 60 votes needed for passage, but offered no timeline for the roll call, a sign that the head count was close.

h/t: Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago, IL — Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has said that the timing is right to approve a bill which seeks to make Illinois the 10th state to legalize gay marriage.

Cullerton, a Democrat from Chicago, made his comments Monday during a speech at the City Club of Chicago.

“We’re getting more support in the public every day,” he said. ”I expect we will call it very early on in the session, if not in the first few weeks.”

Supporters attempted to approve the legislation earlier this month during the General Assembly’s brief lame-duck session.

Senator Heather Steans, the bill’s champion in the Senate, said she is optimistic about the bill’s prospects in the upcoming legislative session, which begins February 5.

h/t: Chicago.gopride.com

The Senate sponsor behind a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois says she hopes to move the bill shortly after the senate returns in early February.

Sen. Heather Steans said that she is currently working on revisions to the bill.

“We are working to address concerns expressed with particular language in the bill, and I expect we will take up the marriage bill sometime soon after our return,” Steans said in a statement.

Lawmakers had reservations about the bill when sponsors tried to move it to a vote in the lame duck session in early January. Chief among them was whether the bill adequately shielded religious institutions from being forced to perform same-sex weddings.

Sen. Dale Righter argued in committee that the language of the bill was unclear, leaving most churches open to legal action if they refused to perform gay weddings.

“Most churches with which I’m familiar will not qualify,” he said in the Senate Executive Committee.

Steans said that bill protects religious freedom and that no church will have to solemnize or consecrate a marriage against its beliefs.

Opponents argued that language in the bill was unclear and said they worried that churches that receive government funds or charge money for weddings could be required to perform same-sex unions.

Rep. Greg Harris, house sponsor of the bill, said the bill prevent any church from performing a marriage against their beliefs.

“What we’re working toward is clarifying existing law that protects religious freedom,” he said.

Steans said that the measure takes into account pre-existing anti-discrimination law in the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Unsure of the bill earlier in January, was also Republican Sen. Christine Radogno, who has occasionally been seen as supportive on LGBT issues. She voted “no” on the measure in committee, but expressed openness to supporting it with revisions.

Sponsors reintroduced the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” into the new General Assembly this January with the language unchanged.

But Steans said that she and sponsors are currently working with religious leaders to address concerns raised in the bill.

Steans did not say what the specific revisions would include.

The Senate heads back into session Feb. 5.

H/T: Windy City Times

Gov. Pat Quinn arguably could be one of the state’s top allies pushing for same-sex marriage in Illinois.

But, then again, he’d rather not call it same-sex marriage or gay marriage. Instead, he prefers marriage equality because that’s what it’s about: equality and fairness under the law, he said.

As activists, advocate organizations and other proponents across the state continue to ramp up efforts to pass a bill that would legalize the recognition of gay and lesbian nuptials after it stalled in the lame duck session early this month, Quinn said he too is “pushing hard” to get the bill passed in the first few weeks of the new legislative session beginning Feb. 5.

“The sooner we get it accomplished, the better,” Quinn said in a Chicago Phoenix interview. “This is a mission we cannot bail on. We must succeed.”

Last week, the chief sponsors of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act reintroduced the legislation shortly after the swearing in of the 98th General Assembly, which comprises super-majorities of Democrats in both the House and the Senate due to gains in the November 2012 general elections. Democrats snapped up five seats in the Senate, totaling 40, and seven seats in the House, totaling 71.

A marriage equality bill will need at least 30 votes in the Senate and 60 votes in the House before advancing to Quinn’s desk for signing — something the Governor is confident he and other supporters of the bill can achieve in the coming weeks.

This comes from a governor, who less than a year ago, publicly favored civil unions over full marriage equality for same-sex couples, the same stance he campaigned on in the 2010 election. Not until after President Barack Obama announced his support of marriage equality in early May did Quinn come out and say it was the right law for Illinois.

“Gov. Quinn joins with President Obama in supporting marriage equality and looks forward to working on this issue in the future with the General Assembly,” a spokesperson for Quinn said in May of last year. Quinn joined other top elected officials such as Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the latest efforts to pass the bill.

Quinn’s promise to get the marriage equality job done early this year coincides with the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Quinn is aware of the significance.

“As Dr. King once said, ‘It’s always the right time to do the right thing.’ So, I think it’s the right time to do the right thing and I also think it’s a matter of fairness in the law.”

Chicago Phoenix: Why is it so important to achieve marriage equality in Illinois now?

Quinn: I think it’s the right thing to do. I think our state and our country have come a long way. I think the people’s support is fundamental to changing out laws to what the people want.

CP: You said that you’ll be working hard with everyone to get this done, and so what are some the things that you do on a daily basis to push for the bill?

Quinn: I talk to legislators all the time — both Democrats and Republicans and both Senate and House members, and to give you a sense of how the civil unions law worked, the sponsor, a good friend, Greg Harris had 57 votes in the House at the time. Four members were going to vote “no” and he thought that if they talked to me they might change their minds. So, they came in, one by one, and I talked to them about my position on the issue and why I thought it was best for our state. Each and every one of those four voted “yes” and that is how the bill got out of the House and to the Senate.

My goal is to build a majority in both houses for marriage equality to accomplish this and send a message out for all to hear and see from the Land of Lincoln.

CP: With the new General Assembly, it seems like the legislators already have a lot on their plates with pension reform, gun control, etc., and so from your direct observations, where will the marriage equality bill fit in the new session when it starts next month?

Quinn: I think it’s very important to deal with the fiscal issues of the state, the job issues, the safety issues … The violence that was perpetrated in Newtown is certainly still fresh on our minds. Those are all paramount issues, but so is marriage equality. It is a paramount issue. I believe we need to move with deliberate speed to get this job done. I’m going to push as hard as I can to get the members of the Senate and the House to take this issue up promptly.

CP: What would it mean to you, personally, to sign a marriage bill into law?

Quinn: Well, I think it is something that we need to bring the people in on. In other words, make sure that everyone gets to participate. When we signed the civil unions bill, we did it with hundreds and hundreds of people in the room and I envision the same scenario.

I want to be clear that we need a majority in both houses to get it to my desk. But rest assured, when it lands on my desk, we’re going to engage people from all across Illinois who have worked so hard for this cause for so many years. So then, it becomes a victory of those who labored and used democracy to further equal rights in our state.

CP: How do you accomplish majorities like that?

It’s a matter, as I keep saying, using democracy. It’s one person at a time. In the legislature, I respect everybody — even when they don’t agree with me on a lot of issues, I always respect people because you never know that one person could one day say “You know, I think I’m going to change my mind and vote ‘yes.’” That’s how we got civil unions — those folks coming down to my office and talking eyeball to eyeball, person to person from both the Senate and the House. I gave them my opinion and they came out and they all voted “yes.” That’s how we win.

We have to go one person at a time with grace and respect and if we do so, I think we can make a law that will live long after we’re gone, and they’ll say about our time in 2013, “They did great things.”

Full Interview at ChicagoPhoenix.com

With pro-gay lawmakers promising to push for marriage equality early this year, many have asked when the measure might come to a vote in Illinois.

“Theoretically, it could be as early as February,” said Randy Hannig, policy director of Equality Illinois.

The General Assembly is currently out but heads back into session Feb. 5.

Sponsors of the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” have vowed to push the bill as soon as possible.

Some anticipated that turnover among legislators might slow the process. Marriage equality advocates tried to push the bill in the last General Assembly earlier this month.

With new lawmakers sworn in Jan. 9, LGBT groups will need to start over with counting supportive votes and talking to new lawmakers. But, Hannig said, much of that groundwork has already been laid.

h/t: Windy City Times

(cross-posted from Daily Kos)

Illinois Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) introduced the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, a bill that would allow same-sex marriage in Ilinois, in the General Assembly Wednesday.

“It marks the next step in our journey toward full marriage equality in our state,” Harris told Chicago Phoenix. “It’s not going to happen quickly, it’s not going to happen without a lot of hard work.”

The bill, HB5170, comes on the heels of Tuesday’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision declaring the California gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, unconstitutional. It is the latest of many bills Harris has filed as a state representative for marriage equality in Illinois.

Harris, however, said that the bill was introduced today due to deadlines for new legislation, and that he has always worked to achieve marriage equality. Harris, who is openly-gay, has devoted his career to it, he said.

READ THE FULL BILL HERE

“They call it a struggle for a reason,” Harris said. “We all have to keep calling our legislators, talk to our religious leaders and work hard to make this happen.”

Out lesbian lawmakers Rep. Deborah Mell (40th District) and Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy (14th District) have been added as co-sponsors of the bill.

“We are very lucky to have three very strong openly gay legislators here in Illinois,” said. “The opportunity to work so closely with representatives Harris and Mell is great — it’s a great opportunity to work together this way.”

If passed, the new law would amend the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act,  allowing the voluntary conversion of a civil union to a marriage.

“This bill is the first of its kind,” said Harris. “In the past, we didn’t have civil unions, so this bill takes that into account and offers a means to transition from civil unions to marriage.”

Language in the bill is far-reaching, promising the equal rights, protections and responsibilities of marriage to couples regardless of whether they are a same-sex couple or different-sex couple.

“All laws of this State applicable to marriage apply equally to marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples and their children; parties to a marriage and their children, regardless of whether the marriage is of a same-sex or different-sex couple, have the same benefits, protections, and responsibilities under law…,” according to a summary of the bill on the General Assembly website.

The bill also includes specific definitions for language used for couples and their families when defining marriage under law.

“…Parties to a marriage are included in any definition or use of terms such as ‘spouse’, ‘family’, ‘immediate family’, ‘dependent’, ‘next of kin’, ‘wife’, ‘husband’, ‘bride’, ‘groom’, ‘wedlock’, and other terms that refer to or denote the spousal relationship, as those terms are used throughout the law, regardless of whether the parties to a marriage are of the same sex or different sexes…,” according to the summary.

“I am just really hopeful that we are going to get there and that we are going to get there soon,” Cassidy said. “It is long past the time when our families need to be treated and proteted equally as opposite-sex couples and families are. Until we achieve full equality we are not done.”

Local LGBT activists have reacted to the news, offering perspective into what is next for the bill and the struggle for marriage equality.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to finally be able to advance the goal of marriage,” Anthony Martinez, the executive direction of The Civil Rights Agenda told Chicago Phoenix. “It’s always been seen by TCRA as one of  the biggest goals for advancing the rights of LGBT community in Illinois.”

Martinez said that TCRA activists are on the ground in Springfield working to build a coalition of support for the new marriage equality bill.

h/t: Tom Merevick at Chicago Phoenix