I was happy to spend some time in Springfield the day before the Aug. 8 State Fair parade and launch of the multi-day fair in the state's capital. Springfield resident Buff Carmichael and I are two of the co-chairs of the March on Springfield for Marriage Equality Oct. 22, so we held a variety of meetings with the city and community members.
Among those we met were Scott Cross of OFA Springfield, who has great ideas about March outreach; Jonna J Cooley PhD, executive director of Phoenix Center, which has their big annual gala a few days before the Oct. 22 March on Springfield; and residents from central Illinois at a community meeting hosted by First Church of the Brethren.
Union activists Jim Dixon, Tom McLaughlin and Matt Berry agreed to take on logistics for the March, based on their experience on large-scale rallies and Marches in Springfield.
LGBT area groups and allied organizations will be planning some ancillary events around the March on Springfield, so we hope Chicagoans and others plan to be in town for a few days to enjoy the great LGBT and tourist attractions. And stay for Oct. 23, which should be the first full day of the legislative veto session.
Also during the quick visit, I got to see the finished float for the parade entry of CORAL, the Coalition of Rainbow Alliances. They have a long winning record at the State Fair Parade, and Bert Morton gave me a sneak peek of the float. The next day, it won the Governor's Sweepstakes Award, the top prize. Congrats again to CORAL.
Website for info: www.marchonspringfield.org/ .
Video by Tracy Baim below.