Pictured. Equality Illinois guys, from left: Art Johnston, Rick Garcia and Mike McHale in Springfield.
'Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.' — Winston Churchill ( 1874-1965 )
Throughout life, there are periods when people invest much of their resources ( including, sometimes, the Churchill-inspired combination of blood, sweat, and tears ) for something that takes place over a relatively short span of time. Olympic athletes are often cited as examples of this phenomenon; they train for years for an event that can be over in a few seconds—and, usually, for a medal that rewards their effort.
For three decades, passage of a gay-rights bill in Illinois proved to be far more elusive than any medal. Individuals and organizations lobbied the General Assembly to pass a measure that would grant the LGBT community the same protection that the heterosexual sector owns. Twice, advocates saw the House pass the bill only to see the Senate kill it—and their dreams.
However, on Jan. 10 and 11, those dreams came true when Senate Bill 3186 ( SB3186 ) swept both chambers of the legislature on the last days of the 93rd assembly, winning by a vote of 30-27 in the Senate and 65-51 in the House. Once Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signs the measure, 'sexual orientation' will be added to the Illinois Human Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination against LGBT individuals in areas ranging from housing to employment. Illinois will be the 15th state to protect against such discrimination and only the fifth state to prohibit transgender bias.
One man who was in the Capitol on those historic days was Mike McHale, president of the executive board of the gay-rights group Equality Illinois.
McHale shared his experiences with Windy City Times, recounting what occurred within the legislature—and within himself.
In the Senate
Gay-rights supporters were understandably nervous about SB3186 passing the Senate, considering that similar measures had never passed the upper chamber. 'We knew that [ the vote ] was going to be extremely close going in; however we were cautiously optimistic,' McHale said.
The situation's ever-changing tenor throughout the day did not exactly help things, he added: 'It was a real roller-coaster day. First we got good news, then bad, then good, and then bad again.' In addition, McHale stated that there was another ominous sign: 'It didn't look like it was going to happen at all. Sen. Dave Sullivan—one of our four Republican 'Yes ' votes—was in Ireland, so we thought that we would have only 29 votes. [ The measure needed 30 to pass; in the House, it needed 60. ] Toward the end of the day, [ Senate president ] Emil Jones got two more Democratic votes, which put us at 29. Then, at the 11th hour, the governor got Sen. Shadid, from the Peoria area, to vote for it.'
Still, McHale did not break out the champagne just yet. 'We still didn't know if all of our Republican votes would hold in case,' he said. 'You never know when someone might get cold feet. So we looked at the tally board and the number of Yes votes crept up. It got to 21, then 26, then 28—followed by a long pause. President Jones could be heard saying, 'I need two more. I need two more. There was a pause—and then the board showed 29 'Yes' votes. Then, there was another long pause—and it finally got to 30.' How did it feel at that moment? 'We almost had a heart attack. It was a real nail-biter,' McHale said.
McHale added that ' [ t ] he bottom line was that the last people who voted for [ the bill ] should've voted for it. Polling showed that their districts were fine with it and [ the lawmakers ] should've been doing it all along.' When told that Christine Radogno, a middle-of-the-road Republican who voted for the bill, said that the decision was a no-brainer, McHale responded by saying that 'she's fantastic. I wish there were a lot more moderate Republicans in the Senate; it would make our lives a lot easier.' He went on to laud the other GOPers who voted for the measure: 'Obviously, it was the right thing to do—but their party sure wasn't happy about it.'
Asked about whether any votes surprised him, McHale replied that he was not: 'None surprised me in the Senate. We predicted the roll call exactly.'
That sense of knowing even extended to Rev. James Meeks, an independent who voted against SB3186. 'We knew he would vote against it. We were angry about it, but we knew.' However, McHale admitted that Meeks acted a bit strangely in the time leading up to the vote. 'He was a bit bizarre during this whole episode. He would walk up to Rick [ Garcia, Equality Illinois's political director ] , give him a big hug and a kiss, and then run around the Capitol, saying that passing the bill would lead to gay marriage. Sen. Meeks was definitely exhibiting some bipolar behavior.'
Not surprisingly, the presence of Meeks was not the only sign of religion supposedly involved with the voting. There were rumors that Cardinal Francis George was trying to exert his influence. However, several Roman Catholic legislators, including Democrat John Cullerton, supported the bill. 'Cullerton put things very well. He said that a theologian told him that discrimination of this type is immoral,' McHale said. 'The Catholic Conference, on one hand, has said that homosexuality is not a sin and that discrimination of any kind is immoral—yet they didn't want this bill to be voted for. We've tried talking to them but it's like [ going ] in circles.'
In the House
After the vote passed the Senate, McHale and his colleagues were a bit more sanguine about the bill's chances in the House, which charged the atmosphere with excitement: 'Conservatively, we were predicting 61 votes but we were confident of another 3 or 4 votes,' he said. 'We were feeling [ pretty good about our chances ] . We still prepared on Tuesday, went through the roll call, and talked with a few last-minute people—but we were pretty comfortable that it was going to pass.'
Nevertheless, McHale was taken aback by one vote: 'Sen. Joe Dunn from Naperville took me by surprise. He took the floor and planned to be a 'No' vote. However, after listening to another senator [ Shane Cultra from Onarga ] ask [ openly gay Rep. ] Larry McKeon how this vote would affect pedophiles and people who have sex with animals, Dunn was so offended by this question that he changed his mind and voted 'Yes.''
As for McHale's take on Cultra's stunning inquiry, he said that ' [ i ] t's pathetic that people still ask those types of questions. There are two explanations: either he was that moronic that he thought it was a valid question or he was trying to incite panic by linking the bill to pedophiles and people who have sex with animals. Either way, it's a bad commentary.'
When asked if he was surprised about the dozen Democratic House members who voted against the bill, McHale replied that he was not: 'We had already gone through the [ roster ] . There are some areas Downstate where you can't convince people no matter what party they're in.'
What is McHale's advice to people in other states who might want to get the ball rolling regarding the passage of a sexual orientation discrimination bill? 'You've got to organize,' he stated without hesitation. 'You have to start a GLBT-rights organization and you have to be down in the Capitol. You've got to be on the playing field.'
Despite the groundbreaking victory, he realizes that the fight is far from over: 'We need to continue on our mission to protect and defend civil rights for the GLBT community. Specifically, a lot of issues need to be addressed. Some of them are domestic partnerships for state employees; bereavement leave issues; adoptions; and civil unions.'
Undoubtedly, McHale's excitement at the passage of the bill is mixed with confidence. When informed that opponents of the bill plan on filing legal challenges, what is his response? 'Bring it on,' he said, sounding as giddy and self-assured as, yes, an Olympic athlete who has won a medal.
Praises for Bill's Passage
Several national organizations have lauded the state General Assembly for passing SB3186. The National Stonewall Democrats issued a press release praising the legislature 'for passing changes to the Illinois Human Rights Act [ that ] include equal employment protections regardless of an individual's sexual orientation and gender identity.'
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national LGBT political organization, also applauded the assembly's actions. Seth Kilbourn, the group's national field director stated that ' [ t ] his win serves as a welcome reminder for the new year that Americans of both parties support fair and equal protection for GLBT people.'
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, congratulated EI. Foreman added that the victory 'is real salve to a community still hurting from the [ election ] results of Nov. 2.'
Chicago-area Celebration, Friday, Jan. 21, 5:30-7:30, Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted.
Downstate Celebration, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 5:30-7:30, Illinois State Library ( site still to be confirmed ) , Springfield, thank you reception for House and Senate 'Yes' votes. Refreshments and short program. Call ( 773 ) 477-7173.
