Green Party candidate Rich Whitney, 54, is an attorney and partner in the Carbondale law firm of Speir and Whitney. He has long been politically active in support of the labor, environmental, civil rights, women's and anti-war movements.
Windy City Times: You lived in San Francisco in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when AIDS first struck. How did this affect your sensitivity to the LGBT community?
Rich Whitney: I lived in San Francisco from 1979 to 1981 but also in San Jose, which is about 45 miles away, for a while. I was of course tuned into the gay and lesbian community as a political progressive at that time and there were already issues affecting that community. Prior to the AIDS epidemic, there was that whole thing with Anita Bryant. It wasn't a major focus of my political work but it was certainly part of it. When the beginnings of the epidemic started to hit there was a right wing backlash blaming the gay lifestyle so it was important to respond to that and to get people to look at the disease as a serious public health issue and not just as a gay issue.
WCT: As governor, what kind of actions would you take to ensure that HIV/AIDS education is properly addressed?
RW: There are so many areas where the education system needs to be improved. That's certainly one of them. AIDS education has to be a part of it. We need age-appropriate sex education and we need clean needle exchanges. That's been a little battleground that hasn't gotten a lot of attention but we need to be supportive of that program and allow it to happen as a public health measure. Improving public health education in schools could helps with combating HIV, but also unwanted pregnancies. There's a lot that needs to be done to improve our investment in public health.
I support single-payer healthcare. That would go a long way toward addressing health problems in Illinois. I'm also an advocate for free or drastically reduced higher education and improving the caliber of Pre-K to 12th grade education. This fits into the idea of investing in people, which is a focus of the Green Party. So I would renew emphasis on public health.
WCT: What are your thoughts on the military's policy of "Don't Ask Don't Tell"?
I think there's a general consensus that it hasn't worked really well and that there are still problems with discrimination in the military. I think the time has come to just allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military openly. That is, if they want to serve in the military. The peace activist in me has mixed feelings about that. I think our military-industrial complex in this country is too large. We need to dial it down and focus on defense. For people who do want to serve it should be on an equal basis. Let's address the question of discrimination in the military as we do in other areas.
WCT: The budget and clean up government would seem to be priorities this year. Where on the radar do LGBT issues actually fall?
RW: The Green Party internationally is based on the four pillars of grassroots democracy, social justice, nonviolence and the environment. These issues are about equal treatment under the law. We need to get to a society in which every child born has an equal chance to thrive: That's the operating principle. That's how I defined social justice. From that premise your public policy has to reflect that, has to oppose discrimination in all its form. We have to oppose hatred. We have to make sure everyone has economic opportunity. From that premise the issues of concern to the LGBT community are always high priorities among my concerns.
See www.whitneyforgov.org .
Find out Rich Whitney's response to those who feel that voting for the Green Party is a waste of time at www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php
