With a loudly supportive crowd in front of him and a phalanx of LGBTA community leaders literally behind him, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich stepped up to the mike and delivered an impassioned electoral speech at Sidetrack Monday, March 13.
Before the speakers began, television monitors that normally show music videos suddenly switched to footage of the historic day in January of 2005 when Blagojevich signed the state's gay-rights bill—which swept the General Assembly after numerous attempts—into law. At the time, he talked about working with many key individuals—including Equality Illinois Political Director Rick Garcia; Sidetrack co-owner and Equality Illinois founder Art Johnston; and State Sen. Carol Ronen—in order to have the measure eventually pass. ( Garcia, Johnston and Ronen were all present Monday. )
Jessica Halem, executive director of the Lesbian Community Cancer Project, told the gathering that 'it's a beautiful thing ... to take moments like this to celebrate our success. Tonight is about thanking the governor in achieving equal rights in the state of Illinois.' She also thanked him, on a more personal note, for allowing women to be able to get free mammograms even if they are uninsured.
Johnston talked about when he and Garcia met Blagojevich in 1992, when the governor was a state representative. 'We frankly hoped that he would be supportive because the person who had been in the seat before him had not been supportive—and [ Blagojevich ] said that he would be supportive,' Johnston stated. 'Not only had Representative Blagojevich worked tirelessly for our [ rights ] , but representatives from other districts were calling their friends and allies in Chicago, saying 'You know what that new guy is doing? He's asking us to vote for gay rights!''
Blagojevich started off by thanking State Sen. George Shadid, D-Peoria, for being the decisive vote on the gay-rights bill. 'If you're ever in Peoria, you'll get a chance to drive on the George Shadid Memorial Bridge,' he joked.
Relatives were brought into the mix as Blagojevich not only talked about his wife but also his sister-in-law, Deb Mell. 'I am the only governor in the history of this state who is proud of the fact that he has an openly lesbian sister-in-law,' he said as he hugged her to thunderous applause.
Blagojevich listed accomplishments of which he is particularly proud, including domestic-partnership benefits at the University of Illinois and the appointment of gays to several prominent positions, such as the head of the Illinois Department of Human Rights ( Rocco Claps ) .
Regarding the primary election that will take place on March 21 against Edwin Eisendrath, Blagojevich described his camp as 'cautiously optimistic about [ its ] chances.' However, he added that if he survives the primary, that he 'can't wait to get out there and run against those Republicans.'
He also talked about turning around a $5 billion budget deficit and dealing with a recession that 'cost our state more than 200,000 jobs,' among other things. 'A lot of pundits said that the only way out was to cut healthcare, cut education or raise taxes,' he said. 'I saw those challenges as an opportunity to fundamentally change business in Springfield.' He admitted that his fight has not been easy, but proclaimed that Illinois is the only state where every child has access to comprehensive healthcare. He also said that, if things go according to plan, the state will have invested more money in education than any other Midwest state—and will have done so without raising taxes. Regarding equal wages for women, Blagojevich mentioned that ' [ w ] e did something in the beginning of the 21st century in Illinois that they should have done at the beginning of the last century. It's a simple concept—if you're a woman and you do the same work as a man, then they should pay you the same as a man.'
The governor also devoted a segment of his talk to discussing healthcare, particularly regarding women. 'I'm proud to say that Illinois is the opposite of South Dakota,' he declared, referring to that state's measure that makes every abortion that is not necessary to save the life of the mother a crime. He talked about pharmacists who object to dispensing birth-control medication on moral grounds, mentioning one such individual who wrote a letter to him. Blagojevich told the crowd that he wrote the man back, asking him if he thought 'that if you can't fulfill your responsibility on the job, that you may want to find another profession.'
Blagojevich urged the attendees to compare his record with those of previous governors, such as George Ryan and Jim Edgar and posed a final question: 'Do we continue to build on the progress we made—or do we allow these Republicans to take us back?'