As the Illinois legislative session winds to a close, I urge all supporters of Senate Bill 101 to renew their efforts to get it passed before the General Assembly adjourns. The Sexual Orientation Amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act (SB 101), sponsored by Sen. Carol Ronen, would protect the civil rights of gay and lesbian Illinoisans and its passage is long overdue. I am proud to have supported this bill and its predecessor, House Bill 101, over the past three years.
This has been a very difficult legislative session in Springfield. Our state is struggling with a fiscal crisis and those of us in elected positions have been rightly focused on getting through difficult financial times. We cannot afford, however, to pass up the opportunity to guarantee the civil rights of every Illinoisan.
SB 101 is currently being held on the third reading calendar in the Senate, but will not be called until its sponsors can line up the necessary votes to secure passage. Any further delay in the passage of SB 101 is an unjust denial of equal rights and a refusal to protect Illinois residents from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Newspapers around the state, including the Peoria Journal-Star and the Bloomington Pantagraph, have written editorials in support of its passage. Dozens of civic, religious, business and legal organizations are lending their support to the bill. Now is the time to enact it into law—safeguarding these fundamental rights is long overdue.
Daniel W. Hynes,