The state's Capitol overflowed with LGBT people and their supporters on April 18 for the Civil Union Lobby Day.
'We did not go unnoticed in the state House on Wednesday,' Equality Illinois' Rick Garcia told Windy City Times after the event, which drew roughly 200 participants.
Illinoisans from all walks of life—from suburbanites to Chicagoans, PFLAG parents to Log Cabin Republicans, clergy members to LGBT couples—spoke with their state legislators in an attempt to push forward a civil-union bill sponsored by Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago. The Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act, or HB 1826, would grant unions to same-sex couples in Illinois. The next step is for the bill to go to the full House for consideration, where it needs 61 votes to pass.
Garcia told Windy City Times that Lobby Day went very well. Hundreds came out for Lobby Day from all over the state on a day that Garcia described as a 'madhouse,' but the civil-union lobbyists were able to gain access to legislators to engage in productive conversations.
According to Garcia, Lobby Day is crucial for a number of reasons. 'One, I think it helps to put a face on the issue about civil unions and equal marriage rights to legislators,' he said. 'They are confronted with real-life human beings with real-life stories, and that's extremely important. But the other element that is important is that these people who come to Lobby Day sometimes get information from the legislators that the lobbyists or the other legislators can't get. We get great insight in the evaluations of the conversations that the participant had with their legislator.'
Ed Yohnka of the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) of Illinois walked away from Lobby Day very impressed. 'You always know there is a lot of energy out there and a lot of commitment to these issues, but it is really impressive to see it gathered in the same room and to see how excited people were.'
Yohnka was also impressed by the sheer variety of people gathered for Lobby Day, from clergy members to parents. 'It restores your faith in democracy,' he said.
