The Rev. James Meeks, a state senator considering a run to be Chicago's next mayor—and who is known for his anti-gay views—reached out to LGBT-rights advocate Rick Garcia for a meeting, according to an item originally reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Garcia told Windy City Times that the meeting, which lasted about two a half hours, took place at Salem Baptist Church, where Meeks preaches. "He started talking on the phone, and I said, 'Senator, let me come to you.' ... I had a great tour of his church, and we chatted about a number of things."
Asked if he detected any sincerity in Meeks, Garcia said, "He's a politician and a pastor." He added, "I really do have a policy, unless somebody is unbelievably horrible, that I have an obligation to meet with them and help them—and he asked.
"Yes, he has an anti-gay voting record and, yes, I don't like things he's said in the past, but we have a number of cases of people in our state [ who have changed their positions ] ."
Meeks actively campaigned to defeat Senate Bill 3186, which amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation ( which includes gender identity ) . Once it passed both houses of the state's general assembly, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill into law January 2005.
Garcia then brought up a couple individuals long known to the LGBT community: Glenn Poshard and Roland Burris.
"Former Congressman Glenn Poshard had anti-gay rhetoric," Garcia said. "He said he would veto the gay-rights bill when he was running for governor. He lost. He went to SIU-Carbondale and is the [ president ] there. Right now, the gay community has no stronger advocate in southern Illinois. He's done marvelous things at the university, making sure that gay people are treated fairly and equitably.
"We beat him up hard, but I have to give the devil his due. By working with some really fabulous people in Carbondale, he totally got with the program."
Regarding Burris, Garcia said that the current U.S. senator "had a couple rough spots with the gay community back in the '80s. Within 10 minutes of the vote on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in the Senate, my phone rang—and it was Sen. Burris. He talked about how ridiculous he thought [ the policy ] was."
Returning to Meeks, he said, "My point is that I believe in redemption and repentance. He knows that his record [ prevents ] us from getting on the James Meeks bandwagon but he wants to talk, and we're continuing to talk to him."
When Windy City Times asked if he felt he educated Meeks, Garcia said, "As much as I can educate anyone. I go back to this: He's a politician and he's playing to his constituency. His audience or his constituency could be the whole city of Chicago, and he has to reflect that.
"I do know this: [ Meeks ] recognizes that you have to play to your base. So he's playing to his base, but he's also reaching out like he has to if he's going to become the mayor of the great city of Chicago."
Windy City Times also asked Garcia about Rahm Emanuel, who recently left his post as President Obama's chief of staff to apparently run for mayor of Chicago. "He's the only [ mayoral candidate ] who hasn't reached out to me," Garcia said. "I think he's getting [ what he considers ] his big ducks in a row, and then he'll get the little ones. I've heard from aldermen; I've heard from everybody [ else ] ."
