It's a matter of strategy and not an issue of support, say advocates, but sponsors and leaders might wait to call for a vote on marriage equality until winter, despite promises to push for this fall.
John Kohlhepp, campaign manager for Illinois Unites for Marriage, told Windy City Times that leaders have their sights set on the fall veto session. But he added that the team is also debating holding off on a vote until January, a move that would give the bill an earlier effective date but might raise eyebrows among supporters who expected to see a vote sooner.
"Everything in our whole strategy is pushing for a vote in veto session," Kohlhepp said. But, he added, coalition leaders have not ruled out push during regular session.
If passed during the legislature's veto session, SB10, the marriage equality bill, would not take effect until June. But if sponsors pass it in January during regular session, it can go into effect the following month. That could mean fewer months of waiting for same-sex couples anxious to see marriage in Illinois.
Waiting on a vote, however, would be controversial. A shortfall of support in May that delayed a vote already sparked outcry and backlash against sponsors who opted to wait until the bill had votes rather than see it fail. Chief sponsor Rep. Greg Harris stated then that his colleagues assured him they would come ready to vote on the bill in November, during the legislature's veto session.
Harris has since repeatedly declined to give a timeline or vote count on the bill but said that growing support is sending the right message to lawmakers.
"People wanted to hear from their constituents, and they're hearing from their constituents," Harris said.
Following the May shortfall, the Illinois Unites coalition hired Kohlhepp to oversee the campaign. Kohlhepp then announced an ambitious strategy to pursue 71 votes ( it needs 60 to pass ) during veto session, a vote count that would allow sponsors to amend the effective date to earlier without waiting until January.
But despite months of organizing and hundreds of thousands of dollars poured into the campaign, not a single new lawmaker has come out for the bill publicly. That leaves room for many backers to pull support on the controversial vote, especially as lawmakers fear primary challenges over the bill.
Kohlhepp said that his campaign is designed to get the bill passed, and that it remains on track.
"I can say the program we built is incredibly strong," said Kohlhepp.
According to Kohlhepp, the consideration over waiting came in the wake of a video put out by the coalition that details one couple's dashed dreams over their inability to marry.
That video tells the story of Steven Rynes, whose wish to marry his partner Robert Smith, fell short when Rynes passed away. Kohlhepp said that story drove home the consequences of passing a bill that would have a later effective date. He denied that consideration to postpone a vote was a delay tactic as organizers struggle to pull in the final votes.
Still, organizers say their sights are set on veto session.
Jim Bennett, chair of the coalition and Midwest regional director for Lambda Legal, said he is uncomfortable with any revisions to the plan that do not include community input.
My feelings are veto session," Bennett said. "When we left [the Capitol] on May 31, that was the promise that Greg's colleagues made to him, and that's what we're working toward. … It's always easier to push it down the road than it is to act. ... I want the vote."
Rick Garcia, policy advisor for The Civil Rights Agenda, said his stance is that the bill should be called when it has the 60 votes it needs to pass, not before and not after.
"If the votes are not there, we don't call the bill," he said. "Call it when the votes are there."
Pressure will be on lawmakers to vote this fall, however.
A group of independent activists, including Windy City Times Publisher Tracy Baim, has organized a Springfield rally at noon on Oct. 22, the first day of veto session. The March on Springfield for Marriage Equality is expected to draw thousands, and it is aiming, at least in part, to hold feet the fire over promises made in May.
"The focus of the march is holding people accountable for what was said on the 31st [of May]," said Kim Hunt, executive director of Affinity Community Services and March co-chair. "This is also just a demonstration of the power of the LGBT community."
The Catholic Conference of Illinois has organized a response lobby day against the bill the following day. The "Defend Marriage Lobby Day" is sponsored by anti-gay organization the Illinois Family Institute.
The push for equal marriage in Illinois has gained momentum in recent weeks. A Cook County judge's refusal to dismiss lawsuits seeking marriage equality in Illinois has heartened LGBT activists in the state, and a positive ruling on equal marriage in New Jersey suggests a quickening national trend towards equal marriage.
In Illinois, the push is also bolstered by support from Illinois Chapter of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ( AFL-CIO ), which announced that it passed a resolution backing the bill.
"Gay and lesbian couples in Illinois shouldn't have to wait another moment to be afforded the tools they need to protect their families," said Michael Carrigan, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, in a statement. "It is time we pass the freedom to marry for all."
Still, sponsors face high hurdles in passing the bill as the state continues to grapple with its pension crisis and reps. stare down primary elections. Those challenges have sponsors doubling down on a familiar old line. If you've called or written your legislator, Harris said, "It's time to call or write again."
BY KATE SOSIN
In July, Equality Illinois Field Director Caroline Staerk stunned many when, in the midst of a push to pass equal marriage in Illinois, she resigned her post.
Staerk had been seen as instrumental to the effort, working across the state with a team of organizers to build support for the bill. ( She said she left the job to spend more time with family. )
Filling those big shoes now is Patty Dillon, an Illinois native with a history of organizing around progressive causes, such as reproductive rights and President Obama's re-election.
Windy City Times caught up with Dillon and asked her how she sees equal marriage passing in Illinois and what strategic changes could be afloat for that effort.
Windy City Times: So you were with Planned Parenthood in North Carolina before coming here to Chicago.
Patty Dillon: I was, yes. I worked with Planned Parenthood Health Systems, and I was based in Raleigh, and our affiliate actually oversaw the operations in four states—North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia. I was the field coordinator for the state of North Carolina.
WCT: What did your job entail?
PD: We had seen a switch in the legislature from a primarily pro-choice majority to a pretty negatively anti-choice majority. So, our priority was to really put pressure on the speaker of the house—his district was in Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is based—as well as just rally our supportive strategically where we had health centers and where we had people who were positively affected by our services and could be a voice for the work we were doing in those areas throughout the state.
WCT: You attended college at Miami of Ohio.
PD: I did. I graduated in 2009. I feel like each area I've lived in has had [its] own unique situation. I think southwest Ohio is so interesting because of the dynamics. There's a very strong progressive urban core in Cincinnati and then there's a stark difference if you go like 20 miles anywhere outside of Cincinnati.
So it was very interesting to be there both in college when I was at Miami, and then [I[ also returned there in 2012 to work on President Obama's reelection campaign. I was the regional field director for Butler country, which just so happens to be John Boehner's district.
WCT: Did you work on LGBT issues at all?
PD: As a part of Planned Parenthood's focus, our main mission was to provide high-quality healthcare to men and woman and teens throughout the state. What we saw was that everywhere in the state and primarily on a college campuses where we had younger folks, we saw there opportunities for education around LGBT issues and also just around having high quality healthcare and keeping individuals safe and taking ownership over own's one sexual health.
And so my department, the public policy department, worked very closely with out education department to seek out opportunities to talk to youth and individuals around being an advocate for your own sexual health. So at that point, it overlaps. And we worked actually pretty closely with equality North Carolina, and we were seeing at the legislator a lot of attacks on healthcare services but also just basic civil rights for LGBT communities. So we worked pretty closely with them to try to fight the pretty egregious amendment to the constitution that unfortunately ended up passing.
WCT: What is it like for you to go from working there to working in Illinois and Chicago trying to pass equal marriage?
PD: I am originally from the Chicagoland area, and so I thought when I moved to North Carolina it would be a bit of a culture shock. There are definitely things about the south and the North Carolina vibe that is different from what I was used to growing up. But so many people that I met in North Carolina have the very same core values that I do. So, it was very easy transition because we're all working on the same thing together. So I consider it a second home. It's full of amazing people.
I have learned about how to navigate difficult strategic issues in the legislature and what to do about cultivating constituent support to really push the legislators to do the right thing. And that's transferrable to any legislature in the country. So I am so excited to transfer my skills to here in Illinois to help us pass marriage.
WCT: What do you want to accomplish here to day-to-day, and are you changing strategies from what we've seen in the past on the marriage bill?
PD: I think my predecessor really built a very solid foundation. I think that all of the really amazing things that have happened so far in cultivating relationships with state leaders was something that she focused on very heavily, and I will continue to carry that torch.
In addition, I will focus on building a network all over the state, and really giving resources and support to supporters outside of the Chicagoland area and really help to train and create advocates. I would love to see more activation, more support around towns with college communities.
WCT: We've seen these consistently resistant Democrats, especially outside of Chicago. I am wondering how much work in moving them will rest on the field team and how much of that battle is going to be purely political and based on factors in Springfield. What is the strategy there?
PD: I was actually most recently in Michigan, and I see a lot of parallels between the political makeup of Michigan and Illinois. There's a very large urban center and a couple of areas throughout the state with a similar makeup. As I mentioned, there are advocates everywhere. So it's important to use the tools that we have to continue to seek out those advocates and give them proper training.
I really do believe that members of legislature want to act in the best interest of their constituents, and so it's really our goal as the field to push as many of our folks out there to step up, take action and keep a steady drum beat.
WCT: What is your connection with the LGBT community? Why is this issue important for you?
PD: I am a native Illinoisan. There reason I am here, the reason I am working at Equality Illinois is because I believe that every single individual has the right to love whoever they want and be able to share commitment in the form of marriage no matter who they are and who they love. … This is something that I want to see for my state.
WCT: There is not a single additional "yes" vote that we have on record that was not present in May. What are the next steps in terms of firming up those last couple of votes?
PD: There's really no way of knowing until the last moment, until it's done, where people are going to vote. I think that's what we learned in May. The important thing is focusing on what we can really control and that is that we're continuing to push our supporters to keep reaching out until the very last second. We are going to continue that drumbeat. That drumbeat is going to get very loud.
WCT: But one of the problems with May seemed to be that there were reps who were expected to support this but were not on record, not in the media or elsewhere as being "yes" votes. And they were able to back out at the last minute because of that. Is it part of the field team strategy to get people on record as "yes" votes before this comes up? Or are there strategic reasons why that doesn't work?
PD: I think that is something that will be a focus. It's just another strategic tool … to have our constituents ask that question. I wouldn't say that this is any sort of strategy one way or the other, but that will absolutely be a tool that we use, asking constituents to be clear and ask the question point-blank of legislators.
WCT: And obviously, your job is not limited to passing the marriage bill. What other issues are excited about working on at Equality Illinois and where do you see your work going after marriage equality comes to Illinois?
PD: What I'm most is excited about is the continuing to build coalition relationships, not only with other progressive organizations and non-profits throughout the state but also with state leaders, with individuals. I think that going forward that will still be something we focus really hard on, reaching minority communities and helping individuals take advantage and utilize that has legislation that has passed.
Also, were going to be pushing for equality for transgender individuals. Also, we want to make sure that same-sex couples have the same equal ability to adopt and have a family. So those are some of the things I am very excited to jump into.
