John Dalton may have been unsuccessful in his attempt to become the first openly gay judge elected outside of Cook County last November, but the Kane County attorney made history May 2 when he was seated as a trustee of Elgin Community College (ECC). Dalton said that the achievement might make him the first openly gay elected official in his county.
Dalton prevailed in April elections as part of the "Three for ECC" slate, which also included veteran trustees Ellie MacKinney and John Duffy.
According to Dalton, he has "hit the ground running," preparing to help to settle contracts with faculty under threat of strike and even confronting anti-gay protesters on campus. While he acknowledges the significance of his election as a gay man, he also said, he has no plans for renovation.
"I didn't run to institute some profound change," Dalton told Windy City Times. "I ran to keep [the school] going in the right direction."
Dalton does boast a strong record of LGBT advocacy. On June 17, he will receive the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Award for Community leadership from the Illinois State Bar Association for his fight for LGBT equality. Dalton has lobbied for civil unions and fought to get same-sex couples domestic partnerships before they were common. When he learned that gay students were being bullied a couple years ago, he lobbied local officials to let him write LGBT protections into District U-46 handbooks. He also helped win recognition of three Gay Straight Alliances in the District.
"Young people should have someone to look up to in their own community," Dalton said. "They shouldn't have to travel to a gay enclave like Chicago."
Of the climate for gay students at ECC, Dalton said that "the consensus is that it's not terrible but it could be better."
He met members of the campus's LGBT organization—Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Students and Supporters—at a recent counter-protest to Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (HOME), an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center designated a hate group. Dalton walked up to the HOME activists and introduced himself as the first openly-gay trustee of the college.
"I told them that I supported their right to be there but that I disagreed with everything they stood for," he said. Dalton said the HOME activists seemed "a little surprised" to meet him.
Dalton steps into the shoes of Dr. Phyllis Folarin, who retired from the ECC board after 12 years of service. Folarin served as both chair and vice-chair of the board at different points and represented ECC at state and national associations for college trustees. In taking her place, Dalton inherits half a million constituents across portions of five counties.
ECC is in the midst of significant change. On April 14, the board settled contract negotiations with faculty, just four days before they were set to go on strike. Construction at the school is underway on a new library and career center. Enrollment at ECC has jumped sharply in the past few years as well. Dalton said those issues put him on the job well before he was seated.
"I feel like I've been a trustee all year," he said.
While Dalton is quick to point out that Elgin has a significant gay population, his win may signal a growing acceptance towards LGBT residents in the community. Dalton thinks that when he and his husband, Rich Jacobs, moved to Elgin, some neighbors were uncomfortable at first. Things have changed since, he said.
Still, he added, he his candidacy was independent of his personal life.
"I ran as that guy who just happens to be gay," he said. "Your orientation is not a qualification for office."
