Note: These interviews can be found in full in the Feb. 18 Windy City Times online.
Sara Feigenholtz
by Andrew Davis
When State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz announced her run for the U.S. Representative seat formerly held by Rahm Emanuel, she was instantly stamped a front-runner. In this interview with Windy City Times, the longtime LGBT ally discussed her ties to the Fifth Congressional District, the economy and the controversy surrounding a poll her campaign staff allegedly conducted.
Windy City Times: Let's say you win this election. How would you expect the atmosphere at the U.S. House to be different than the one in the Illinois House?
Sara Feigenholtz: I think they'll be very similar. I think there's a lot of excitement about new beginnings, and I think that Barack Obama—who I worked with for eight years when he was in the General Assembly... Everybody saw the outpouring of millions of Americans celebrating the transition from eight years of what some would consider a very challenging time ( to put it mildly ) to a new chapter for this country. I think that, frankly, it's about change and that people are excited for the change.
I've always put my community first before politics, and that's what I plan on doing in Washington.
John Fritchey
By Yasmin Nair
Democrat John Fritchey is currently the 11th District State Representative. He's also among the many candidates seeking to fill Rahm Emanuel's recently vacated seat in Illinois's Fifth Congressional District. Fritchey has a reputation as a progressive and is backed by a number of labor unions. He spoke to Windy City Times about his views on gay marriage, DADT, hate crimes legislation and his stand on labor-related issues.
Windy City Times: But would you support a state or federal law that legalized gay marriage?
John Fritchey: I'm more concerned with the rights that come with the institution than with the institution itself. Accordingly, I support the idea that each and every right that's extended to every couple by virtue of the institution of marriage be extended to same-sex couples as well. I don't care what government or anybody else wants to call it. I think at the end of the day what I want to do is make sure is that we recognize the institution for everybody.
Read the entire interview at www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php.