The Equality Illinois First Friday event is a monthly gathering designed to raise funds and bring members of the organization together in a social setting at the Boystown nightspot Sidetrack.
Rick Garcia, the political policy director of Equality Illinois, was fired in late December, and the decision caused some in the community to call for a protest Jan. 7, the first such scheduled event of the year.
Two protestors with a sign stood outside in the frigid cold while approximately 50 members of Equality Illinois gathered inside. On the sign were the words, "No public policy director … unknown lobbyist on retainer; name background experience unknown; no means to achieve goals; ten dollar donation requested. What's wrong with this picture?"
William Schendel, the organizer of the protest, said he was there because "everything seems very fishy. I'm upset that Rick's not there. He's done a wonderful job. Everything's in limbo. What's the CEO [Bernard Cherkasov] doing there? He's posted a job description [for the position of director of finance and administration]. He's done some things to try and bolster their position, but they haven't done anything. "
He was critical of Cherkasov, saying that "Bernard has created this situation. He needs to shit or get off the pot. He created this problem and the minute he created this problem, his first push was to fundraise like nobody's business. I've gotten more solicitations from Equality Illinois in the past three weeks than I've ever gotten in my life. He's trying to fundraise without someone to do the work. There's no director of public policy to do anything so what are we supposed to be giving the money for? Just months before the 20th anniversary of the organization, their gala to congratulate and thank everyone for all their work on this momentous civil unions bill, they fired the director of public policy. And a co-founder of the organizationthey just kicked him to the curb. It's just ridiculous."
Brother Michael Oboza, the second protestor, spoke of his long friendship with Garcia. Both men said they had not spoken directly to either the CEO or the board, with Oboza saying that, "I think firing Rick says a lotI don't have to talk to Bernard. I have written to [him] and Art [Johnston, EI board member and co-founder] to tell them I'm no longer a member or a volunteer."
Schendel added, "until the job description [for the new policy director] is posted, until you tell us who this interim lobbyist is, until you articulate the new direction that Equality Illinois is headed and with specific goals and action steps for how you're going to achieve those, neither I nor any of the organizations I've been involved with will be supporting Equality Illinois. It's a non-profit; they need to disclose what they're doing and where they're going. Who is leading the charge? Bernard's not known. Where's Bernard's experience?"
As Oboza and Schendel were speaking, Rick Stuckey, a member of Equality Illinois, made his differences with them clear and there was a brief and heated exchange of words. Stuckey said to the two men, "It's an employment issue, it's not about the work that he's done. It's between Rick Garcia and the board of Equality Illinois." Responding to Schendel's question, "What have they done?" he said, "This legislature hasn't been in session so there's nothing to do. Even President Obama's been in Hawaii …. Would you want your employment issues in the media if you had a problem? You can't protest something you can't find information on; you should know your facts." Elaborating to Windy City Times, he said that "Yes, Rick Garcia has done great work but obviously something has been done that they decided that they needed to sever that tie."
Another Equality Illinois member, Mike Szeremet, came down flatly on the organization's side. Saying that the firing seemed like a confidential personnel matter, he said that he had "confidence in Equality Illinois and the board to make the right decisions for the direction of the organization, and if that means changes in personnel, so be it. … I would also say that [based on] the articles that I read that quoted Rick Garciaif he hadn't been fired he gave them good reason given the language he used, the way he denigrated board members, the directors, the process. You have a legal right to file a grievance if you were wrongfully dismissed, but I think that to trash people … was all the more reason why he shouldn't be there."
Inside, the fundraiser appeared to be in full swing. Dalila Fridi, a member of the board, said she did not know much about the protest and was pleased with the attendance. She said she did not know anything about the matter of the lobbyist. Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov said that the evening's turnout was greater than that of the First Friday in January 2010 and spoke of what he called Equality Illinois' "aggressive" new goals for the future, including "a strong focus on transgender equality issues," adding, "We're going to announce our plans in 2011 and announce our hiring plan."
Addressing the matter of the lobbyist and the search for a new public policy director, Cherkasov pointed out that the last few weeks had been the holidays and they "have not had a lot of time to consider what our policy team's needs are and how to move forward there. As we have for the past number of years, we've continued to have lobbyists who are helping us do our work in Springfield. We have had them for a long."
Most of the attendees approached were reluctant to speak to the press. Art Johnston said he could not speak because of constraints and Bill Greavesdirector of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues for the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relationsalso declined to speak.
But while not everyone would speak, there was some indication that not all of them were there to provide unqualified support. Robert Cohn, a member of the organization from the start and a longtime friend of Rick Garcia, spoke honestly to WCT about the fact that he had come to address his concerns over the firing. "The reason I came inside was to talk to the board members and tell them one on one [that] I think the whole situation and the way they did it was handled badly," he said, adding, "I think they acted harshly, like a big corporation, [unlike] an organization that talks about getting justice and equality for everybody. Regardless of the legality of what they did, I thought it wasn't done in a nice, human, caring way and that they look like heartless bullies."
Cohn said he had chosen to come inside because he believed that it was more effective to "dialogue" with the board than to "stand outside across the street and shout." He said that his disappointment with the way the firing was handled did not mean he would stop his donations, because he was "committed to the organization and the mission." Asked if the firing would have any effect on the mission, he responded, "Yes, it affects the mission because I think Rick was awfully effective in what he did. They'll be hard-pressed to find anybody as good as Rick. I think that they should have done a better job of managing Rick, regardless of whether or not he's difficult. They have to be the bigger person and not act immaturely. … I don't know that I could have handled it any better. I just wish that smarter, wiser people than me had tackled it differently."