For only the second time in state history, the full Illinois Senate will have the opportunity to vote on the statewide gay-rights bill. The last time this happened was more than a decade ago, when Democrats last controlled the Senate.
With Democrats once again in charge, the road is still not expected to be easy. However, the passage of the bill out of the most conservative senate committee Feb. 27 means the Democratic leadership is committed to pushing the measure as strongly as possible.
The Executive Committee voted 8-5 along party lines to move Senate Bill 101 (SB101) to the full Senate.
Senate Bill 101 amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to add sexual orientation to the list of other groups already covered by the act. Those categories include race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, marital status and military status. One county and 12 Illinois cities include sexual orientation in local civil-rights ordinances.
'This is the first time that the Senate Executive Committee passed this bill. We are ecstatic,' said Rick Garcia, Political Director of Equality Illinois. 'For years this civil-rights legislation was bottled up or stopped in this committee.'
Testifying in favor of the bill were Garcia and the bill's sponsor, State Sen. Carol Ronen. Opposing the legislation was Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch of Concerned Christians of America. The proponents explained the content of the bill and suggested that the legislation promoted equal treatment for all people. Vanden Bosch testified that the bill violates religious institutions' rights, will hurt businesses and pave the way to the sanctioning of gay marriage and 'protections for all other kinds of sexual behaviors.'
Garcia said senators should listen to businesses, especially religious businesses. 'A slew of Catholic orders of nuns and brothers that operate hospitals, schools, and social service agencies are on record supporting this legislation. As does Advocate Health Centers, the state's second largest private employer sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran and Episcopal Churches,' said Garcia. 'Clearly, these religious groups would not endorse legislation that was bad for their businesses or that would violate their deeply held religious beliefs.'
'The bill has an excellent chance of passing the Senate this year,' said Ronen. 'More and more of my colleagues are recognizing that this is a simple matter of fairness. They recognize that the opponents' arguments are not based on fact, but simply an attempt to mislead. I'm confident we will pass this bill.'
The Democrat's commitment to GLBT rights was put to the test during the Committee vote, Garcia said. There were at least three Democrats who were wavering: George P. Shadid, Vince Demuzio, and Louis S. Viverito.
In fact, activists were not sure the vote was going to be called until just hours before. Garcia said earlier in the week it appeared the votes were not there. He contacted Senate leader Emil Jones, who in turn put pressure on his colleagues.
On the day of the vote, Shadid, who is from Peoria, said he would vote for it only to get it out of committee—but 'I will never vote for it on the floor.' Demuzio said the same thing, while Viverito was a little less harsh, but still not 100% behind the bill.
To counter the anti-gay voices among the supporters, Sen. Miguel del Valle said 'I vote yes here, and I vote yes on the floor of the senate,' Garcia reported.
'Sen. Ronen and I were grilled 45 minutes by conservative Sen. Peter Roskam,' Garcia said. 'He raised the whole issue of Boy Scouts, prostitutes ... I explained that gender identity is different than sexual behavior. Finally, Sen. Ira Silverstein told him to stop badgering us.'
'The only reason this came out of the committee is because of Emil Jones,' Garcia added. 'He put his leadership team to the test—are you with me or not?'
Now the bill moves to the Senate floor, and if it passes there it heads to the House, where openly gay Rep. Larry McKeon will pick it up and try to move it through that body—where it has passed before.
Among those submitting statements of support were American Airlines, LaSalle Bank, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Advocate Health Centers, SEIU, National Coalition of American Nuns, AFL-CIO, Lutheran Advocacy Network, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Chicago Bar Association, the ACLU, NOW, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and all of Illinois' constitutional officers.
'At American Airlines we believe it is crucial to foster a culture characterized by appreciation and respect for differences,' stated Robbin S. Burr, National Sales Manager, American Airlines' Rainbow TeAAm, in her prepared statement. 'The prevention of discrimination in the workplace is something we've spent a great deal of time on in recent years. We've been working hard to be sure our workplace provides an environment that is inclusive and brings out the best in every member of our team.'
