What’s next for Illinois’ civil unions bill

What’s next for Illinois’ civil unions bill
By Amy Wooten
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
June 18, 2009
http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/3600


Following the disappointment that a civil unions bill never got called for a vote before Illinois’ legislative session ended May 31, supporters started discussing next steps.

Last month, lawmakers left Springfield without voting on state Rep. Greg Harris’ (D-Chicago) Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. On June 9, members of the GLBT community gathered at John Merlo Library to discuss the future of marriage equality in Illinois, just days after several local organizations met with Harris to come up with a plan of action for getting the civil unions bill passed in the near future.

On May 31, faced with a midnight deadline and a huge deficit, lawmakers hammered out a temporary state budget. Harris told CFP that he did not call the civil unions bill to a vote because of the state budget crisis. He felt with the deep cuts being made to social service programs, a vote on a controversial issue like civil unions would not go over well.

“Budget woes made many of my colleagues nervous,” Harris said. “I did not feel it was a good time to call it.”

Harris said that his civil unions bill “continues to hover” around the 60 votes needed to pass the House.

Harris recently met with several organizations working to garner support for the civil unions bill. During the meeting, Harris said, organizations determined that the best strategy is to wait for an opportune time to call it for a vote. The deadline for the civil unions bill has been extended, so Harris now has until the end of November to call the bill for a vote.

But many civil unions supporters are frustrated and angry that the bill did not get voted on last session. During a June 9 Join the Impact Chicago (JTIC) meeting about marriage equality, several individuals expressed their chagrin with waiting.

Harris understands their disappointment, and said that calling the vote earlier in the session, before he is sure he has all 60 votes, is a possible route. “Sure, you could go for a show vote and see who votes no,” Harris said.

But he and others feel that strategy can backfire if the bill does not pass. While the GLBT community can then pressure those who voted against the bill, conservatives can apply the same treatment to those who voted in favor of civil unions. “And it takes a lot more effort to get them back to a yes vote once a bill is defeated,” Harris said, adding that he feels the bill has the best chance if he waits until he is sure the bill can pass the House before moving on to the Senate, where there is far more support.

While many groups like Equality Illinois, PFLAG and the ACLU of Illinois have been working hard lobbying lawmakers and canvassing nearby suburban towns to rally support for the civil unions bill, there are many members of the GLBT community who feel that the bill is a compromise, and that Harris and others should be pushing for full marriage equality.

But marriage is most likely not a possibility right now, Harris told CFP. He said that each year, he speaks to his colleagues one-on-one about full marriage equality, and “Politically, right now, we are much more likely to gain a civil unions bill this year,” not marriage, he said.

Harris introduced same-sex marriage legislation in the past, but has only been able to get a handful of legislators on board.

“But this doesn’t mean next year I’m not going to ask people all over again, or I might even decide next year to go ahead and just tackle marriage,” Harris said, adding that he encourages those who support gay marriage to talk to their state legislators about why full marriage quality is important to them. “It’s really important to realize that the states that have marriage already—it was a process. Maybe they had civil unions first or the courts decided.”

During the June 9 meeting, JTIC community organizer Nik Maciejewski argued that instead of focusing on “state-by-state battle crap,” that the local GLBT community instead work towards organizing a national movement with a mission of gaining full marriage equality, as well as other protections, on a federal level.

Activist Sherry Wolf, who also spoke at the event, called the Illinois civil unions bill a “compromise.”

“I don’t want back-of-the-bus marriage apartheid—I want the real deal,” Wolf added.

While Wolf and others received some applause for their all-or-nothing viewpoint, others at the community forum discussed ways in which to help garner more support for civil unions and same-sex marriage in Illinois, like building a larger statewide coalition of GLBT and allied organizations, targeting specific lawmakers who are on the fence and talking to friends, family and coworkers about the issue.

While Harris said he is close to the 60 votes needed, there are still many legislators, even in Chicago, suburban Cook County and the nearby suburbs, who remain on the fence. Harris said many of these colleagues are “soft yes” or “soft no” votes, but is hopeful that they can be persuaded.

In the meantime, Harris said that several organizations like Equality Illinois will continue to work at garnering support in suburban Cook County and other nearby suburbs by talking to voters, churches, organized labor and others.

“People need to continue to call and write their legislators,” Harris stressed.