Gay man among those seeking Cook County posts

by Shamara Riley and Trudy Ring

Voters will select three Cook County officials in November-state's attorney, recorder of deeds and Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Cook County State's Attorney

For state's attorney, incumbent Jack O'Malley, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Richard Devine, Justice Party candidate R. Eugene Pincham and Harold Washington Party candidate Lawrence C. Redmond.

O'Malley, who is endorsed by IMPACT and the Chicago Log Cabin Republicans, helped draft the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance in 1993; has authorized bereavement and parental leave to partners of lesbigay employees in his office; has a lesbian/gay victim/witness coordinator and community liaison for lesbigay issues in the State's Attorney's office; in 1991, issued a policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in his office; pledges to continue prosecuting all hate crimes if re-elected; supports allowing lesbigays to become foster/ adoptive parents.

His office developed a video and brochures to encourage victim cooperation in domestic violence cases, and he has a Domestic Violence Advisory Council that meets quarterly to pursue strategies to improve prosecutions and services to victims. He appointed Andrea Zopp as the first woman and first African-American to be First Assistant State's Attorney in Cook County.

Devine, who also has gay support-he's endorsed by openly gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.-has pledged to "vigorously" prosecute hate crimes by appointing a diverse task force to help enforce the law, to recruit qualified lesbigays to apply for positions in the State's Attorney's office and to grant domestic-partnership benefits (to the extent allowed by law) for same-sex partners of employees in his office; supports allowing lesbigays to become foster/adoptive parents; is "very concerned" about the enforcement of criminal statutes applicable to allegations of domestic violence between same-sex couples.

He also has won the endorsement of Chicago NOW, which likes his proposals to combat domestic violence. NOW contends O'Malley has not done as much as he promised; O'Malley's campaign countered that O'Malley has done a great deal, and that NOW's endorsement of Devine was a partisan action.

Devine is the attorney for the City of Chicago in a ward remap suit filed by minority aldermen claiming that the ward map dilutes Black and Latino political power. Pincham is a lawyer for the minority aldermen.

Pincham, a former Illinois Appellate judge, said he would sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation within the office. He supports domestic-partnership benefits for partners of lesbigay Cook County employees. He supports a statewide civil-rights bill for lesbigays. He opposes allowing lesbigays to become foster/adoptive parents but opposes discrimination against lesbigays in custody and child visitation cases in which they are the birth parents of the child.

He supports increased funds for research on women's healthcare and supports "enhancing" county affirmative action programs.

Pincham is endorsed by IVI-IPO.

Redmond includes sexual orientation as a category where he will apply the law "fairly and equally." He describes himself as an advocate for battered women. He opposes the death penalty and has pledged to prosecute police officers accused of brutality "to the fullest extent of the law."

Recorder of Deeds

For recorder of deeds, incumbent Democrat Jesse White is being challenged by openly gay Republican Patrick Dwyer, as well as Brenda Hernandez Frias of the Harold Washington Party and Smith Wiiams of the Justice Party.

The race between Dwyer and White has generated substantial controversy within the gay community, as White, a former state legislator, has taken many gay-supportive positions throughout his career, and he was a co-sponsor of state gay-rights legislation. IMPACT cited White's record in endorsing him over Dwyer, and contended that Dwyer does not yet have the record or experience to merit IMPACT's support. IMPACT will support a gay candidate over a straight one if both possess equal merit, but in the recorder's race White is clearly the better candidate, IMPACT Executive Director Garry Huebner said.

Dwyer said he was "very disappointed" not to receive the IMPACT endorsement, and said he is indeed a qualified candidate. He did receive the endorsement of IVI-IPO and the Chicago Log Cabin Republicans, and the personal endorsement of Rick García, executive director of the Illinois Federation for Human Rights. (The Federation's political action committee endorses only in state races.)

In addition to IMPACT, White received the endorsement of Personal PAC.

White has promised to establish a domestic-partnership registry for same-sex couples; he has not yet done so, but said he is "currently reviewing a plan for this registry"; he also said he "does not allow discrimination of any type, including [that based on] sexual orientation" in his office and would sign a policy banning such bias.

Dwyer also supports the creation of a domestic-partnership registry; because the Cook County clerk's office handles marriage licenses, Dwyer suggests it could house the registry. If this is not possible, he could support the creation of such a registry in the recorder's office, he said. He also supports domestic-partnership benefits for same-sex partners of Cook County employees; would sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation; and has pledged to "use the prestige of the office to bring AIDS to the forefront in Cook County."

White said his key priority is "to spearhead a computerization program that will allow easier access to records and increasing revenues." Dwyer said he wants to "clean up the office's patronage system" by reducing outside computer contracts and recruiting top computer personnel to move work in-house.

Both White and Dwyer support county affirmative action programs.

Neither Hernandez Frias nor Wiiams could be reached for comment; however, during the primary, Hernandez Frias said she would have no problem with anti-discrimination protections.

Clerk of the Circuit Court

None of the Circuit Court clerk candidates-incumbent Democrat Aurelia Pucinski, Republican Sandra Stavropoulos, Justice's Janet Dennisor the Harold Washington Party's Philip Morris-responded to OUTLINES' inquiries. However, in the primary Pucinski had told OUTLINES she would support legislation establishing a domestic-partnership registry and that she has a policy prohibiting discrimination in her office. Pucinski is endorsed by IMPACT and IVI-IPO.