October 1st, 1997 to October 7th, 1997

Illinois Federation restructuring begins behind closed doors:

Laird Petersen new exec. director, Rick Garcia remains political director

by P.J. Engelbrecht

In a surprise move Thursday, Sept. 25, the Illinois Federation for Human Rights announced a major organizational restructuring initiative that includes adding administrative staff and expanding the board of directors.

Laird Petersen, formerly development director of Horizons Community Services, was appointed executive director, the title previously held by Rick Garcia, and Garcia will now function as political director.

The Federation is pursuing the new initiatives behind closed doors, claiming the changes reflect "the growing political needs of sexual minorities in Illinois." Federation spokesmen have balked when asked to detail their plans or the group's finances.

Only a few weeks ago, the statewide Federation was still engaged in merger negotiations with IMPACT, the faltering Chicago political action committee. The negotiations have since been abandoned amid private recriminations on all sides, and IMPACT's board voted to fold the organization.

"The silver lining was that it [the merger talks and IMPACT's folding] forced us to reexamine ourselves," Garcia said.

As the merger talks reached critical mass, some sources report Petersen approached the Federation unsolicited, presenting the board with a development plan one source described as "energizing." Petersen himself says the board sought him out. Either way, after "a couple of interviews" with the board, he was hired as executive director virtually on the spot. Petersen's application for employment actually appears to have initiated the administrative restructuring.

Federation Board President Art Johnston has stated that splitting the executive director post into two directorial positions "is a great opportunity to employ the widely recognized organizational and fundraising skills of Laird Petersen and to maximize the invaluable talents of Rick Garcia as a political organizer."

"It's an exciting challenge," said Petersen of his new post. Petersen spent more than five years as director of development at Horizons and has been active in the Chicago lesbigay community for almost two decades. Consensus indicates he is an able fundraiser and an affable professional; he parted from Horizons on good terms and intends to continue volunteering there.

Nevertheless, the manner of Petersen's Federation appointment has raised some eyebrows. The perceived impropriety arises in the Federation board's apparent disregard of public accountability to the lesbigaytrans community. Because the Federation's executive director slot was already occupied when Petersen applied for employment, no search process had been undertaken, much less the open search community-based organizations typically conduct when hiring executives.

"I don't know ... if they spoke with other candidates," Petersen said when queried. The board appointed Petersen Monday, Sept. 22; the hiring was only announced Thursday, two days after he was already on the job.

Johnston defended the board's actions during an Outlines phone interview Sunday: "You don't need to do open searches always. [Petersen] brings special skills that we need, and he's available right now," he said. "We are not a process-oriented organization."

Acting behind closed doors, the Federation board had struck a blow against the very "community support" and involvement which Petersen himself views as critical to Federation's future success. Monday, Petersen discussed his primary goal as executive director: "first and foremost, to bring financial stability to the Federation. ... Fundraising is not [Garcia's] forté. I think we're gonna make a great team, with me building community relations ... [and] a strong base of community support."

There is some disagreement about how Petersen came to be appointed. Does the change of title represent a demotion for Garcia? "Absolutely not," Garcia said Friday, discussing what he considers his lateral move in the Federation hierarchy. "In reality, I've always been the 'political director' here. ... I've not done 'executive director' functions." That is, although Garcia held the title of "executive director," in reality, Johnston himself, as president of the board, has exercised overarching administrative authority. Like Petersen, Garcia described the new dual director arrangement as "a team, with different areas of responsibility [i.e., for Petersen and Garcia]. ... We work hand in hand. I get to do exactly what I want to do here," Garcia said of his political duties.

A long-time activist, Garcia has been a Federation mainspring since the organization was founded in 1992. Garcia will continue to work closely with Lana Hostetler, the Federation's paid lobbyist in Springfield. Petersen, Garcia and Hostetler are the Federation's only salaried staff members, augmented by volunteers.

Not surprisingly, money plays an inobvious but critical role in the Federation initiatives. Petersen's appointment resulted from the Federation board's "realization ... that to accomplish [our] mission, [we] have to have the highest level of financial stability possible," as Johnston characterized the matter. "[With] the organizational experience Petersen has had, his arrival will enable us to get the [political] job done."

Petersen has his work cut out for him. An unspecified number of Federation members pay dues ranging from $25 per year for individual memberships to $100 per month for sustaining members. An annual Christmas tree sale and the annual 'Statement for Freedom' event also generate funds. Miller Brewing and Seagram have provided major corporate sponsorship of the Federation. Even so, the Federation's aggregate funding is evidently insufficient. When asked Friday whether the Federation was experiencing a budget crunch, Garcia replied, "we have serious financial difficulties [because] our fundraising efforts haven't been as good as they could be. ... The community has been extremely generous, [but] we haven't provided the opportunities [for giving]."

Johnston declined to discuss the Federation's finances. He does admit that the Federation has been suffering "a cash flow problem." Petersen was unable to discuss membership numbers or financial specifics; he plans to meet with Federation Treasurer Phil Hannema within the next two weeks (Hannema was out of town at presstime).

Petersen's prime task will be to get control of Federation fiscal management and to improve the neglected bottom line. "The Federation has survived all these years with wonderful volunteers ... but there's a lot of housekeeping to be done [along with] general development," Petersen said.

The "restructuring" announcement followed close on the heels of word that merger negotiations between the Federation and political action committee IMPACT had broken down this summer. In August, the IMPACT board voted to fold the ten-year-old PAC and has begun 'spending down' remaining assets: a $4,000 contribution to State Rep. Larry McKeon's re-election campaign was announced last month.

Consequently, the non-partisan Federation sees its own responsibilities heightened in the pursuit of lesbigaytrans rights in Illinois. Joining forces could have extended the effective efforts of both groups: the Federation already includes a separately constituted PAC arm chaired by John Chester, besides the main lobbying arm and a voter registration/education arm. A cash infusion of IMPACT assets-totalling about $9,000 before the dissolution vote-could have significantly affected Federation finances, depending on the groups' consolidation terms. Assessing the failed merger, Johnston commented that "Excellent people on both sides tried, but it just didn't happen. ... With or without the merger, our community has substantial political needs. ... I'd hoped that the merger would happen, [but now] we're taking the steps that would have to happen on our own."

With IMPACT's demise, the non-partisan Federation hopes to enhance its political reach accordingly. The projected Federation board expansion has yet to assume definite shape, but the plans express a similar theme of fiscal anxiety. Asked how many seats would be added to the board, Johnston said he didn't know; however, he estimated that three to six new seats are likely in the short term. "The current board has served us very well in this phase of our development, but we need to attract people [with varied experience] .. .who recognize financial needs," noted Johnston. Present Federation board members include Johnston, the president; Ellen Meyers, vice president; Phil Hannema, treasurer; Terri Bernstein, John Chester, Glenn Good, Jack Johnson, Eric Rodriguez, and Jim Snyder. Terms are not chronologically limited, so in the near future, board members will be reevaluating their positions; some may withdraw. Johnston commented that the Federation board is "anxious to get the assistance of committed former and current IMPACT friends and supporters."

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