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  WINDY CITY TIMES

Mike Quigley: Still in the fight
Extended for the Online Edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis
2009-06-24

This article shared 3102 times since Wed Jun 24, 2009
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"Change" has become quite the keyword over the last few months—and few people would know more about that than Mike Quigley. Since being elected a United States Congressman earlier this year ( and leaving his post as Cook County commissioner ) , Quigley has become part of a whole new world of heavy hitters that includes current president ( and fellow Illinoisan ) Barack Obama.

However, Quigley has not changed in some ways: He is still a huge Chicago Cubs fan, he has not lost his laid-back demeanor—and he insists that he is still fighting for LGBT rights. ( The day prior to our conversation, Quigley sent a letter to Obama that urged him to recognize same-sex married couples in the 2010 Census.

In an interview with Windy City Times at the restaurant Julius Meinl, 3601 N. Southport, Quigley talked about his home away from home, LGBT-related topics and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. Windy City Times: What's been the biggest change since moving to the U.S. House?

Mike Quigley: Personally and professionally, it's been two different things. Personally, they don't know how to make the food nearly as good in D.C. You can't get a decent pizza, you can't get a good Italian beef, Chinese food, Ann Sather's rolls. [ Also, ] being away from family and friends is an adjustment, personally.

Professionally, there are some similarities and some differences. On reform, if I do my job well here I can save millions; if I do my job well in Washington, I can save billions. And being on the Reform Committee, we're reviewing military procurement, [ for example ] . Here, it was waste, reform and corruption; in D.C., it's waste, reform and corruption—but the decimal point goes way over to the right. And there are more issues than there are here—there, you have two wars and a recession you're responsible for, as well as homeland security. I was a criminal defense attorney here, and there I'm on the Judiciary Committee, so we had to actually deal with the impeachment of a federal judge.

But there are parallels. I'm in D.C., talking about how there isn't enough funding for capital-murder cases literally the same day that the public defender was threatening to withdraw from murder cases in Cook County because there's no money.

The dollar figures are bigger in D.C.—and there are so many more players there. It took me a while to get the hang of things in Cook County: "Who are your friends? Who votes which way?" It's not a complaint, but the difference is you get thrown in the middle of it [ in D.C. ] , and a lot of this stuff people get because they've been there so long.

You've heard that D.C. is Hollywod for ugly people? [ Interviewer nods. ] They're still celebrities, so the people you deal with are nationally known, and they have extraordinary reputations. So if I talk with my LGBT advisory caucus here, they're good people; in D.C., I'm talking with [ openly gay U.S. Reps. ] Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin—and they're so gracious.

WCT: That must seem so surreal.

Aviva Gibbs [ Quigley's communications director ] : It's like fantasy land for wonks.

MQ: It's a fantasy camp for policymakers. The third week I was there, we were working on the civil-rights history bill. When it passed, [ U.S. Rep. ] John Lewis and [ President ] Barack Obama invited me to the White House for a bill-signing. So before I was squabbling with the usual suspects here, and now I'm in the Oval Office with John Lewis, who's a legend, and Barack Obama, signing a civil-rights history bill. I'm like, "What am I doing here?"

WCT: The term of a U.S. representative is only two years long. Considering you spend half your time running for re-election, can you really get a lot accomplished?

MQ: Well, the short election cycle forces you to be responsible to your constituents; that's the positive part. The negative part is that almost all the members of Congress spend 3-4 hours a day trying to raise money. The folks in those swing districts and those new target frontline members... It'd be better if people could spend their time on what ails the nation. You're spending so much time campaigning, it does take time away from every legislator's service.

And some people are thinking short-term when our problems are long-term. The best example of that is global warming. A lot of our environmental problems we just blew off and thought that would just affect our children or our children's children. I think you have a moral responsibility to them as well, but if you're inherently practical you just think about next week's vote and when you're re-elected the following spring, you can blow off future generations.

WCT: Earlier, you mentioned an LGBT advisory council. Could you talk a bit about that?

MQ: It's just in formation. We asked Brandon Neese to run it, and he started putting folks together. We're still in the initial process of asking people to participate; we only got sworn in weeks ago. In the meantime, I don't hesitate to ask folks their opinions.

WCT: And what sort of feedback are you getting?

MQ: The feedback is interest in legislation. They want to know what the conventional wisdom is, why haven't we tried to repeal DOMA [ the Defense of Marriage Act ] yet... When you get there and talk with leaders on the floor, you get very practical answers—not the administration's defense, but here's why they're focusing on this first, time frames, [ etc. ] A lot of the interest is on certain issues, like DOMA, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell [ DADT ] " and partner benefits. They need a little input back from D.C. Then there's an attempt to get funding for HIV/AIDS.

WCT: A lot of leaders in the LGBT community were quite angry when the Obama administration recently filed a motion that defends DOMA. Also, some individuals felt that Obama's proclamation of June as LGBT Pride Month was a hollow gesture because they feel he really hasn't done anything for the community. What would you say to those people?

MQ: I would tell them that I was equally disappointed in the filings, and I am making that clear with the administration, as others are. So I recognize that this is a mistake and we have to do better; the administration has to do better. But I guess my positive response would be that it is early, there are many more fights and there are many more opportunities to do the right thing. There are two wars and a recession, global warming and so many other issues [ as well ] .

[ Regarding ] "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," here's what strikes me: On [ June 15 ] , I [ went ] to Walter Reed, and there you visit soldiers who put everything on the line, and many of them have lost arms and legs. It's one of America's great hypocrises that you have these people who put their bodies on the line and, if [ a guy ] has a boyfriend, [ he's ] not good enough for it.

What's interesting is this: While they're the majority, you have a lot of people who aren't your friends even though they're Dems. You've got Blue Dogs, for example; I was always told they're conservative on fiscal issues, but they're conservative on all issues.

If you look at the majority numbers in the House, we should be able to do a lot of things; unfortunately, I don't see that. In the Senate, it's worse. We passed a credit-card reform bill in the House; it goes over to the Senate—and the only way they can get it passed is to put in a measure that says it's OK to bring a gun into a national park. We didn't have enough votes to change it when it came back, even though I voted against having guns in national parks. Why would you need a gun [ there ] ?

WCT: So, do you feel confident that bills such as DOMA and DADT will be repealed?

MQ: I do think so. I do have faith that we're going in that direction. What I've learned in 27 years of politics is that sometimes you win because you have more than one reason or sound argument supporting you. I would like to appeal to someone's conscience that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is morally repugnant; [ repealing that ] will succeed.

With others, you gotta sell them something else, too. Like with the Arabic translators who were [ discharged under DADT ] : That makes us less safe. Jon Stewart said, " [ So it was OK to waterboard a guy over 80 times, but God forbid the guy who could understand what that prick was saying has a boyfriend. ] " Eventually, our country does the right thing—but sometimes it takes them longer than it should.

WCT: Let me pose a hypothetical: Let's say you eye a higher office. Do you think that you'd have a lot of trouble winning because some might see you as too radical or even liberal?

MQ: You know, it's always been an interesting mix for me. They've always seen me as an extraordinary progressive on rights issues, on the environment, on choice, on gun control. So now I've been able to succeed with others because I was equally good on reform issues and on taxes. No one's ever lost an election being good on human-rights [ issues ] , I don't care where you're from. I think people also respect you when you're not wavering [ during ] election cycles. I think you can succeed if you're straightforward.

WCT: I take it that you're still following local politics...

MQ: Why do you think I fought so hard to get on the Reform Committee? The jokes on late-night TV, watching Blagojevich on Saturday Night Live and seeing his wife in the jungle eating tarantulas and talking about how mistreated he's been—and the national guys say, "Hunting for corruption in Illinois is like hunting for cows; they come up and moo." So I had to be mindful of that and focus efforts on global problems. If we can make big government run more efficiently, I can help Center on Halsted more; I can do more.

Obama, in Denver, said that we have to restructure, streamline and consolidate our government, because we don't have unlimited resources. What he was saying is, "I can't be like FDR. We can do some things to stimulate the economy, but we don't have unlimited money. Our mission matters—we're not the Republicans—but to do the things you want me to do, we're going to have to make the government more efficient." So if I can get that accomplished in D.C., it's about making resources more available for everyone.

WCT: Do you feel that some Democrats take the LGBT vote for granted?

MQ: [ Nods ] Absolutely. I think some people think, "Well, I gave you that. That should hold you for four years." In some cases here, they just want [ the LGBT community ] to go away. They're like, "Hey, I just barely got here. I'm from a conservative district so please keep these votes away from me." I'm sure that's what they're telling their administrations: "Don't make me vote on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' or DOMA." We voted to impeach a federal judge who sexually assaulted his workers in his courtroom. Two of the Republicans both said unbelievably ridiculous things like, "Maybe his orientation was different." As badly as some Democrats take the vote for granted, some Republicans have been beyond contemptible—although some Republicans don't take the vote for granted.

WCT: There's going to be an LGBT march on Washington, D.C., in October. Have you heard about this? Do you plan to march?

MQ: I'd love to. I'd be delighted.

This should be what people do, anyway. As a member of Congress, it's helps more [ being in this position ] . I'm very respectful [ of the LGBT community ] .

WCT: A few minutes ago, I asked you about Cook County politics. Do you have any thoughts about Todd Stroger running again for Cook County board president?

MQ: I think it would be a mistake. When Todd got into office, I tried to help him—and here's why. I did not want to be the person trying to sabotage the guy, so I sent one of the best people I know, Jennifer Koehler, to try to help him run the administration. We helped him with a few issues, and he—quite frankly—isn't up to the job. He didn't surround himself with the right folks [ and ] he didn't understand what the job entailed. His father [ John Stroger ] , even if you disagreed with him, understood government; people underestimated John Stroger at times. For a man who came from Arkansas with nothing, [ John ] really built something special, and he had a passion for government. For the life of me, I'm not sure what Todd's assets are. If [ John ] was in any other profession, I'm not sure what Todd would be doing right now.

As for [ Commissioner ] Tony [ Peraica ] , he doesn't know what he wants to be. When I put in a measure to welcome the Gay Games—the Games I played in—he made a special effort to take his name off. What the hell is that? I thought he could be very petty and small, and a guy who doesn't care about the mission.

The important thing is to make the public understand that the mission matters. You want three hospitals? Then they better be run well, because no other system in this country has three hospitals. Instead, you wonder if enough people care to make the tough choices.

WCT: You sent a letter to President Obama about including same-sex married couples in the 2010 census.

MQ: Yes. When you get to D.C., you learn that a letter from a congressman matters. It's a way of letting him know I feel.

It's a decision he can make unilaterally. To me, it's not just a matter of respect. The census matters for a lot of reasons. It dictates policy and where tax dollars go, to a large extent. If we're going to ignore a reality, we're not going to spend tax dollars well. It's beyond comprehension that you feel you can discriminate and cheat people out of their tax dollars.

For more on U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, see quigley.house.gov .


This article shared 3102 times since Wed Jun 24, 2009
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