Fewer than 100 days remain until the Nov. 2 elections. The LGBT community and its allies have been relatively quiet about these elections. That silence, if continued, could be deadly for our community.
It won't be enough just to vote in November ( although we all have to do that ) . We must engage friends, families and co-workers directly to tell them about the differences between the candidates.
In the races for, respectively, governor and lieutenant governor, Democrats Pat Quinn and Sheila Simon are running against Republicans Bill Brady and Jason Plummer. These candidates could not be further apart on the issues important to our community.
Quinn and Simon support legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The governor supports civil unions. His running mate supports both civil unions and same-sex marriage. We could debate whether we should push for civil unions or full marriage equality, but if Brady and Plummer are elected it will all be moot. The Republican candidates would not extend any form of legal protection to same-sex couples, no matter what the name or how minimal the rights. Brady co-sponsored a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution to prohibit any recognition of same-sex marriage, civil union or domestic partnership.
Someone trying to protect Brady was able to get the Illinois General Assembly ( ILGA ) website to remove Brady's name as a sponsor from the legislative history for his proposed amendment. Brady introduced SJRCA0095 on Feb. 10, and his name was listed on the ILGA website as its sponsor. Senators can remove their sponsorship of various bills, of course, but when they do so the legislative history is not redacted—voters have a right to know the full history of a piece of legislation. Here, however, someone ( trying to protect Brady from his own bigotry ) whitewashed the legislative record to make him look less extreme.
A copy of the legislation, as introduced, can be found at www.ilga.gov . The bill, as introduced, has Brady's name at the top of it, and the legislative history originally listed Brady as the sponsor. But the legislative history page now online has removed Brady's name. There should be a full investigation to determine who removed Brady's name from that legislative history and any other bills he sponsored. I urge the press to fulfill its watchdog function and investigate this.
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Quinn and Simon fully support equal opportunities for LGBT persons. Brady, on the other hand, voted against non-discrimination and he would today repeal existing protections for sexual orientation now included in the Illinois Human Rights Act. Existing law protects LGBT persons from discrimination in housing, employment, and having access to places of public accommodation. Brady wants to bring back discrimination and make it again lawful to fire LGBT persons and to deny them housing.
Brady's positions on other issues should also trouble Illinois voters. He voted against raising the minimum wage. He voted against the Family Medical Leave Act that gave 12 weeks off to care for an infant or family member. He opposes abortion even for women who are victims of rape. And, regarding public education, Brady would require teachers to tell students that evolution is only a theory. He would cut taxes but offers no solutions on how Illinois can escape its budget crisis.
If LGBT voters sit out this election, we may end up with a Republican governor who would veto every piece of legislation that favored our community and our families. We have to vote, obviously. But we must also use what's left of these less than 100 days to be sure that our friends, families and colleagues know about the differences between the candidates. This race really is about our lives.
Mark E. Wojcik
Professor of Law
The John Marshall Law School
