On Dec. 1, the Illinois Senate passed a measure allowing for civil unions for same-sex couples. That evening, Windy City Times talked with one of the key figures in the fight for this historic development—Equality Illinois' Rick Garcia.
Windy City Times: How are you?
Rick Garcia: I am "exhaustimicated." [ Laughs ] What two days we've had!
WCT: Besides being "exhaustimcated," what else are you feeling?
RG: When you're in that high-intensity environment—putting the votes together, making sure they're going to happen—you don't have time to feel anything; you just have to get things gone. But now that things have settled, I feel ecstatic. I'm very, very proud of the work we've done, and I'm thrilled that, right here in the heart of heartland, a legislature has affirmed same-sex couples and their rights.
WCT: When did you know it was actually going to happen?
RG: You know when I knew it was going to happen? When I looked up and the board and saw the numbers. I've been through this for many, many years [ laughs ] and you think you have the votes; then it either doesn't come up for a vote or you're a couple votes shy. So you know it's real when you sit there and see 62 [ the number of votes in favor of the measure in the state House ] . You say, "Hallelujah!" and go across the hall, and the same thing.
But the thing that gave me great hope and made me excited: It was when the speaker of the house, the president of the senate and the governor [ brought ] this issue up last week, saying, "We have to do it. We have to do it." With that kind of support, you can't go wrong.
WCT: Do you know when Gov. Quinn is going to sign the measure?
RG: We don't know. I spoke to the governor this afternoon before I left and he said that the bill has to get to him, and that takes time. Then he has to figure out the appropriate place and the appropriate time.
WCT: I have to ask you this because you have fought for LGBT rights for so long. How does this development compare with passing the amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act?
RG: That amendment took 30 years, and this has taken about five. The arguments this time around were not the arguments we had in the '80s and '90s, when people would talk about ( generally speaking ) the morality of homosexuality, etc. This time, it's all about politics: "Does my district support this? Is this going to hurt me?" So the conversation's different.
And now, legislator after legislator talks about "my gay daughter, my gay brother." I used to say this—and today bears it out—but the most politically powerful thing gay people can do is to come out to family and friends. That is the most powerful thing.
And there's something else, and this is internally with Equality Illinois. In the late '90s, we were an organization of two people and a board of directors. We were struggling. Now, we have a field director—which we've never had before, and she's been around for about a year and a half; her name is Caroline Staerk, and she comes from a union background. She's done a bang-up job in doing the hard, nitty-gritty political work that it takes to [ achieve ] these successes. She's organized constituents, clergy—and that's what it takes to get the job done. I think that made all the difference in the world.
WCT: I know that the bill just passed, but how soon will the fight start for marriage equality?
RG: There is an equal-marriage bill that has been introduced in the General Assembly. I don't know when the sponsor, Greg Harris, plans to re-introduce it. But I will say this: Equality Illinois is unequivocal in our support of equal marriage rights. We believe in one set of rules—one yardstick—for everyone. And we never viewed a civil-union bill as an "either/or" or settling for second best. We've always viewed this as a stopgap measure to provide necessary recognition and protection to people who need it now. We also view—and this is one thing our opponents and I agree on—that we ultimately want same-sex marriage.
This goes into effect July 1. People will have their civil unions, and then we will look at the situation. We'll see if civil unions provide the equality we really seek. If they do not, then we'll move forward. I'm not looking at a six-month plan for equal marriage in Illinois; it's a multiyear plan. But what I do know is that today we are steps ahead of almost anyone around us—except for Iowa [ which has marriage equality ] .
WCT: Was there anything you wanted to add?
RG: Again, I just go back to how significant this is—that it happened in the heart of the heartland. I think that's very telling; Illinoisans are middle-of-the-road, very steadfast folks, so I think that bodes well for our community across the country.
I know that, for us, having a strong field operation made all the difference in the world but we had sponsors who were unparalleled. Greg Harris and [ state Sen. David ] Koehler could not have been better sponsors; even [ state Senate President ] John Cullerton said that today. They're thoughtful, and neither loses his cool; if they do, they don't go crazy and scream at people. And Greg Harris did an excellent job of talking with his colleagues —explaining the bill in great detail and being respectful of those who disagreed with him. He did a phenomenal job, and Sen. Koehler did the same thing in the same thing. They were two of the best choices we ever could have made for sponsors of this legislation.
Also, we had 20 clergymembers who came from all over the state yesterday, and I think that helped us because people couldn't say the church was against us. It's all incremental, and it's about putting the package together.
And I usually don't talk like this, but I will say that I worked my ass off—and sometimes under very difficult situations with very difficult people.
