In the liberal bubble that is Chicago, members of the LGBT community routinely run for political office. However, it's a relative rarity out in the suburbs, where views traditionally are more conservative.
Bill Downs Jr. is that rare individual, running against incumbent Republican David McSweeney to represent the 52nd District.
Windy City Times: I tried finding material about you online, but there isn't much. Tell me about yourself.
Bill Downs Jr.: [Laughs] Yeah, I'm like a ghost. I have 800-900 contacts on LinkedIn, but that's about it.
I was married to my husband, Michael; the year he died was our 25th anniversary. We lived out in Cary, Illinois, for [more than 20] years—we moved out there in 1991 and he died of cancer in 2012. We also raised Michael's nephew as our son; he's now 30.
Michael worked for Bank of America his entire career, and I worked for HSBC for most of mine. After Michael got sick, I stayed home with him, went to the Mayo Clinic with him and worked as a consulant. I'm now involved with the manufacturing industry, and have been there for over two years.
Michael and I had a civil union, and then decided to have a wedding on our anniversary: Oct. 16. We met in 1987 in Hunters—back when they didn't card; I was 19 and he was 32. We fell in love and moved out to the suburbs.
WCT: How did your parents react?
BDJ: My dad was great; he had no issues with it. My mom, when she found out I was gay ( through a love letter my second boyfriend sent me ), gave me one of those "we'll get your help" [lectures]. She was worried I was destined for what the media showed of gays on television—the parades. I told her I knew who I was. She wasn't happy, but now she's totally changed. In fact, she's told my brother—who's been married and divorced a couple times—"I wish you were gay and settled down." [Smiles] I have a weird family. My mom is actually very proud of me now.
WCT: Let's talk about Cary and the district you're running to representing.
BDJ: It's very suburban. It's very Republican; even the neighbors I've known for 23 years would not sign my petition, and I've spent holidays with them. With that being said, trying to get on the ballot.
Marriage equality affected me, because civil unions were such a gray area. [I was advised] to talk with David McSweeney [Downs' incumbent opponent], so I called David's office. I was told they'd put me on the agenda for December; mind you, it was July when I called. So I stopped by the office, wrote emails. After not making any headway, some friends and I went to the town hall. ( I got an invite to it because I registered one time as a Republican. )
We asked him how he was going to vote on the upcoming marriage bill; he said, "I'll vote no." Even straight married couples were yelling at him, and he said, "No, this is how I'm going to vote. This is what I believe in." People were yelling, "You work for us," and he said, "No."
So we also talked about health care and the teachers' pensions ( because he was against it ). We left, and one of the Democratic leads came around to our area. After being told the Democrats lost their candidate, she asked if anyone might be interested in running—and I was recommended. We had one month to get 500 signatures.
WCT: What other cities are in this district?
BDJ: So, you have Barrington and South Barrington. Then you go up a little bit north and you have a part of Barrington that's also Lake County. Then it goes up to Wauconda back through Island Lake; then, it hits Cary, Crystal Lake and Algonquin—and it should wrap back up, but it skips Carpentersville, which is very Democratic, back into Barrington Hills. So the district is very Republican.
WCT: What's your platform?
BDJ: So the issues there revolve around teachers' pensions, for example. They want to know what's going on—we can't take those away; they were promised those pensions. You have to lay out something; there are some bills going through, but I don't think everyone's on board.
They need to come up with something that's equitable. They have to draw a line in the sand. People below the state get into a 401( k ) plan and get the old Marshall pension; anyone new coming in can be put into a regular 401( k )-type plan and just fund it.
WCT: Of course, the economy is a major issue. What is being discussed in your district?
BDJ: The majority of the issue is in McHenry County, which is a unique county. The rest of the county is mainly agricultural, but the southwest portion [McHenry] is mainly retail.
We have an infrastructure problem. We don't have enough of it to support the people who live there: Internet, roads, power plants, water—sometimes we have water shortages. We don't have enough bandwidth to take us where we need to go. We have to build things to make things better for our kids.
One of the other big issues is taxes; they continue to creep up. When I first got my home, it was $3,800—now my annual tax is about $9,000. People are concerned with property taxes, and the fact that the value [of the homes] has gone down.
Now I hear that [Springfield] is trying to take the teachers' pensions and push them onto the homeowners. That's not fair. It's not a shell game. I'm pretty financially conservative and I think the government needs to spend money the right way. I don't want our state to be doomed.
WCT: By the way, have you debated McSweeney at all?
BDJ: No, I have not. I was asked to one but, unfortunately, I was out of town at the time.
WCT: Besides talking with us, how are you getting your name out there?
BDJ: Well, I was told to go out and campaign for money. I really don't like that platform because I don't want people saying, "Oh, I donated to your campaign—wink, wink, wink—and now I want you to vote for this." I don't think that's how it should go; it should be about who has the best platform and who's best for the job.
I also am on the "friends and family" plan. I'm relying on them to get the word out about me.
WCT: Honestly, how do you assess your chances Nov. 4?
BDJ: Well, I'm trying to get my name out there to see where we land. We came into this game really late and I don't have the bankroll. If I don't win, I'm making a serious run in 2016.
Visit www.BillDownsJr.com or follow him on Twitter @billdownsjr.
