Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

ELECTIONS 2014 Toni Berrios: A fight beyond marriage
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Kate Sosin, Windy City Times
2014-03-11

This article shared 3795 times since Tue Mar 11, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


An LGBT activist once quipped of 39th Dist. Illinois Rep. Maria Antonia "Toni" Berrios, "She goes so far back with them, it seems like they made deals in the womb."

He wasn't talking about Berrios' political connections. He was talking about her connections to LGBT advocates in her district.

Berrios has strong ties to Chicago's LGBT community. She is a supporter of Humboldt Park-based HIV/AIDS service organization VIDA/Sida, and she is running endorsed by Equality Illinois ( EQIL practice is to endorse pro-LGBT incumbents, even if their challengers are strong on LGBT issues ).

But not everyone in the LGBT community has backed Berrios in what is sure to be one of the most-watched races in Illinois this year. Two years ago, Berrios' Democractic challenger, Will Guzzardi, accused her of being weak in her support of same-sex marriage. He also alleged she was part of the political machine, in part because her father, Joe Berrios, is the Cook County assessor. Berrios squeaked past Guzzardi with just 125 votes to spare, and the two are set to face off again this election season.

Still, Berrios was a strong support of marriage equality the last two years, and she told Windy City Times that after more than a decade in office, she still wants to fight for her district. WCT caught up with Berrios to talk about what issues she thinks face LGBTs after marriage in Illinois and how she feels about criticisms that she is part of the machine.

Windy City Times: So let's talk first about marriage. How did you feel when the bill passed?

Toni Berrios: I was overjoyed. I knew the time had come, and I felt relief that we finally passed marriage equality, just to see everyone's faces and knowing how hard we all were working on this bill, on our colleagues just talking to them, asking them to help us on this vote. It felt like we finally accomplished something good at the end of the year.

WCT: But of course, it has been a tough few years in Illinois. What are your big legislative priorities down the road?

Toni Berrios: Education has always been a really big issue for me as the daughter of a Chicago Public School teacher—my mom just retired two years ago from teaching at the exact same school her entire educational career. It's always been really important to me to see what the students need in the classroom. Seeing her take her own money to pay for items that were needed in her classroom was heartbreaking…

A moratorium on school closings. That was huge last year. We had a resolution asking the city to stop closing our public schools. So hopefully, we don't have to go down that road this year, but I knows schools on my Northwest end are actually overcrowded. So we have to start working with that issue, too. And I meet with my principals on a regular basis, so that way I can hear what's going on first-hand in their immediate environment.

WCT: Can you talk about your stance on charters?

Toni Berrios: I am not in full support of them. We know they are not held to the same standards as our Chicago Public Schools. And they can let a student go right before testing just because they don't want the schools to go down, and that's not fair. Students deserve a good education, no matter what environment they're in.

WCT: In this race and in the last one against Will Guzzardi, you were billed as a political insider, as part of the Democratic machine. How do you respond to that criticism?

Toni Berrios: I've been in this for 10 years now. In 10 years, you meet a lot of people, and you get to stand your own ground. My record shows that I do stand my own ground. I did not vote with the speaker [Michael Madigan] on the pension bill. I did not vote for fracking here in Illinois. I went against the corporations on that. I feel my record does show I stand for my district. I vote on the issues important to my district. And when it comes to the people, I've been in for 10 years, so I do know quite a few people. My dad is a great mentor, but I am the state rep. I am the one in Springfield, casting the vote, listening to constituents and trying to help my community as best I can.

WCT: I'm wondering, after all your time in Springfield, do you feel like change is still possible down there? Do you want to change the culture there?

Toni Berrios: I think it's very possible. We don't want to change everything, but in the last election cycle we had over 25 freshman come into the House, many younger individuals. I think now, I have a group that actually wants to work. So I do see things moving forward.

WCT: With marriage equality passed, what do you see as the biggest issues facing LGBT Illinoisans?

Toni Berrios: We want to make sure people have access to healthcare, LGBT and non-LGBT, and safety. We don't want anyone bullied. We don't want hate crimes. I think these are all issues that are important to all of us that we can continue to work on.

WCT: After so many years in this job, why does it appeal to you?

Toni Berrios: It's the little things. It's the giving back. It's the bringing resources to the community.

Visit toniberrios.com .

Also see Windy City Times printable election chart at www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/WCT_2014_primarychartsforweb.pdf .


This article shared 3795 times since Tue Mar 11, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

NATIONAL Political candidates, flag controversy, HRC gala, New York Times, Disney 2024-03-29
- In California, of the historic 30 LGBTQ+ legislative candidates who ran in the March 5 primary, more than half are moving on to the fall ballot, The Bay Area Reporter noted. Based on the still unofficial ...


Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill 2024-03-27
- On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

Kara Swisher talks truth, power in tech at Chicago Humanities event 2024-03-25
- Lesbian author, award-winning journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher spoke about truth and power in the tech industry through the lens of her most recent book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, March 21 at First ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors 2024-03-24
- On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Chicago alder proposes renaming street after Obama 2024-03-22
- Openly gay Black Chicago Ald. Lamont Robinson has proposed renaming Columbus Drive after former U.S. President and city resident Barack Obama, media outlets noted. The street stretches through the Loop from East Grand Avenue to DuSable ...


Gay News

Congressional Equality Caucus on FY24 bills passing the house 2024-03-22
--From a press release - WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), released the following statement after the House successfully passed the final funding bills for Fiscal Year ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist 2024-03-21
- Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ candidates Marcelino Garcia, Precious Brady Davis win primary elections to keep MWRD seats 2024-03-21
- Marcelino Garcia and Precious Brady-Davis, the two openly LGBTQ+ incumbents in the race to keep their seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), won their primary elections and will move on to the general this ...


Gay News

Small LGBTQ+ candidate pool nevertheless scores some important victories March 19 2024-03-20
- Relatively few openly LGBTQ+ candidates were running in the March 19 Illinois Primary Election. But there were some significant contests in play at the local, state and federal levels. Openly gay Ald. Ray Lopez (15th Ward) ...


Gay News

Gay Irish prime minister to step down 2024-03-20
- In a surprise move, openly gay Irish Prime Minister (or Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar has announced his resignation, citing "personal and political, but mainly political reasons," according to CNN. Varadkar said he felt he was no longer ...


Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course 2024-03-18
- Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15
- In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood 2024-03-13
- LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77 2024-03-12
- On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.