The three Republicans who crossed party lines to vote "yes" to gay marriage in Illinois all survived challenges in their party primaries March 18.
State Rep. Ron Sandak, Downers Grove, won with an extremely narrow victory—just over 150 votes. Of the three Republicans, he had the most difficult campaign and was indeed taken to task for the vote by his opponent, Downers Grove social studies teacher Keith Matune. Matune's supporters distributed campaign flyers that showed Sandack speaking at a rally in support of marriage equality, and implied that he was a radical because he was standing next to Andy Thayer of Gay Liberation Network. Sandack said that he supported marriage equality because it was a positive reflection of "family values."
"I expected it to be close," Sandack told Chicago Tribune March 19. "This was an extremely difficult race. There were clear issues of divide. I've been trying to expand the party's base and get more people into the party and focus on the issues that affect all families, which is the financial future of the state."
State Rep. Ed Sullivan, Mundelein, beat his opponent, Bob Bednar of Mundelein, who is Treasurer of the Lake County Republican Party. Sullivan announced his support for marriage equality in April 2013, and has said that his mother-in-law is a lesbian.
State Rep. Tom Cross, Oswego, gave up his seat to run for the office of State Treasurer, which is being vacated by Dan Rutherford. Cross won nearly 57 percent of the vote in his race against Bob Grogan, a DuPage County auditor from Downers Grove, Chicago Tribune reported. He next faces Democratic state Sen. Mike Frerichs for the Treasurer's post. Grogan told the Daily Herald in November that he would not make an issue of the marriage vote, as he felt it did not pertain to the State Treasurer's duties.
Marc Solomon, national campaign director of the marriage equality organization Freedom to Marry, thanked Illinois rights and political organizations in a March 19 statement.
"Last night, Illinois Republican lawmakers who voted for the freedom to marry batted a thousand in the GOP primaries," said Solomon. "Their victories—three out of three—in spite of desperate and ugly attacks from opponents of equality show that using marriage as a wedge issue no longer works and that backing conservative principles of freedom, family, and individual liberty will prevail. Our side was smart and strategic in these races and stood up for those who stood with us. Thanks to Equality Illinois and the Illinois Unity PAC for their leadership."
Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, added in a statement, "The primary victories guarantee that the issues important to LGBT voters, our allies and fair-minded Illinoisans will be well-represented in the fall campaign. Now we must build on our efforts and work even harder to ensure that Illinois remains a pro-equality state after the Nov. 4 general election. This is no time to let down our guard in the belief that our hard-fought victories and future advancement are guaranteed."
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Ferrand sues law firm over botched election filing at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Ferrand-sues-law-firm-over-botched-election-filing/46727.html .
Few surprises dot Illinois primary elections, News analysis by Andrew Davis and Matt Simonette 2014-03-19 at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Few-surprises-dot-Illinois-primary-elections-/46664.html .
