In a turn of events that one long-time LGBT rights activist said could be "a harbinger of things to come" in the years ahead, the right-wing Illinois Family Institute ( IFI ), on Dec. 1, publicly denounced openly gay members of the Illinois Human Rights Commission ( IHRC ).
Those IHRC members—Terry Cosgrove, who heads the pro-choice Personal PAC organization, and Duke Alden, an Aon executive who is also board chair for Howard Brown Health—were part of a three-person panel that decided against reviewing a finding against bed and breakfast owner Jim Walder, who had refused to let his place of business be used for a same-sex civil union ceremony in 2011.
In a Dec. 1 statement, IPI said Cosgrove and Alden should have been excluded from that panel since they are gay.
The statement said, "So, after learning a bit more about the commissioners who made the decision on the Wathen's complaint, can anyone read this statement from the Illinois Human Rights Commission with a straight face: 'The Commission provides a neutral forum for resolving complaints of discrimination filed under the Illinois Human Rights Act. ... Our primary responsibility is to make impartial determinations of whether there has been unlawful discrimination, as defined by the Illinois Human Rights Act.'"
Equality Illinois co-founder Art Johnston said that he feared such actions from the right-wing could be a sign of things to come, since many feel emboldened following the Nov. 2016 election.
"This is a criticism aimed squarely at the gay community," said Johnston, who likened the criticism of Cosgrove and Alden to Donald Trump's criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel. "They are aggressively targeting us. [IFI] hasn't raised a question if a commissioner who is a person of color renders a decision on a case involving a person of color. Nobody [from IFI]raises a question then."
When reached for comment, Cosgrove said Commissioners are prohibited from discussing the Commission's business publicly.
Note: An earlier version of this story erroneously referred to the Illinois Policy Institute, not the Illinois Family Institute. Windy City Times regrets the error.
