News & Commentary

By now, you may know that the legislative session ended on Sunday evening without a final vote in the Illinois House of Representatives on establishing fairness lesbian and gay couples in our state through the adoption of civil unions. While we are disappointed that the measure did not progress to the Illinois Senate, and ultimately to the Governor, some progress was made during this difficult and historic session.We saw an increase during the past few months in the number of state representatives who were willing to express their full and public support for the civil union measure. This is due in no small measure to the hard work of our lobbyists in Springfield, Mary Dixon and James Ferg-Cadima, and the hundreds of ACLU of Illinois members who took the time to write letters, send e-mail messages, place telephone calls and visit the offices of their state representative pointing out the fundamental importance of this proposal. We are closer today to reaching fairness for our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues and our family members in gay and lesbian relationships than we were in January - despite the distractions caused by the impeachment and removal of a sitting government and a fierce debate over tax increases and budget deficits.Our fight for fundamental fairness goes on, and we look forward to the day when equality and fairness is written into these policies and all families in our state enjoy the same, critical legal protections. To that end, we will be back in touch with you - sooner, rather than later - with plans for a push aimed at securing passage during the November "veto" session of the legislature.Thank you again for all your support and your help,Jill

ACLU

Among the many issues we are working on this session in Springfield this year is a measure that helps create a safe environment for all students in our public schools. House Bill 2547, if it becomes law, will make it illegal for a school to bully or otherwise discriminate against students because of their disability status, race, religion or sexual orientation. The bill passed unanimously (17 to 0) out of the Judiciary I - Civil Law Committee of the Illinois House this week.

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A personal note:I walked down the aisle amid

Yesterday, I turned a little of my worry about tomorrow's election into action by making some calls to support the No on 8 Campaign. In case you've missed it, Proposition 8 is the California proposition that will take away the fundamental right to marry from lesbian and gay persons. The direct effect of Prop 8, if successful, is to stop marriages in California, but indirectly its success will do damage throughout our country, including in Illinois. The proponents of Prop 8 certainly see it that way. That's why groups from outside of California, such as Focus on the Family in Colorado, are among the largest donors to support the passage of Prop 8. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette: