* From the Gay Liberation Network calendar page…
Saturday, October 26 — Pass the Damn Bill NOW! Protest in front of Rep. Greg Harris’s district office in Chicago — 2 PM at 1967 W. Montrose Avenue. The House Democratic Caucus can pass the marriage equality bill if they insist on a party line vote, which so far Speaker Mike Madigan and Reg. Harris have refused to do. We will protest the continuing failure of the House Democrats to live up to alleged principles of supporting equality.
* TowleRoad has more…
GLN has been unique in publicly targeting the Democratic caucus, and especially House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago), for the failure of the bill, SB10, during the spring session and its uncertain fate in the current session.
“Because Speaker Madigan is so powerful, controlling access to jobs and contracts, most organizations are afraid to take him on and bluntly place blame where it’s due,” said GLN co-founder Andy Thayer. “Madigan controls the House as surely as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel controls the City Council. When Madigan has wanted a party-line vote for far less popular measures, like gifts to the wealthy and well-connected, he’s had no problem ramming them through the House. Like it or not, and mostly not, that’s the way that politics works in this state.”
Unlike pension “reform” and subsidies to already wealthy businesses that pay few, if any taxes, legislation favoring equal marriage rights in Illinois is overwhelmingly popular, with proponents outnumbering opponents by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to a February Crain’s Chicago Business poll.
* Ormsby provides some context…
In June, the group organized a protest of the Southwest Side office of House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), who supports the bill, drawing a puny assembly of 18 protesters. At the time, a group spokesman claimed success for that protest by the number of car “honks” heard on busy Pulaski Avenue. […]
On Tuesday, after the pro-equal marriage rights demonstration in Springfield, Thayer and his handful of followers dropped a banner “Pass Senate Bill 10 Now” in front of Madigan’s office in the Capitol Building rotunda.
It is unclear whether Thayer’s group plans to protest at the offices of bill opponents.
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Quinn hires fiery CTU spokesperson
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From NBC5…
Governor Pat Quinn is bringing on a new member to his communications team.
Stephanie Gadlin will leave the Chicago Teachers Union where she served as spokesman to become the Senior Communications Manager for the governor’s office.
Brooke Anderson, Quinn’s Communications Director says Gadlin is “a dynamic communicator and we are really excited to have her on board.”
* The CTU, eh? A few Gadlin quotes…
Some critics, like Stephanie Gadlin of the Chicago Teachers Union, say that Emanuel lost a lot of support after a record 50 school closings in June. The city said it could no longer afford to keep the schools open because they were low-performing and underutilized.
Many of the schools were located in predominantly African-American communities and bore the names of black icons like Benjamin Banneker, the self-educated astronomer; gospel singer Mahalia Jackson; and Daniel Hale Williams, the general surgeon.
“We don’t have many institutions, but we take great pride in our schools,” Gadlin, communications director at the teachers union, told The Root. “Now here comes Mr. Mayor shutting them down, and people are angry. The good news is that he has a black page in his 2015 campaign manual.”
And…
“This board is a rubber stamp that acts at the behest of City Hall,” said CTU spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin. “There may be some symbolic ‘no’ votes, to give an appearance that they are thinking independently. But make no mistake about this, they take their cues from the fifth floor of City Hall. Their own independent hearing officers have said 14 schools need to come off the list. What has been the mayor’s response? He’s not budging. Which means his board won’t either.”
And…
Stephanie Gadlin, spokeswoman for the Chicago Teachers Unions, said union president Karen Lewis considers the mayor’s absence “cowardly.”
“Karen has said it’s cowardly to do this and shows a lack of leadership on behalf of the mayor,” Gadlin said.
And…
CTU spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin described the mayor’s collaboration with the Education Action Group Foundation as odd. “Their new video is little more than right-wing propaganda that contributes nothing to the education debate in our city,” she said.
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Couple of the Week: Ryan and Kevin
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Ryan Green and Kevin James met at a summer barbecue and clicked right away. At first, they had a long-distance relationship as Kevin remained in South Bend, Ind. Within a few months, Kevin had moved to Chicago.
“Our faith in God and in one another is the foundation of our relationship. I am so excited about every moment with Kevin and our future,” Ryan said.
Ryan and Kevin are like any other couple, and they want the same things that other couples want. Most of all, they want the freedom to make a lifelong commitment to each other. They want the security of knowing they can always protect each other.
“We share a home, a car, a bank account, and almost everything you can imagine,” Ryan said. “Yet, no matter how much we have united our lives, our union will be seen and treated separately by law.”
It’s not just about the legal protections marriage affords. It’s about dignity. It’s about equality before the law. It’s about fairness.
It is time for the Illinois House of Representatives to get on the right side of history and pass SB10. It’s time to stop excluding same-sex couples from marriage. Illinois families can’t wait. The time is now.
Watch Ryan’s and Keith’s video…
For more information, visit IllinoisUnites.org.
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Watch the “banned” Oscar the Puppy video
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Not long ago, I purchased a new dog bed for Oscar the Puppy. He loved it. He loved it so much, in fact, that I did something I almost never do: I rated it on the company’s website. I gave it five out of five stars, said I’d recommend it to others, and basically just gushed all over the product.
I even posted a video of Oscar enjoying his new bed…
* Not long after, however, I received a form e-mail saying that my rating and video had been rejected…
Because our goal is to share all customer reviews, we encourage you to check the guidelines below and resubmit your review.
Possible reasons a product review might not be accepted:
1. Includes personal information in the review (email addresses, phone number, etc.)
2. Comments on another company’s product or product line to direct business away from Orvis
3. Indicates the person is writing the review for the wrong product
4. Uses profane language
5. Includes derogatory, discriminatory, or generally inappropriate comments
6. Written in a foreign language
7. Indicates the person did not purchase the product from Orvis or receive it as a gift
8. Written by an underage reviewer
9. Attaches a video or images that have no connection to the product being reviewed
10. Comments negatively on the country of origin
11. Indicates there may be a legal liability where Orvis is concerned
Not one of those applied. I was more than a little steamed and even thought about posting something here about it. I mean, what the heck? Was there an Oscar hater out there or something? An outrage, I say! Outrage!
But I wanted to know why my submission was rejected, so I sent an e-mail to customer service and they promised to get to the bottom of it.
Not long afterward, I received this from the company…
Dear Mr. Miller,
Thank you for your review.
I’m glad to see that Oscar loves his new dog bed so much. I’m unsure why your review was declined, but I have approved your review so that other customers can see how much Oscar loves his dog bed. The review should be posted within 48-72 hours. Please give Oscar an extra treat and scratch behind the ears for me.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Wayne R.
Orvis Customer Service
* It turns out, however, that Orvis may have been right all along. As Oscar’s mommy noticed last night, I put the bed together wrong. It was inside out!
Oops.
Now I see why the video wasn’t initially approved. A sharp-eyed employee apparently noticed that I’d goofed up and didn’t want anyone else to make the same mistake I had.
Sorry about that, Orvis.
* Anyway, I fixed the bed, gave Oscar an extra treat and a good scratch behind his ears…
And now Oscar’s mommy thinks the bed looked better when it was inside out. I kinda agree.
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Question of the day
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago) participated in a charity boxing match last weekend. He’s not exactly known as a tough guy around the Statehouse, but he won a three-round bout against somebody who outweighed him by about 20 pounds. Here’s some video of Round One…
Mitchell is wearing black trunks and pink gloves in the video.
* The Question: Which Illinois politicians would you like to see box each other? Who would win? (Notice that I added “Illinois” to the question because I really don’t care about politicians from other states.)
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A good issue for Brady
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Senator Bill Brady’s Lt. Gov. running mate Maria Rodriguez recently used the tax issue against two of her opponents…
Rodriguez: I support the sunseting of the income tax increase (Lowering the individual income tax to 3.25 % and lowering the corporate income tax.
Jeff Berkowitz: Would you take it back even further to the original level of 2010 [lower the individual income tax to 3%]
Rodriguez: I think we have to look at a variety of possibilities, I know that one of Bill Brady’s opponents has suggested increasing the gas tax. Another opponent has suggested that we leave that [income tax increase] alone.
Berkowitz: Wait, whose the opponent who has suggested that we increase the gas tax?
Rodriguez: Kirk Dillard has suggested that we increase the gas tax. I don’t agree with that.
Berkowitz: Who has suggested that we leave the income tax increase alone?
Rodriguez: Dan Rutherford has said perhaps we should leave the income tax increase in place…
This is just one reason why Brady, despite his lack of financial resources, could still manage to hobble up the right side of the pack next March and win the primary again. But, man, he needs to raise at least some money.
I can see a path for all four GOP candidates in this primary, by the way, unless Bruce Rauner somehow manages to blow everybody out of the water by February. But that’s gonna take a lot more spending.
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* From the Illinois Unites for Marriage website…
Big momentum from Springfield this week — and not just from the thousands of marriage supporters who marched on the Capitol!
Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) announced that she will now cosponsor the marriage bill! She adds her name to the growing number of Illinois representatives who are standing on the right side of history and committing to passing this crucial legislation this year.
In announcing her support of SB10, Rep. Conroy said Illinois families can’t wait any longer for the freedom to marry:
“This is the right thing to do. We have waited too long. I think it’s the civil rights issue of our time and we need to move past this.”
Conroy had already been listed as one of the 34 solid supporters of the bill by the Windy City Times. And despite the fact that she represents DuPage County in the House, she defeated a Republican opponent with 58 percent of the vote last year.
Even so, it’s time that more “ducklings” start stepping forward here.
…Adding… From the Windy City Times…
Dist. 60, Rita Mayfield ( D ): Mayfield’s stance has frustrated LGBT organizers and sponsors of the bill, but she remains a target. She said she wants to vote “yes,” on the bill but will not. She says that her district does not support the measure and that she will vote “present” so as not to betray the will of her constituents.
Rep. Mayfield is listed on the paper’s “target list” - those who may yet be persuaded to vote for the bill. But that’s not what she told an opponent from Lake County this week…
In meeting Representative Rita Mayfield in the tunnel from the Capitol Building to the cafeteria, she informed Bonnie Quirke that she would be voting “no,” as this is how her constituents want her to vote in Waukegan, IL.
…Adding more… I’m getting some pushback from the pro gay marriage forces who contend that Rep. Mayfield has never been considered a possible “Yes” vote. From what I’ve heard, she’s been all over the place, but they’re right that in the past four or five months she’s leaned mainly toward a “Present” vote, which is really just a polite “No.”
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No 24 hour gaming at casinos
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You can gamble 24 hours a day at numerous truck stops in Illinois, but not at casinos…
Gamblers at Illinois’ 10 casinos must take a break whether they like it or not after the state’s gaming board decided Thursday not to allow them to stay open around the clock.
Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe said at a meeting that a request to allow casinos open 24 hours a day — two hours longer than current operating hours — had been denied.
Jaffe said in a brief statement the board heard statements both for and against expanding the hours and also had received written statements, and made their decision “having taken into consideration all the information presented to the board.” Jaffe did not elaborate in his brief statement or during the meeting, according to spokesman Gene O’Shea.
The idea is to prevent gambling addicts from parking themselves in a casino without a break. But now many of them can just head to the nearest truck stop when the casino closes. So, I dunno if that’s fair or not. Your thoughts?
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Today’s quote
Friday, Oct 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn was asked yesterday about whether the “temporary” state income tax hike should be allowed to expire…
Gov. Pat Quinn refused to weigh in — here’s how he answered when asked about supporting the higher income tax:
QUINN: “Well I think we have to deal with the pension reform which is the number one fiscal, financial issue.”
REPORTER: But … you campaigned on raising the income tax, should it stay in place?
QUINN: “I have worked very hard on pension reform, I know the committee that I proposed …”
Illinois’ has a 5 percent income tax; it’s scheduled to drop to 3.75 percent in 2015.
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