* Sun-Times…

As a recent town hall meeting in his district quickly grew heated, state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) said for the first time in his political career he wished he had brought something with him — security.

Franks was talking pension reform, but one man opposed to same-sex marriage became particularly agitated.

“It was heated. For the first time, I felt, I really should have had security here,” Franks told the Chicago Sun-Times. “He got physically close, I probably asked him eight times to stop and felt he was being rude. We were in a public place. It was a little bizarre.”

Franks isn’t saying which way he’s going to vote on the issue, insisting he hasn’t decided and sees pension reform as his top issue.

In the last several weeks, behind-the-scenes pressure as well as public rancor over a same sex marriage bill still pending in the Illinois House has intensified. Picketers are coming out in force. Legislators have spoken to Cardinal Francis George personally on the phone.

One potential death threat — later deemed unfounded — was under investigation by the Illinois State Police and Mundelein police against Republican Ed Sullivan, a state representative who publicly disclosed his support for the bill.

I’m not sure why, but there was no mention of the criminal charges filed against a gay marriage proponent who allegedly threatened Rep. Jeanne Ives over this issue. That’s the real deal, not some perceived stuff. That’s not to discount what Reps. Franks and Sullivan went through by any means. But it just doesn’t rise to the level of what Ives had to deal with.

The reality is we’ve seen at least isolated craziness on both sides of this debate.

*** UPDATE *** Greg Hinz reports that he’s hearing the bill has between 55 and 57 of the 60 House votes it needs to pass…

Key lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, speaking on background, say they expect the bill to pass in the next month, sending it to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn, who has promised to sign it. At least a few Republicans are aboard, with House GOP Leader Tom Cross publicly neutral but privately said to be helpful.

One swing representative, who asked not to be named, said he’ll vote yes, but won’t publicly declare himself until the end. “I may lose my seat,” that official told me. “I don’t care. I want to be on the right side of history.”

That’s similar to statements being made by Chicago Democrat Ken Dunkin, the head of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, who earlier this week announced his support for the bill, explaining, “I have always believed that discrimination is wrong, no matter whom it targets.”

Indeed, African-American lawmakers likely are the most key group on this issue right now, caught between traditional civil rights concerns and religious conservatives. The announcement from Mr. Dunkin, who represents the old Cabrini-Green area on the Near North Side, may move some others.

But probably the biggest thing working for the bill right now: the Madigans. That would be Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and House Speaker Michael Madigan, her father.

Perhaps with an eye on a race for governor, Ms. Madigan has begun picking up the phone in recent days to personally urge wavering lawmakers to vote for the bill, which already has passed the Senate. More significantly, Mr. Madigan, who a few weeks ago suggested the bill was a dozen votes short, recently has begun to get more active behind the scenes, I’m told.

I kinda doubt that Dunkin will move other black votes his way. But the AG might. And if the Speaker is moving, then that’s a very positive sign for the legislation.