* The House Executive Committee is scheduled to begin at three o’clock, so you can watch the gay marriage debate online here. You should also, of course, keep a close eye on our live session coverage post for updates from the hearing.
An Illinois House committee could vote Tuesday on a measure allowing same-sex couples to marry.
Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris says he expects the House Executive Committee to approve his legislation and send it to the full body.
* I agree with Gov. Quinn. This thing isn’t soup yet in the House…
Gov. Pat Quinn, during a stop in Normal on Thursday, acknowledged that the measure lacks the necessary 60 votes for passage. But he told reporters he plans to contact members of the House individually seeking their support, similar to what he did when he lobbied members to approve the civil unions law in 2010.
“There’s still persuasion to do in the House,” Quinn said.
One reason is that the House’s freshmen class tends to lean conservative in both parties…
Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, said she thinks legalizing same-sex marriage is premature.
“We’ve had civil unions, and it hasn’t even been two years,” Scherer said. “The purpose of the civil union was to give people in this situation the rights they felt they deserved. I think that needs to have time to go through the system before we go further.”
A date has not ben set for a full House vote yet, said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois.
“There’s not clear sense yet of when the full House vote will be,” Cherkasov said.
Cherkasov added that a vote on the bill on March 1 was possible but unlikely. LGBT leaders are eying a possible mid-week vote the following week. That could mean a vote on March 6 or 7.
State Rep. Toni Berrios has clarified her stance on same-sex marriage, after reports that she was wavering the equal marriage bill currently in the Illinois House.
www.DNAinfo.com had reported Feb. 21 that a Berrios spokesperson said that Berrios would not disclose her stance on the measure until it was out of committee and she could review the final language.
That statement likely came as a surprise to many LGBT people. Berrios previously told Windy City Times that she backed equal marriage, and she has been supportive Chicago LGBT groups in the past.
Contacted by Windy City Times, Berrios said she stands firmly in support of the bill.
“I’m not undecided,” she said. “I’m definitely a yes vote.”
As the battle over redefining marriage moves to the Illinois House this week, pro-family groups are taking aim at Republican State Rep. Ron Sandack.
Calls recorded by conservative activist Sandy Rios, and paid for by Illinois-based Family PAC (listen below), are being made to Sandack’s constituents. Pro-family organizations are concerned that Sandack is preparing to break his campaign promise to oppose same sex marriage in Illinois. According to sources, Sandack has told colleagues he now intends to vote for bill, which has already been approved by the Illinois Senate.
