Category: Illinois
Illinois Treasurer expands gay partner benefits for department employees
With six months left in his four-year term, Illinois state Treasurer (and candidate for U.S. Senate) Alexi Giannoulias signed an executive order on Sunday extending family-leave benefits to gay and lesbian employees in domestic partnerships.
(Photo: Chicago Sun-Times)
The new policy will allow gay and lesbian employees of his office to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a sick partner or relative, the same benefit given to their married co-workers. It also would allow gay and lesbian employees to take time off for the birth or adoption of a child, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Hard working men and women devoted to their families should not have to choose between their family and keeping their job. The bottom line is that we should not deny same sex domestic couples the same rights that are available to married couples.”
Previously from LGBTQ Nation:
Gay rights activists stage 'kiss-in' protest at suburban Chicago restaurant
Illinois House passes LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying law
Chicago men charged with hate crimes in January assault on gay man
GOP Senate candidate runs attack ads alleging his opponent is gay
Illinois Treasurer running for U.S. Senate, favors legalizing gay marriage
Gay rights activists stage ‘kiss-in’ protest at suburban Chicago restaurant
About 100 gay rights activists puckered up to prove a point at a suburban Chicago restaurant Friday night.
Nielsen (center left) and Hankes at Friday night's "kiss-in" (Chicago Tribune photo).
“It’s to educate people that homophobia of any kind is unacceptable,” said Frank Nielsen, who organized the “kiss-in” demonstration after being asked by the restaurant’s owner last month to stop kissing his boyfriend, Danny Hankes.
Nielsen and Hankes said they visited the LaFiesta Azteca Mexican restaurant in Alsip, IL on May 7 to have dinner. But after the couple kissed on the lips, they were approached by the owner and told to stop. Continue reading…
Previously from LGBTQ Nation:
Illinois Treasurer expands gay partner benefits for department employees
Illinois House passes LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying law
Chicago men charged with hate crimes in January assault on gay man
GOP Senate candidate runs attack ads alleging his opponent is gay
Illinois Treasurer running for U.S. Senate, favors legalizing gay marriage
Illinois House passes LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying law
The Illinois state House on Friday unanimously approved a bill to prevent homophobic and transphobic bullying.
The measure covers bullying specifically targeted at students because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, among other categories. It was introduced just eight weeks ago, and previously passed in the state Senate on March 24.
The Prevent School Violence Illinois Act — a modification of current law that comprehensively defines bullying for the first time in Illinois law (including cyber bullying) — explicitly prohibits bullying against vulnerable groups of students and creates the Illinois Bullying Prevention Task Force.
The bill will now go to Gov. Pat Quinn for signing.
Previously from LGBTQ Nation:
Illinois Treasurer expands gay partner benefits for department employees
Gay rights activists stage 'kiss-in' protest at suburban Chicago restaurant
Chicago men charged with hate crimes in January assault on gay man
GOP Senate candidate runs attack ads alleging his opponent is gay
Illinois Treasurer running for U.S. Senate, favors legalizing gay marriage
Chicago men charged with hate crimes in January assault on gay man
Charges against three Chicago-area men who allegedly beat up a gay man were upgraded Tuesday to felony hate crimes, reports WBBM-TV.
From left: Sean Little, Benjamin Eder and Kevin McAndrew
On January 10, Daniel Hauff of Rogers Park was riding a Red Line CTA train when he came between three men that were verbally harassing and shoving a gay teen.
The three men — Sean Little, Benjamin Eder and Kevin McAndrew — allegedly turned their anger on Hauff, calling him a “stupid faggot” and punching and bloodying Hauff’s face in front of train passengers. Continue reading…
Previously from LGBTQ Nation:
Illinois Treasurer expands gay partner benefits for department employees
Gay rights activists stage 'kiss-in' protest at suburban Chicago restaurant
Illinois House passes LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying law
GOP Senate candidate runs attack ads alleging his opponent is gay
Illinois Treasurer running for U.S. Senate, favors legalizing gay marriage
GOP Senate candidate runs attack ads alleging his opponent is gay
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the front-runner in the Republican primary election for U.S. Senate, finds himself the object of an unusual attack ad from one of his lesser-known opponents, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
Andy Martin
Andy Martin, who has run for numerous elective offices over the last three decades in Illinois, Florida and Connecticut, taped a commercial questioning whether Kirk is gay.
Martin’s source?
Statements some conservative Republicans made on a radio show saying they have heard “rumors” that Kirk is gay.
“Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser says there is a ‘solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual,’ ” Martin says in the ad. “Roeser suggests that Kirk is part of a Republican Party homosexual club. Lake County Illinois Republican leader Ray True says Kirk has surrounded himself with homosexuals. Mark Kirk should tell Republican voters the truth.”
Rep. Mark Kirk
Kirk, a U.S. Naval Intelligence officer, was unavailable for comment because he is on active duty over the holidays, said spokesman Eric Elk.
But Elk issued this statement on his behalf: “The ad is not true and is degrading to the political process. The people of Illinois deserve better.”
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Patrick Brady blasted Martin and the ad, saying, “The Illinois Republican Party disavows the statements made today by Mr. Andrew Martin in his statewide radio advertisements. His statements today are consistent with his history of bizarre behavior and often times hate-filled speech which has no place in the Illinois Republican Party. Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican candidate by the Illinois Republican Party.”
Martin garnered some national attention for pushing rumors that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and that the Hawaiian birth certificate Obama posted on his Web site early in his campaign was a fake.
Martin and Kirk are both facing off in the Republican primary for the 2010 Senate Race for the seat previously held by President Barack Obama, and now by Roland Burris.
The Democratic front runner in the race is first-term state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a longtime supporter of gay rights and Chicago’s LGBT community who favors legalization of same-sex marriage and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Previously from LGBTQ Nation:
Illinois Treasurer expands gay partner benefits for department employees
Gay rights activists stage 'kiss-in' protest at suburban Chicago restaurant
Illinois House passes LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying law
Chicago men charged with hate crimes in January assault on gay man
Illinois Treasurer running for U.S. Senate, favors legalizing gay marriage
Illinois Treasurer running for U.S. Senate, favors legalizing gay marriage
Alexi Giannoulias
Alexi Giannoulias is running for the U.S. Senate, and says he favors legalization of same-sex marriage and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.
The 33 year old Illinois State Treasurer, who in July announced his bid for the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, has been a longtime supporter of gay rights and Chicago’s LGBT community.
In an interview with Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown, Giannoulias says that if elected, he would work to repeal the federal law that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Giannoulias, a Democrat, says he also backs a slate of other crucial civil rights reforms, including the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
“This goes to what this country was founded on, equality and fairness,” Giannoulias told the Sun-Times.
Giannoulias position on same-sex marriage stands in direct contrast to Republican candidate Mark Kirk. Brown reported that a spokesperson said that “Congressman Kirk opposes gay marriage, supports the Defense of Marriage Act, and agrees with President Clinton’s policy of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’”
“This is what I believe in, and I’m sure not everyone is going to agree with me,” Giannoulias told Brown. “It could be risky, but it’s what I believe.”
Giannoulias is the first major statewide candidate in Illinois history to publicly announce a pro-gay marriage position.
Previously from LGBTQ Nation:
LGBT groups turn up heat on Target; but is Best Buy getting off too easy?
Senate hopeful Sharron Angle: no gay rights, no gay adoptions
Prop 8 supporters: 'We are the victims'
Study: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' costs U.S. taxpayers half a billion dollars
Gay marriage irony: 13 states still have no laws against bestiality
Pelosi: no vote on ENDA this year until Congress repeals 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
