Tag Archives: Illinois

ILLINOIS: Two County Clerks File Motions To Defend Against Marriage Equality Suits

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan have said they want no part in defending against two lawsuits that demand marriage equality. So with the backing of an anti-gay group, two downstate county clerks have filed to intervene on behalf of Cook County, where the suits were filed. The request to intervene in the lawsuits was quietly filed …

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ILLINOIS: Cook County Attorney Won’t Defend Against Same-Sex Marriage Suit

The governor, the Attorney General, and now the state attorney of Cook County all support same-sex marriage in Illinois. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s office says she’ll submit a filing Thursday that indicates she agrees with several parts of two lawsuits challenging the same sex marriage ban in Illinois, in a move that signals another legal victory for proponents …

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Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip description: Another major blow to the Defense of Marriage Act, and twenty-five couples sue for marriage in Illinois. Strong poll numbers in Washington as we get closer to a vote on marriage equality, but our lead in Maryland is just eight points. And Australia’s most populous state takes a stand for gay and lesbian families.

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Chicago-Area Gay Bar Destroyed By Arson

Arson investigators are on the scene of the Chicago-area gay bar Velvet Rope after it was destroyed yesterday in a fire. Anti-gay slurs were found scrawled on the bar’s walls. The fire was reported at about 6:25 a.m. Sunday after someone smelled smoke, said Oak Park Police Sgt. Anthony Thomas. Flames charred the inside of the club, but no injuries …

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ILLINOIS: State Attorney General To Back Same-Sex Marriage Challenge

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has announced that her office will present arguments in support of the challenge to the ban on same-sex marriage. Nice! The lawsuits, filed Wednesday, are against the clerk of Cook County and claim that his refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates those couples’ rights to due process and equal protection under the …

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ILLINOIS: It’s Just Time

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ILLINOIS: Lambda Legal & ACLU To File Suit Demanding Equal Marriage

Lambda Legal and the ACLU will today file a joint lawsuit demanding full marriage equality for the citizens of Illinois. A total of 25 couples from across the state are plaintiffs in the two lawsuits. Each couple tried to get a marriage license from the Cook County clerk’s office in May and was denied based on the Illinois Marriage and …

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CHICAGO: Labor Controversy As Leather Event May Cross Host Hotel Picket Lines

The 34th annual International Mister Leather convention is taking place this weekend in Chicago, where attendees at the host hotel could potentially face a picket line over a long-running union labor dispute. The Hyatt Regency Chicago, site of the recent competitions, has been at the center of a bitter a contract fight with workers represented by the union UNITE HERE …

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ILLINOIS: Hate Group Demands Right To Pull Kids Out Of Anti-Bullying Lessons

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ILLINOIS: Catholic Bishop Daniel Jenky Compares Obama To Hitler And Stalin

Right Wing Watch has the transcript: “Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care. In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, President Obama – with his radical, pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on …

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Atheism Banner Stolen In 48 Hours

A banner promoting atheism was stolen less than 48 hours after being placed in an Illinois public park alongside other signage promoting Easter. “It is so dismaying to see mob rule prevail,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “This vandalism amounts to censorship and suppression of minority viewpoints.” City officials have said they are treating the park as a public …

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Chicago LGBT Health Clinic Must Pay Back Misspent Federal Grant Money

Chicago’s venerable Howard Brown Center, which provides invaluable health services to the city’s LGBT population, must repay over $700K in federal grant money that was meant to be used for an HIV study. The deal comes two years after the health clinic network announced the federal Department of Health and Human Services was investigating Howard Brown officers’ use of federal …

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Romney Wins Easily In Illinois

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Romney Poised For Big Illinois Win

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ILLINOIS: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Vows To Promote Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday vowed to help campaign for the same-sex marriage bill proposed for Illinois. “I’ll push for it because it is consistent with the values base, and the practical values base, that I think is right as a city, as a state and as a country,” said Emanuel, who supported gay marriage during the campaign. Just Tuesday, …

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ILLINOIS: Activists Protest Outside Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral

This was the demonstration that got Porno Pete so worked up yesterday. Windy City Times reports: Despite a blistering cold morning, more than 20 LGBT activists protested outside of Holy Name Cathedral Feb. 12, a demonstration held in conjunction with National Freedom to Marry Day. The protest, held every year outside the church around Valentine’s Day, carried special weight this …

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ILLINOIS: Marriage Bill Introduced

Three Illinois legislators today introduced a marriage equality bill. State Reps Greg Harris, Deb Mell, and Kelly Cassidy filed a marriage equality bill in Illinois General Assembly Wednesday. HB 5710, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, provides that all laws of Illinois applicable to marriage apply equally to marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples. The bill comes on the …

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Illinois Works On Marriage

In the wake of movement by Washington, New Jersey, and Maryland, Illinois activists are meeting with legislators to draw up plans for full marriage equality. But won’t be this year. State representatives Greg Harris, Deb Mell, Ann Williams, Kelly Cassidy, Sara Feigenholtz and Senator Heather Steans are in talks with Illinois organizations about introducing a bill that would allow same-sex …

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ILLINOIS: Fourteen Years For Blago

Disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the beaver on his head will join his predecessor in prison after having been sentenced to 14 years for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate. George Ryan, who had the job before Blago, has been locked up since 2006.

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ILLINOIS: Catholic Church Drops Lawsuits, Closes Agencies Rather Than Comply

Three Catholic dioceses in Illinois have dropped their lawsuits against the state and closed their adoption agencies rather than comply with a state law commanding that they not discriminate against gay couples. “The decision not to pursue further appeals was reached with great reluctance, but was necessitated by the fact that the State of Illinois has made it financially impossible …

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