Blagojevich signed the legislation, which went into effect immediately, Jan 21 in a hall packed with more than 150 gay rights supporters.
State Sen. Carol Ronen (D-Chicago), who sponsored the legislation, recalled how she and Blagojevich were both freshmen in the Illinois House in 1993 when that chamber first passed the gay rights measure, only to see it later stall in the Senate. This year, however, it passed the Senate in part because Blagojevich personally lobbied for it.
“He did it again last week – brought us the final votes,” Ronen said.
The measure adds sexual orientation to existing state law that protects against discrimination on the basis of race, gender or religion. Opponents had argued the law opens the door toward a shifting of social norms and said the next step will be legalization of gay marriage.
Rick Garcia, Political Director of Equality Illinois, said the law will only protect against discrimination. Chicago and Cook County already have ordinances that ban discrimination against gays, so the primary impact of the bill will be elsewhere in the state.
“This legislation has the biggest impact for those who live [in rural Illinois,]”, he said. “So if you live in Pekin or Zion or Mokena you are now protected.”
“Today’s ruling overturns a lower-court decision that ordered a foster child (known as Austin W. in court documents) removed from the home of his lesbian foster mother and her partner, instead placing the child in the guardianship of grandparents who had been indicated for abuse against him. The lower-court decision had been appealed by the foster mother and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Lambda Legal authored a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the foster mother and DCFS. The state Supreme Court today restored DCFS as the child’s legal guardian to resume its previously approved plan to allow adoption by the foster mother, Rosemary Fontaine.
“Today’s ruling puts the child’s best interests first, overturning a lower-court decision that made the disturbing choice of preferring a home where the boy had been seriously injured over a loving home headed by two lesbians. The Supreme Court said that ‘serious errors’ were made when the abuse this child suffered was discounted by caseworkers and the lower court.
“It’s clear today that the Illinois Supreme Court understands that lesbian and gay parents can provide children with the love, support and guidance they need. Two decades of social science evidence shows that lesbian and gay people make excellent parents, and the state Supreme Court today did not even suggest that Rosemary’s sexual orientation should keep this 5-year-old boy from the nurturing environment she’s given him for nearly his entire life.”
