Tweet Of The Day - Equality Illinois

Via Huffington Post:

Though Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner is not planning to attend Sunday's massive Gay Pride Parade in Chicago, his presence will still very much be felt -- thanks to a giant banner erected by LGBT advocates. Equality Illinois and a number of associated community members and elected officials on Thursday unveiled a two-story banner featuring a photograph of Rauner along with his statement, made last year at a Tea Party event, that he would have vetoed Illinois' new marriage equality bill had it come to his desk as governor of the state.

VIDEO: Watch The Full Illinois Marriage Equality Bill Signing Ceremony

In case you didn't get to watch it live yesterday, the state of Illinois has posted the full video of  the marriage equality bill signing ceremony. The clip is on auto-play, so turn it down before you click over. (Tipped by JMG reader Thomas)

LIVE VIDEO: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill At 4:30 Eastern

Watch history happen right here!

UPDATE: The video at the first link is sagging a little bit under the demand. Try this one too.

UPDATE: And it's DONE!

CONFIRMED: Abe Lincoln's Desk Is On The Stage And Ready For Gay Marriage

Photo by JMG reader Ed Pratt. The signing ceremony should start within the hour.

Porno Pete Has The Abraham Lincoln Sadz

"It’s bad enough that homosexual extremists for years have been promoting the preposterous lie that Lincoln was ‘gay.’ Now we see his noble legacy on behalf of Black Americans appropriated by the Left to justify homosexual ‘marriage’ – which has nothing to do with civil rights and everything to do with normalizing a changeable sexual sin. Abe Lincoln had a great respect for the Bible as the Word of God, and he encouraged others to read it to better their lives. It is inconceivable that Lincoln would set himself against clear Scriptural truth – such as Romans 1, which condemns homosexual practice – or align himself with the bizarre notion that two people of the same sex can get ‘married.’ Homosexual practice today is as immoral as it was in days of Lincoln; as it was in the days of Washington and Jefferson before him; as it was in the days of Jesus Christ; and as sinful as it was in the days of Moses." - Porno Pete LaBarbera, who is deliciously deranged because Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will today sign the marriage equality bill on the desk used by Abraham Lincoln. LaBarbera adds that he'll be waving his silly little hate banner outside the ceremony in Chicago this afternoon. Somebody please send us a photo!

ILLINOIS: Gov To Sign Marriage Bill Today

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the marriage equality bill today and according to one report he will sign the bill on Abraham Lincoln's desk, which Quinn is quietly having shipped from the state capital to his office in Chicago. Oh-em-Jeebus, the Tea Things will scream. I'll post a live stream of the signing ceremony later today.

ILLINOIS: Gov. Pat Quinn To Sign Marriage Equality Bill By The End Of The Month

I was expecting the Illinois marriage bill to be rushed to Quinn's desk last night or at least this morning. But the Chicago Tribune just reported that the signing won't be right away.

The governor said the exact timing depends on when various advocates will be able to get together, saying those who fought so hard for the measure deserve to be there when he puts pen to paper. "We're going to make an arrangement so lots and lots of people can come to the ceremony," Quinn said. "I think it's important to have an opportunity for the people who worked so hard in the community to pass marriage equality to have an opportunity to be there at the bill signing. This is what democracy is all about, people banning together for a cause they believe in, passing a law that makes our state a better place."

Tweet Of The Day - Gov. Pat Quinn

ILLINOIS: Senate To Concur With House TODAY, Governor To Sign Marriage Bill

From Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov:

I am thrilled to share that just moments ago, the Illinois House of Representatives passed the historic freedom to marry bill! That was the biggest hurdle we faced to secure marriage equality in Illinois. The Illinois Senate, which passed the bill last Valentine's Day, must now agree with the House version of the bill, and that should happen within hours. Then the bill heads to the desk of Governor Pat Quinn, who has promised to sign it. The bill passed with a bipartisan vote, with Chicago, suburban, and downstate, African-American and Latino lawmakers all joining forces to do the right thing by Illinois families. Illinois now joins the inevitable march to marriage equality for all gay and lesbian couples throughout the U.S.

Zoom, zoom, zoomity, ZOOM!

Tweet Of The Day - IL Gov. Pat Quinn

ILLINOIS: Activists March On Capitol

The Chicago Tribune reports on yesterday's March On Springfield.

Gay marriage supporters flocked to the Capitol grounds by the busload Tuesday, waving rainbow-colored flags and wearing rain-soaked bridal veils to pressure lawmakers to make Illinois the 15th state to legalize same-sex unions. The show of force that police estimated at 3,000 people ran up against the political reality that there's little indication the Illinois House is any closer to approving a gay marriage bill than it was before a summer of lobbying efforts. Lawmakers are waiting to see whether they face difficult re-election efforts, and religious groups opposed to the bill plan their own rally Wednesday.

The situation has created a sharp divide among advocates who are split on how sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris should proceed. On one side are those demanding that Harris call the bill even if the support isn't there, arguing that lawmakers should be held accountable while also making it clear who should be targeted as potential backers. On the other side are those who contend that pragmatic politics should not be ignored, contending a failed vote would set back efforts to get the bill passed and send a bad message.The tension was on display through the day, as some in the crowd shouted "Call the vote" while Harris spoke.

Speakers at the event included Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.

Illinois Governor Calls For Marriage Vote

"Illinois passing marriage equality into law, I think, sends a great signal to the people of our state and the people of America. So it's important that Illinois and the House of Representatives get moving. I believe a majority exists to get this bill passed through the House onto my desk so I can sign it into law. We've waited now three months, plenty of time for people to reflect on it. And now it's time to pass it." - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

Quote Of The Day - IL Gov. Pat Quinn

"Marriage equality is coming to Illinois. Now, it's time to take the next step in achieving full equality.  Let's pass this bill for marriage equality and let's do it now.  Our Illinois is not a land of discrimination." - Gov. Pat Quinn, speaking today in his State Of The State address to the Illinois legislature. The marriage equality bill is scheduled for a vote before the state Senate on Valentine's Day.  The bill has the backing of state GOP chairman Pat Brady, who has become the target of resignation demands from anti-gay groups.

ILLINOIS: Not-Gay Rep. Aaron Schock Reportedly Mulling Run For Governor

According to a just-released poll, gay-friendly Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is the most unpopular governor in the nation. Quinn assumed office after former Gov. Rod Blagojevitch exploded into scandal and bad hair. Quinn then was "legitimately" elected in 2010. Among those reportedly considering a run to challenge Quinn in 2014 is totally not-gay slice of beefcake GOP Rep. Aaron Schock, whom the above-linked pollster observes "would be topped" by Quinn by only one point were the election held today. Topped. Heh.

RELATED: Illinois does not term-limit its governors.

Illinois Abolishes The Death Penalty

Yesterday Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill abolishing the death penalty in his state and commuting the sentences of prisoners on death row. Today Amnesty International updated their above map, which is interactive on their site. Among the 35 states still making executions, Texas has almost five times more prisoners on death row than the number two state, Virginia.

ILLINOIS: Gov To Sign Civil Unions Today

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will sign his state's civil unions bill today in a 4PM ceremony expected to be attended by a huge crowd.

A capacity crowd at a historic downtown Chicago venue? No, it isn't a concert or even the big game — it's to watch civil unions become legal in Illinois. When Gov. Pat Quinn signs the historic legislation Monday afternoon, he'll be joined by up to 900 members of the gay community and their supporters, many of whom have been waiting years for this moment to arrive. Free tickets to the bill-signing event were long gone by late last week, and the governor's office planned to set aside a portion of the space at the Chicago Cultural Center as standing-room only.

I'll look for a live video stream of the ceremony for posting later today.

ILLINOIS: Civil Unions Vote Today

The Illinois General Assembly is expected to vote on civil unions today and it looks like the vote may be very close. Kevin Wayne reports at Chicago Pride:

As the probable Tuesday vote looms, Equality Illinois and The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA) continued to lobby legislators in support of the bill late Monday. Both advocacy groups have returned to the Capitol early Tuesday morning. "We are just a few votes away in the House for victory," Equality Illinois public policy director Rick Garcia told ChicagoPride.com Monday night. "We are working this evening in firming up our yes votes and making sure that all of our yes votes are on the floor tomorrow." "I'm feeling good about this," said Jacob Meister, TCRA Board Chairman. Meister's group along with LGBT change have contacted over 16,000 LGBT and allied voters, through an aggressive lobbying project over the last month. He said they have successfully been able to reach into "swing and persuadable districts" through what he describes as "sophisticated micro-targeting."

If the bill passes in the Assembly, it will go directly to the state Senate for a concurrence vote, where it is expected to pass. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has promised to sign it.

ILLINOIS: Civil Unions On Fast Track

Thanks to the election of pro-gay Gov. Pat Quinn, a civil unions bill may be presented in the Illinois legislature as soon as this Tuesday when lawmakers return after the election break.

During the gubernatorial campaign, Governor Pat Quinn said he favored civil unions. "We have legislation in Illinois very close to passage," said Quinn during an appearance at Market Days in August. "I believe we can pass that this year." Quinn restated his support for the measure on Wednesday and now some lawmakers say the vote could happen soon. "I think we're awfully darned close," openly gay Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) told the Chicago Sun-Times. Last year a house bill, co-sponsored by Harris, to allow civil unions in Illinois was successfully voted out of committee, but never came up for a full vote. Equality Illinois, which endorsed Quinn, has renewed the push and remains optimistic that the bill can get enough votes to succeed by the end of the year.

A recent Chicago Tribune poll shows a strong support for civil unions with respondents evenly split on marriage equality.

(Via - Chicago Pride)

ILLINOIS: Gay-Friendly Gov. Pat Quinn Triumphs Over LGBT Foe Bill Brady

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was named the gubernatorial winner late this afternoon and state Sen. Bill Brady has conceded. Quinn, who took over after disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevitch got the boot, was strongly backed by Equality Illinois due to his broad support for LGBT rights. (However Quinn favors civil unions over full marriage equality.) Brady had proposed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and reportedly wanted to excise gays from employment and housing protections granted by the Illinois Human Rights Act.

According to the above-linked story, Equality Illinois distributed 450,000 absentee ballots on Quinn's behalf. Today CBS News reports that Brady was trailing by only 19,000 votes when he conceded that he could not make up that deficit among the uncounted votes.

ILLINOIS: GOP Gov. Bill Brady Gets Glee Treatment In Pat Quinn Ad

(Tipped by JMG reader Ray)