The Fight for Marriage Equality in the Land of Lincoln is the focus of a new book from Windy City Times writers Kate Sosin and Tracy Baim. The book looks at the financial and political pressure from the LGBT community and its allies to pass the marriage-equality law in 2013, including heated internal battles and intense heat put on elected officials in the final days of the legislative session. The book also includes more than 100 photos from the historic push for marriage, including photos and documents from the 1950s through the 2013 demonstrations. Money. Votes, Activism. These three ingredients were key to the passage of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act on November 5, 2013 in the Illinois House. Otherwise known as the marriage-equality law, supporters originally felt it would be a slam-dunk effort, since the Democrats captured a super majority in the state Senate and House in the November 2012 elections. But this is Illinois, and nothing comes without a cost-in money and labor. S.B. 10 did pass quickly in the state Senate, on Valentine's Day 2013. But months of lobbying by pro- and anti-marriage-equality forces left the state's representatives in the House without the courage to vote by the end of the spring legislative session, May 31, 2013. What happened next was a show of force by donors, lobbyists, politicians and most importantly the general citizens of Illinois. There were protests, benefits, phone banks, door-to-door canvassing, lobbying in the Capitol building, and a 5,000-strong March on Springfield for Marriage Equality on October 22, 2013. This book takes an in-depth look at the behind-the-scenes efforts that were enhanced by the grassroots activists taking it to the streets. There were surprising opponents-and surprising allies-in the battle to get marriage for LGBTs in Illinois. This book provides a deep look into the inner-workings of passing legislation in Illinois. It is not always about the "will of the people" or "what is right." It often comes down to horse-trading, political manipulation, threats and check books. It's not quite the simplicity of the song "I'm Just a Bill" from the TV show Schoolhouse Rock! But it can be just as fun.
About the Author: Kate Sosin closely covered the fight to pass same-sex marriage in Illinois from before the bill's 2012 introduction through its passage in 2013 as a senior reporter and associate editor for Windy City Times. Her other work for Windy City Times explored issues of LGBTQ youth homelessness, the Cook County Criminal legal system, transgender rights, access to healthcare, health disparities among queer people, LGBTQ senior issues and race in gay neighborhoods, among other topics. She lives in Massachusetts with her spouse and dog. Tracy Baim is publisher and executive editor at Windy City Media Group, which produces Windy City Times, Nightspots, and other gay media in Chicago. She co-founded Windy City Times in 1985 and Outlines newspaper in 1987. She has won numerous gay community and journalism honors, including the Community Media Workshop's Studs Terkel Award in 2005 and several Peter Lisagor journalism awards. Baim received the 2013 Chicago Headline Club Lifetime Achievement Award for her 30 years in journalism. Baim is the editor and co-author of Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Award and a Top 10 selection from the American Library Association GLBT Round Table. She is the author of Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage (2010, Prairie Avenue Productions). She is also the co-author and editor of Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Community (2008, Agate), the ChicagoGayHistory.org); and author of Where the World Meets, a book about Gay Games VII in Chicago (2007, Lulu.com). Her most recent books include a novel, The Half Life of Sgt. Jen Hunter, about lesbians in the military prior to Don't Ask, Don't Tell (it was the stage play Half Life in 2005), and the biographies Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow, and Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria. She is also creator of That's So Gay!, a 2,400-question LGBT history trivia game.