• Share
• E-Mail
• Print

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Senate Wednesday passed landmark civil unions legislation that is now headed to Gov. Quinn, who has pledged to sign it despite new church criticism he would not be a good Roman Catholic in doing so.

"Today was a great day for the people of Illinois, for the family of Illinois,'' Quinn said after the Senate's 32-24 vote for legislation that would make Illinois the sixth state to recognize civil unions between gay and lesbian couples.

The Senate's vote followed House approval Tuesday and came despite criticisms over the measure's potential cost to taxpayers, the likelihood it would lead to legalization of gay marriages and concern that it had trumped fixing the state's budget ills among legislative priorities.

Shortly after the Senate's move, the governor, who is Roman Catholic, got an earful from the head of Springfield's Catholic archdiocese, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, who questioned Quinn's adherence to church teachings.

"If the governor wishes to pursue a secular agenda for political purposes, that is his prerogative for which he is accountable to the voters. But if he wishes to speak as a Catholic, then he is accountable to Catholic authority, and the Catholic Church does not support civil unions or other measures that are contrary to the natural moral law,'' Paprocki said.

Told of the bishop's statement, Quinn shrugged.

"I follow my conscience. I think everyone should do that. I think that's the most important thing to do in life, and my conscience is not kicking me in the shins today,'' the governor told reporters.

The legislation does not alter state law recognizing marriage as being between a man and woman. But it would grant gays and lesbians new rights to make health care decisions involving their sick partners, decide how to dispose of their deceased partners' remains and have new standing in how their estates are divvied up, among other things.

An air of history being made enveloped the Senate, which fell silent as a succession of speakers debated the bill in a discussion that, at times, turned emotional.

"I have a gay daughter," said state Sen. David Koehler (D-Peoria), the bill's chief Senate sponsor, whose child, Maggie, watched the deliberations from the Senate gallery with her partner.

"I've seen this issue through the eyes of a father who has a gay child. What it means is I have one daughter amongst my three who doesn't have the same rights as the other two, and I don't understand that,'' Koehler said.

Mayoral politics also flared as a result of Wednesday's vote.

State Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) -- a mayoral candidate, the pastor of Salem Baptist Church and past critic of gay rights -- voted against the legislation, calling it a "sea change'' for the state.

"I believe a bill this big and with this much magnitude probably should have been placed on a ballot for a referendum. I believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. That was the impetus for my vote," Meeks said.

Asked if he thought his vote would damage his standing among gay and lesbian voters and others who favor civil unions, Meeks said, "I don't know. But I believe in the sanctity of marriage. Perhaps it will help among everybody who believes in the sanctity of marriage."

Other city mayoral candidates, including Rahm Emanuel, Carol Moseley Braun, Gery Chico and Danny Davis, made calls to lobby lawmakers to support the legislation.

Opposition did not break entirely along party lines, with Downstaters from both parties casting "no'' votes. The only Republican to vote for the bill was Sen. Dan Rutherford (R-Chenoa), the incoming state treasurer. State Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) was the only senator to vote "present."

"It's amazing,'' said Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon), who voted against the bill. "We're under this huge burden of debt. We have a budget that we have failed to be able to balance. It seems to be upon everyone's mind, yet we come back here and spend a lot of time on issues like this.''

Senate OKs casino expansion

The civil unions vote capped a busy legislative day that also saw Senate passage of a casino-expansion bill that would allow for a Chicago casino and four more new casinos in north suburban Park City, the south suburbs and Downstate.

That legislation, which passed 31-20 and now moves to the House, would also put slot machines in Illinois' five racetracks and generate up to $1 billion a year for the cash-strapped state.

"Is it a huge expansion- Yes, I'm not going to deny it," said Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills). "But we have got a huge deficit in the state of Illinois. We've got huge problems in the state of Illinois, so you don't look at little things to fix it. You look at big things to fix it. This is a way of doing it."

But Quinn reiterated his distaste for the bill.

"I'm not for top-heavy expansion of gambling. I've said that before," the governor told reporters.

Asked if he regarded Link's bill as "top-heavy," Quinn said, "Well, I haven't seen the whole bill. But what I heard about it when people were talking about it, it seemed awful top-heavy to me."

On one other legislative front, Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) said he wants to move legislation in early January to address Mayor Daley's worries over how changes to how the city funds police and fire pensions could blow a nearly $550 million hole in Chicago's budget by 2015. Cullerton did not offer specific details on the proposal.