In the none too distant past, perhaps closer to mid-century America, the League of Women Voters held forums before elections, both local and national, where the candidates for office appeared to answer a slate of questions. Somehow, this seemed to disappear over the decades, perhaps in no small part to cable news and the internet; so it was gratifying to see this tradition continued by a new generation, their grandaughters, apparent, in the form of She Votes Illinois, on Thursday, when they presented a Women’s Forum for the Democratic Gubernatorial candidates, at the University of Illinois-Chicago Student Center.
In a nod to unity, the five candidates, Chris Kennedy, J.B, Pritzker, Daniel Biss, Tio Hardiman and Bob Daiber all gave a full-throated endorsement of the issues presented, without rivalry in key topic areas such as “Violence Against Women, Education, Employment and Healthcare and Reproductive Rights.”
Introduced by State Rep. Ann Williams, straight from the state capitol of Springfield, the evening was moderated by Liz Kersjes Chairman and Co-founder of She Votes Illinois, who noted in an earlier statement, “There might not be any women at the top of the ticket in this year’s race for Illinois governor, but through the Women’s Forum, we’re putting issues that are important to women at the center of the future Democratic candidate's agenda.”
While the candidates had not seen the questions beforehand, all gave passionate endorsements of key issues affecting Illinois women, and their responses were genuine, and well-considered.
In an evening that was chock full of memorable quotes, and lauded by applause, here are some of the highlights.
One of the most enduring examples of gender inequality, between women and men, is the pay gap,currently established as fifty-cents less per dollar than that of a man, with the disparity especially hard hit towards women of color, a fact noted by Biss.
Pritzker was especially adamant in his opposition and also that the impact was keenly felt with the often enjoining issue of domestic violence, and lack of paid child care, that further devolves families headed by single women, as well as co-earners; but with “2 years and 6 days without a budget,” things became even worse.
Kennedy, in turn, noted that current Gov. Bruce Rauner cut child care for Illinoisans, “by 90 percent.”
“The gender gap in pay has narrowed since 1980, particularly among younger workers, but it still persists. In 2015, women earned 83% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time U.S. workers.”
Pew also noted that “based on this estimate, it would take an extra 44 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2015. (By comparison, the Census Bureau found that women earned 80% of what their male counterparts earned in 2015 when looking at full-time, year-round workers only.)”
There is good news, of a sort, “for adults ages 25 to 34, the 2015 wage gap is smaller. Women in this group earned 90 cents for every dollar a man in the same age group earned.”
While there are many reasons why this gap persists, one salient factor is that women take time off to raise families, and this absence lowers the pay scale as they may miss out on promotions, or have less opportunity to prove themselves in the workplace, or on the executive level create, implement or assess business, or other production plans. In fact, studies show that 4 out of 10 women took time off, from full-time employment to raise a family.
In contrast just 24 percent of men, who were fathers, did so.
Despite the increase in managerial and professional jobs, women continue to be overrepresented in lower paying jobs, further contributing to not only to wage disparities, but also to decreased economical support for families, both married, or unmarried.
Pritzker, and Biss equally bemoaned the often intertwined problem of domestic violence and its impact on women’s lives, and earnings. Close on their heels was Kennedy who bemoaned the “lack of paid maternity leave,” as an additional factor.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research stated that they did not expect the pay gap to close till 2065, which bowled over most of the men, like Kennedy, who gave his unequivocal support to help closing that gap for Illinois women should he be elected;but emphasized that in his tenure as head of the Merchandise Mart, that “one half of our executive vice-presidents were women, and were paid equal to their male counterparts.
Racially, the data becomes even more disturbing: for Hispanic women to reach wage parity the year is 2248, and for African American women, the year 2124 is the target date.
Close on the heels of that discussion was the violence perpetuated on women, be they transgendered, binary, or nonbinary, and Hardiman recounted his protection of two trans women, who were being threatened by two men. He also gave his unequivocal support for the rights of trans women and, by extension, the LGBT community.
Hardiman faced a hard question about his own domestic battles with his wife. in 2013 Hillsdale prosecutors charged him with battery; he was later arrested, but subsequently his wife dropped the charges saying that she wanted to work on her marriage.
In response, Hardiman noted that he was cleared of all charges within one week, and that the incident mostly involved a third party, and that he “would not tolerate any abuse of women.”
Citing the exposure of Harvey Einstein, and the “#Metoo” movement, that accompanied his sexaully predatoiry bahavior toward women, Kennedy noted that he “didn’t know of a single woman,” who has not had to deal with this form of violence, and that the larger culture of violence has “fed this problem.”
Rauner was definitely present in the room, for these men that want his job, even though his presence was more like that of Jacob Marley; while his budgetary failures were especially apparent, as the candidates despaired over the $14 billion of dollars in unpaid bills, and as Biss pointed out, “funding these women’s organizations” was especially important as “vulnerable people rely on them.”
Especially revealing, was not only the Weinstein episodes, but the fact that women in Springfield, the Illinois state capitol, including elected officials, have complained about unwanted sexual advances in an open letter that had over 160 signatures from candidates, consultations, fundraisers, and lobbyists.
“I think Harvey Weinstein has triggered this combustion of women coming out and finally speaking about the pink elephant in the room,” Ald.. Sara Feigenholtz said. “As a person who wants to see more women in government, more women in the policy arena, this is very painful. These women are the future and to see what they’re going through — it’s some very painful stuff.”
Kennedy’s reaction was that the problem was both “daunting and disgusting,” and Pritzker said, “those who harm women need to come forward.”
He especially bemoaned the 800 social service organizations that were so inequitably funded that “the CTA is the largest shelter” for young homeless people,” who are themselves examples of a “shrinking economy.”
With the impact of these candidate forums on the issues, for all Illinoisans, but especially for those that are vulnerable, as Biss emphasized, it’s a certainty that those that are most vulnerable, will face a vastly different landscape than has been seen before should a change occur in the governor’s office.
