Democratic gubernatorial candidates shine at LGBTQ forum

As the Illinois gubernatorial election grows closer, the increase in exposure among the candidates, especially, from the Democrats has increased, in their desire to remove and replace the much dreaded, Bruce Rauner, the current Republican incumbent. With the nearly two year impasse that the state had no budget, and the near constant squabble between he and Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, plus his anti-union efforts have brought this blue state to the brink for those that oppose him.

Nowhere was this more in evidence, than on Wednesday evening, when the Democratic candidates gathered once again, after a previous forum sponsored by local and statewide women’s groups, to present their views in an unscripted live format, this time by the Illinois LGBTQ Forum, held at the historic Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago’s South Loop.

Present were State Sen. Daniel Biss, Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools Bob Daiber, anti-violence activist Tio Hardiman, businessman Chris Kennedy, and businessman J.B. Pritzker, who in a 90 minute session were asked questions that by Illinois LGBTQ leaders that wee based on issues collected on an online form in recent weeks from community members throughout the state.

This was the first LGBTQ forum of its kind, and the packed church reflected both the purpose and the content, as Anthony Galloway, director of civic engagement, for Equality Illinois, gave the introduction and welcome followed by the pastor, The Rev. Dr. David M. Neff, who affirmed the church’s commitment that all are welcome and affirmed the statement on same sex marriage, which states, in part, “The Session of Second Presbyterian Church unanimously approves hosting, conducting and blessing same-gender marriages. We offer our pastoral staff to fully celebrate the inclusive love of God for all people, without exceptions,” and jokingly said, “well even bake the cake,” in a reference to a case coming before the United States Supreme Court.

What the evening revealed was a thoughtful brace of candidates that were firmly and unequivocally committed to full and equal rights for the LGBTQ community, with long-time community activist, Tio Hardiman,  proclaiming, “I've got your back,” to Daniel Biss, emphasizing that both the gay and non-gay communities have “shared values” and that protections for LGBT will take priority and that should also be “put in the [state] constitution”.

Chris Kennedy, businessman, and former head of the Chicago Merchandise Mart, and the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights champion, mentioned that he was “one of 11 kids, with over 50 cousins, and that some members of our family are LGBT, and that when I was at the Mart, in the 80s, we were fully committed to the the values of helping those with HIV.”

Bob Daiber, a professional educator, emphasized that he was committed to the “rights of all students, and especially transgender students; and all people should be treated with dignity and fairness,” and that he wanted to create a vision of a united Illinois,and what it should look like in the 21st century.

Health questions, abounded, and especially with the Trump Administration’ desire to destroy the Affordable Care Act, colloquially, known as Obamacare, and it's especially deleterious effect on the health needs of LGBTQ people. Simply put, “A sweeping 2016 final rule from the Obama administration prohibited healthcare providers and insurers who receive federal money from denying treatment or coverage to anyone based on sex, gender identity, or termination of pregnancy, among other conditions.

It also required doctors and hospitals to provide “medically necessary” services to transgender individuals, as long as those services were the same ones provided to others,” reported The Hill, in August of this year.

“That rule was challenged in court by a group of Christian providers called the Franciscan Alliance. They argue the rule forces insurers to pay for abortions and compels doctors to perform gender transition services, even if the services are against their medical judgment,” they also noted.

What happened afterward, was that “The Alliance won that case, and a Texas district court judge issued a nationwide injunction blocking the gender identity and pregnancy termination provisions from taking effect.”

Trump’s Health and Human Service department decided not to appeal the ruling. And, “on Aug. 4, the Department of Justice, which represented HHS in the lawsuit, “said it was reviewing a draft proposed rule that had already cleared HHS.”

Of particular importance is that the Obama administration extended Medicaid coverage to those that were more than 133 percent of the poverty line and covers more than  40 percent of people with HIV in the nation, and in combination with those contributes to more than 30 percent of dollars for treatment.

In fact, the Washington Blade in an interview with “Carl Schmid, deputy executive director of the AIDS Institute, said many people with HIV/AIDS depend on Medicaid — both for drug and doctor care — because “a lot of people with HIV are very poor,” raising fears about how Trump might undo efforts to address the epidemic.”

Hardiman mentioned that there were “900,000 cases of HIV”, not to mention the population in the Illinois Department of Corrections. And, he added, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s closure of one-half of the city’s mental health clinics.

J.B. Pritzker remarked that “cuts in services to some that were not good to begin with,”: have added fuel to the fire, stoked largely by Rauner’s partner, Donald Trump and his vice-president, Mike Pence.”

Nearly all of the candidates echoed each other in their desire to see parity for gay and lesbian youth, as evidenced by one of the questions where a mother had deep concern for her identified daughter.  Biss noted that so many LGBT youth, often kicked out of the house, “end up in the courts, instead of with the schools,” and we need to prevent that from happening.

Also all of them agreed that there needs to be targeted programs to prevent teen homelessness, and what Kennedy has called before the largest shelter for them, the CTA Red line.

Kennedy, on the other hand, wants to not only prevent that but “every parent [in Illinois] should feel that they are in the best state to raise their kids, and that they can say, ‘I’m so lucky to be here [raising] them’, and that ‘they don’t have to move to the coast at 18 years,” to get a better life.”

Perhaps the most riveting part of the evening came with the discussion, and perhaps revelation, that there were 267,000 [undocumented] immigrants to the U.S. that identified as LGBT, and all agreed, especially Daiber, that they needed a path to citizenship.”

Pritzker commented that “we have a government who has a history of fighting against gays and lesbains and undocumented immigrants,and Kennedy questioned, “how do we make a path for citizenship a national movement.”

He also said, in summary, “any of us on this stage could do a better job than Bruce Rauner,” and while that well may be true, it is forums like these plus another women’s forum, sponsored by the Chicago Women’s Forum, scheduled for this Saturday that will help make the case.