Could Gay Marriage Become Legal in Illinois? The gay marriage bill needs 60 votes in the Illinois House to pass. Could it happen? We counted up where the votes might come from.



State Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, hugs Daphne Scott-Henderson after passage of the gay marriage bill out of the House Executive Committee Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 to the floor at the State Capitol in Springfield.



Gay marriage advocates in Illinois are celebrating this week. Late Tuesday night, the Illinois House Executive Committee passed SB10, the Senate-approved gay marriage bill, for consideration to the full house. The final vote in the Illinois House has been rumored to be around March 6 or 7 (update 3/11: Kate Sosin of the Windy City Times reports that the vote could happen any day). If that passes, Gov. Quinn has said he will sign the bill, making Illinois the tenth state in the nation to approve gay marriage.

But that’s a big “if.” The bill needs 60 votes in the House to pass, and the House leadership has been very upfront about the fact that this will be a very tight vote. Marriage advocates should already be concerned after the executive committee vote. The bill passed 6-5, with Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson, one of the representatives who voted for civil unions in 2010, voting no. Rep. Luis Arroyo, another civil union supporter, says he will vote no on the bill as currently written (he has religious objections).

So where does that leave the bill? We ran down the numbers and did our best to get a sense of where everyone is. We’ve also included links if a representative has indicated how they will vote on the record. If we missed something, let us know!



Definite yes: 14

These are the bill sponsors, so they’re a sure bet for support.

Rep. Greg Harris (D-13)

Ann Williams (D-11)

Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25)

Christian L Mitchell (D-26)

Cynthia Soto (D-04)

Daniel J. Burke (D-01)

Deborah Mell (D-40)

Kelly M. Cassidy (D-14)

Lou Lang (D-16)

Naomi D. Jakobsson (D-103)

Robert F Martwick (D-19)

Robyn Gabel (D-18)

Sam Yingling (D-62)

Sara Feigenholtz (D-12)

Likely yes: 29

These are the people who voted for civil unions in 2010 and are still in the legislature, have been elected since civil unions passed and have been endorsed by Equality Illinois (EQIL), or have indicated support on the record.

Al Riley (D-38): voted for civil unions

Andre Thapedi (D-32): voted for civil unions

Arthur Turner (D-09): voted for civil unions

Camille Y. Lilly (D-78): voted for civil unions

Carol Sente (D-59): voted for civil unions

Edward Acevedo (D-02): voted for civil unions

Elaine Nekritz (D-57): voted for civil unions

Elgie Sims (D-34): endorsed by EQIL

Elizabeth Hernandez (D-24): voted for civil unions

Emily McAsey (D-85): voted for civil unions

Emmanuel Chris Welch (D-07): endorsed by EQIL

Esther Golar (D-06): voted for civil unions

Fred Crespo (D-44): voted for civil unions

Jehan Gordon (D-92): voted for civil unions

Keith Farnham (D-43): voted for civil unions

Kenneth Dunkin (D-05): voted for civil unions

LaShawn Ford (D-08): voted for civil unions

Laura Fine (D-17): endorsed by EQIL

Maria Antonia Berrios (D-39): voted for civil unions

Martin J. Moylan (D-55): endorsed by EQIL

Mary E. Flowers (D-31): voted for civil unions

Michael J. Zalewski (D-23): voted for civil unions

Michael Madigan (D-22): House Speaker, voted for civil unions

Mike Smiddy (D-71): Smiddy told the Quad City Times he will sign up to be a co-sponsor as soon as the bill advances to the floor.

Monique D. Davis (D-27): voted for civil unions

Robert Rita (D-28): voted for civil unions

Scott Drury (D-58): endorsed by EQIL

Thaddeus Jones (D-29): Jones told the NWI Times he will support the bill.

William Davis (D-30): voted for civil unions

Toss-up: 20

These are the representatives who have indicated past support for gay rights or have been purposefully vague when discussing the issue.

Likely no: 37

That’s the number of representatives who voted no on civil unions in 2010 and who remain in the house, as well as the representatives who have been elected since 2010 and have stated their views on the record.

Barbara Wheeler (R-64): Wheeler told the Daily Herald that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.

C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-100): Davidsmeyer was appointed to the seat in December to fill out the term of retiring Rep. Jim Watson. Watson voted against civil unions, so Davidsmeyer may follow suit for marriage.

Chad Hays (R-104): Hays has not stated his opinion on marriage. He was not endorsed by EQIL, nor was he recommended by the Illinois Family Action PAC. He was elected to replace the retiring Bill Black, one of the Republicans who voted for civil unions.

Charles E. Jefferson (D-67): voted against civil unions

Charles E. Meier (R-108): He is opposed to gay marriage, according to the Belleville News-Democrat

Dan Brady (R-105): voted against civil unions

Daniel V. Beiser (D-111): voted against civil unions

Darlene J. Senger (R-41): voted against civil unions

David McSweeney (R-52): in a Daily Herald candidate profile, he said “marriage should be limited to that between a man and a woman.”

David R. Leitch (R-73): voted against civil unions

Dennis Reboletti (R-45): voted against civil unions

Donald L. Moffitt (R-74): voted against civil unions

Ed Sullivan, Jr. (R-51): voted against civil unions

Frank J. Mautino (D-76): voted against civil unions

Jeanne M Ives (D-42): Ives said last year she is “not in favor of gay marriage.”

Jerry Costello II (D-116): Saba Hamid of NBC Chicago reported that Costello is against same-sex marriage.

Jim Durkin (R-82): voted against civil unions

Jim Sacia (R-89): voted against civil unions

Joe Sosnowski (R-69): A member of the executive committee, Sosnowski voted no to advance the bill to the floor. The Rockford-based My Stateline reported a statement from Sosnowski’s office in which the representative said, “I believe that the definition of marriage is between one man and one woman.”

John E. Bradley (D-117): voted against civil unions

John C. D’Amico (D-15): voted against civil unions

Josh Harms (R-106): The Pontiac Daily Leader reported that Harms believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Katherine Cloonen (D-79): Last fall, the Daily Journal reported that Cloonen was opposed to gay marriage.

Kay Hatcher (R-50): voted against civil unions

Linda Chapa LaVia (D-83): voted against civil unions

Michael P. McAuliffe (R-20): voted against civil unions

Michael W. Tryon (R-66): voted against civil unions

Mike Fortner (R-49): voted against civil unions

Norine Hammond (R-93): Hammond was recommended by the Illinois Family Action PAC.

Patrick J. Verschoore (D-72): voted against civil unions

Raymond Poe (R-99): voted against civil unions

Renée Kosel (R-37): voted against civil unions

Rich Brauer (R-87): voted against civil unions

Sandra M. Pihos (R-48): voted against civil unions

Timothy L. Schmitz (R-65): voted against civil unions

Tom Demmer (R-90): Demmer opposes gay marriage, according to the Daily Chronicle.

Tom Cross (R-97): voted against civil unions

Definite no: 18

This is a list of every representative who sponsored last summer’s Defense of Marriage bill.

Adam Brown (R-102)

Bill Mitchell (R-101)

Brad Halbrook (R-110)

Brandon W. Phelps (D-118)

David Harris (R-53)

David Reis (R-109)

Dwight Kay (R-112)

Jil Tracy (R-94)

JoAnn D. Osmond (R-61)

John M. Cabello (D-68)

John Cavaletto (R-107)

Keith P. Sommer (R-88)

Michael D. Unes (R-91)

Mike Bost (R-115)

Patricia R. Bellock (R-47)

Robert W. Pritchard (R-70)

Thomas Morrison (R-54)

Wayne Rosenthal (R-95)

Needless to say, the vote really will be very tight. We’ll update this list if more public statements become available,

Photograph: Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune

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