On November 5, the Illinois House passed the freedom to marry in a decisive 61 to 54 vote, following Senate passage on Valentine’s Day earlier this year. On November 20, Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill into law and gave committed same-sex couples across the state the protection and dignity they deserve.

Every step of the journey to win marriage equality, the team at Equality Illinois was there, advocating for all Illinois families and ultimately leading the Land of Lincoln to this historic victory. 

We reached out to Bernard Cherkasov, Chief Executive Officer of Equality Illinois, about how his organization geared up and worked tirelessly to win marriage for same-sex couples this legislative session.

Equality Federation: When did Equality Illinois make marriage equality one of its top priorities? How long have you been working to win the freedom to marry for same-sex couples?  
Bernard Cherkasov of Equality Illinois: Even as we were pushing for the civil unions law from 2007-2010, we were clear that it was an incremental step toward full marriage equality. The day that the civil union law was signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, we launched the Civil Union Tracker to follow implementation of the new law and to document inequalities that same-sex couples experience because they are unable to get married. 

EF: What happened with the marriage bill during the 2013 regular legislative session?
BC: We introduced the bill on January 9, 2013 in the Senate, and we moved pretty quickly through that chamber, with the final vote on the full Senate floor taking place on Valentines Day 2013. The bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support. Later that month, the bill also passed a House committee and headed to the full House for consideration. On November 5, the House passed the bill, sending it to Governor Quinn for his signature.

EF: How did you organize and mobilize supporters in support of marriage equality? How did you engage the public and build statewide support for the bill?  
BC: In preparation for the marriage campaign, long before there was an official bill, we had built a coalition of LGBT-supportive clergy (now over 1,100 strong), of business leaders and employers, of community activists, and other stakeholders. With each of these groups, we developed messaging targeting different audiences, and we've used that messaging to mobilize supporters and reach likely supporters of marriage. We used every opportunity to reach regular Illinoisans -- from small church picnics to the massive annual Illinois State Fair.

EF: How did you win the support of legislators?
BC: We used both direct lobbying and grassroots lobbying tactics. We have a 4-person bipartisan lobbying team, but we've also opened campaign offices, hired field organizers, and activated dozens of super-volunteers to rally constituents to call for the marriage vote.

Thank you Equality Illinois for your hard work to win marriage for all Illinois families!