October 29th, 1997 to November 4th, 1997

Gay Rights Top Illinois Federation Political Agenda

An Interview with Political Director Rick Garcia

Part Four by P.J. Engelbrecht

In September, when the Illinois Federation for Human Rights hired new Executive Director Laird Petersen, the previous executive director, Rick Garcia stepped sidewise in the Federation hierarchy, walking into the newly created post of "Political Director." Garcia had served as top Federation administrator since the group's founding in 1992.

Garcia and Petersen now occupy co-equal positions in the Federation administration. Both men say they will work as a team to further the Federation's mission-"to secure, protect and defend basic rights of gays and lesbians in Illinois," as Garcia put it during a mid-October Outlines interview.

In his narrowed office, Garcia will focus exclusively on the political work he has always preferred, leaving fundraising and development responsibilities to Petersen. The duo believes this division of labor maximizes their individual strengths. "I get to do exactly what I want to do [now]," Garcia said Sept. 26, the week Petersen was appointed. "Rick on the road [and] in Springfield, putting together and executing our political agenda."

Passing a lesbian and gay-rights bill in Springfield tops Federation political goals for 1998, as in the past. An amendment to the state human-rights act which would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation failed in the House last April by a vote of 54-61, despite almost around-the-clock lobbying by Garcia, Federation lobbyist Lana Hostetler, and lesbigay constituents across Illinois.

The House measure was introduced and co-sponsored by openly gay Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago; an identical Senate bill-never brought to a vote for strategic reasons-was sponsored by Sen. Bruce Farley, D-Chicago.

Garcia points out that "all the statewide office-holders ... have non-discrimination policies ... [and] the governor has [one] for all the employees of the state." But the wider lesbigaytrans citizenry remains unprotected, and the Federation was formed precisely to affirm gay civil rights through state law, though the Federation has also supported local gay-rights ordinances, such as the Jacksonville city human-rights code and the Evanston trans rights amendment.

"In the spring, we'll reintroduce the gay and lesbian rights bill," confirmed Garcia. The spring legislative session commences in January. The measure has already been endorsed by major Illinois newspapers across the political spectrum, including the Rockford Register-Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Decatur Herald, in addition to the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. Each time gay-rights legislation has come up for consideration, it has inched closer to passage, vote by vote, and Garcia remains optimistic about the measure's chances in the near future.

Garcia sees election of pro-gay legislators as key to passing a gay-rights bill. "Another of our priorities is Larry McKeon. He's up for re-election in 1998," said Garcia. McKeon plays a preeminent role in the Federation's political strategy not least because he is the only 'out' legislator in Illinois government, besides being openly HIV+. Will the Federation support other lesbian or gay candidates in 1998? "There aren't any [besides McKeon] right now," Garcia observed. "[But] one of our priorities is to elect pro gay and lesbian candidates, and our PAC arm will make decisions on who to support. ... The bottom line is, we support our friends and look for new friends."

The Federation endorses only politicians vying for state-level office, especially the offices of state representative and state senator. Support for the state gay-rights bill is the prime criterion. "We will not do our endorsements the way IMPACT did," Garcia declared, defending the Federation's single-issue selection judgements. "We have seen pro-choice groups defeat pro-gay legislators. We're between a rock and a hard place if we hold legislators up to a (litmus test) of a whole laundry list of progressive issues."

Last year, the Federation endorsed 52 candidates for the Illinois legislature, of whom 50 won their contests. Garcia was especially pleased that anti-gay State Sen. Bob Raica, R-LaGrange, lost his primary race to pro-gay Republican Christine Radogno, after the Federation targeted him for defeat.

"There's only one motivating factor in Springfield," according to Garcia. "To get elected." The success of gay-friendly Republicans like Radogno helps Garcia spread the word that supporting gay rights is "not a liability."

Yet Garcia recalled how even the rights bill co-sponsor, House leader Mike Madigan, apparently refused to exercise his considerable Democratic clout to push the measure into law last April. "For years, the gay and lesbian community was duped by some well-intentioned folks ... [into believing] that Madigan was our friend," said Garcia, his frustration evident. "Madigan and [Republican leader] Daniels ... are two peas in a pod."

The Federation's strategy for promoting gay rights through supporting Illinois' pro-gay-rights legislators does not end with mere endorsement 'lip service,' however. "Our job is to raise a lot of money for pro-gay candidates throughout the state," a task Garcia will share with Petersen. Last year, Garcia drove 13,000 miles criss-crossing Illinois to "develop a statewide network" of Federation financial supporters and active volunteers.

"Legislators are responsive to people who look, act and talk just like them," Garcia points out, and he is working to identify lesbigay and gay-friendly contacts and to establish Federation volunteer committees in every legislative district, from Carbondale to Rockford, from Charleston to Rock Island. Garcia's "ideal team" for lobbying Downstate lawmakers features constituents who are parents of gays and local gays themselves, as well as members of religious, civil rights and labor groups.

Such networking correlates with another Federation priority: "We do political work, but a huge amount of our work is public education," said Garcia. He cited the gay-friendly pastoral letter issued by the U.S. Catholic bishops as a recent occasion when he was often called upon to speak out on behalf of the lesbigaytrans community. "When issues that affect the gay and lesbian community arise, we issue a statement. ... Increasingly, people call here looking for assistance on a wide range of issues. ... Even though our principal focus is legislative, and PAC politics, there's a lot of education work that goes along with it.

"We need to affect public opinion ... [and] one of the best ways ... is an aggressive and effective media campaign. ... We get a lot of press. People say 'Rick Garcia is a media whore,' but that's a major portion of our job here." To keep lesbigaytrans issues on the civic table, Federation board President Art Johnston, board Vice President Ellen Meyers, lobbyist Lana Hostetler, and Garcia all make frequent public relations appearances, and Petersen is planning to join Garcia on statewide speaking and organizing junkets throughout the coming year.

In enlarging Federation membership and electoral support, Garcia believes that "Voter registration is a very important component. ... Politicians understand two things: votes and money. ... [Voter registration is] one of the most important tools minority groups have." In 1994 and '95, about 50 Federation volunteers registered more voters than members of any other civic organization in Illinois-more than 10,000 registered in the last year. Stuart Hartzell coordinates the registration program, and Norm Sloan has been a "star" registrar, single-handedly enlisting more than 6,200 voters.

Garcia noted that in the 4th District, he's working closely with Latino groups, and that he's cooperating with a national group of community centers. All this patriotic zeal is not mere altruism, of course. Besides providing a civic service, voter registration generates additional names on the Federation mailing list. Each name is a potential volunteer, a potential financial donor, and Petersen has set his sights high, hoping to increase Federation rolls by at least 1400%, to 20,000 names.

Defying its 'lone ranger' reputation, the Federation has lately reached out to forge cooperative relationships with other lesbigaytrans organizations. "We've been working with [the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force] ... in establishing a confederation of state-wide GLBT organizations ... shar[ing] resources," explained Garcia. "[However,] the Human Rights Campaign in Washington will not return our calls." Garcia nonchalantly shrugged off HRC's perennial rebuffs. The Federation does not plan to venture into federal politics.

On the local level, a potential Federation merger with Chicago political action committee IMPACT fell through during inter-board negotiations this summer, precipitating IMPACT's collapse. "They supported [the Federation's lobbying] effort in Springfield this year, [showing] a willingness to work with other organizations ... but the pols [in IMPACT] killed the organization," in Garcia's opinion.

Garcia had long found plenty to criticize in IMPACT, but still, he claimed he "took no pleasure" in the pac's demise. "You need fresh and new blood, but you can't have your 'director du jour'," he commented caustically, then posed a question he admitted was rhetorical: "What is not being done, now that IMPACT is gone?"

Will the loss of IMPACT have an impact on Federation operations? "Given that we're the only statewide group and only PAC in town, we undoubtedly are gonna have to change to meet the increasing responsibility," Garcia responded. "We're it. [It's] an awesome challenge and an awesome responsibility. If I didn't think we could meet it, we'd close the doors." [Next week, Outlines will review other local lesbigay political groups.]
Of course, Garcia has had his own fair share of detractors, who most often fault the Federation for being a monolithically single-issue, 'two-man show' controlled by Garcia and Johnston without community accountability. Petersen's addition to the Federation may quell some of these concerns. Famously outspoken, Garcia himself has been criticized for a 'loose-cannon' approach to political affairs. "I cannot be bought; money will not buy my silence!" quips Garcia off the cuff. Critics do temper their complaints by recognizing the political work the Federation performs on behalf of the lesbigaytrans community-though some also note that the single-issue group has yet to achieve its single objective.

"I challenge [Federation critics] to find another model that has worked as well in Chicago," Garcia retorted more thoughtfully. "They may not like our style [or] our structure, [but] I will put our record against anyone's record. ... We have substance here in things that we have done. Yes, we have had consistent players here [e.g., Johnston and Garcia]. We started off in my dining room with a computer donated by the Jesuits ... and now we're here in this [relatively expansive] office. ... It's change with a direction ... to accomplish our mission."

"I make no apologies for our consistency ... 'cause here, there's a corporate memory and a history that is consistent," asserted Garcia. "Votes and volunteers" are this grassroots organizer's perennial goals, always pursuant to the gay-rights agenda.

"We're activists responsible to this community," Garcia concluded.

Next week: The final part of our series on local politics, looking at other gay and lesbian organizations and PACS.

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