Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing
for passage of a gay marriage bill in the Illinois House.
The measure, which aims to make
Illinois the 10th state to legalize such unions, cleared
the Illinois Senate on Valentine's Day and a House committee last
week.
But the House is far from sewn up. In
fact, Chicago
Magazine counts only 14 members as certain to vote for the
bill. Another 29 are listed as likely to vote for the bill and 20
remain on the fence. Sixty votes are needed to clear the chamber.
“The clock is ticking,” Emanuel
wrote in an email to supporters. “The House is poised to vote …
in the coming days. And I know from talking with several of my
friends in Springfield that some members of the House still haven't
decided which way they'll vote.”
“If we're going to pass this bill,
it's crucial that members of the House hear from marriage supporters
every single day until the freedom to marry becomes law in Illinois.”
“Real change happens when citizens
stand strong, tell their stories and urge their lawmakers to do
what's right. … What happens in the next week is up to you. Let's
do what it takes to bring home a victory for the thousands of
Illinois families who are counting on us right now.”
State Rep. Greg Harris, a Democrat from
Chicago and the bill's champion in the House, refused to divulge the
current headcount on the bill in the House but he did tell the
Chicago
Sun-Times that when he calls the measure for a vote “it
will pass.”