SPRINGFIELD – The Equal Rights Amendment won its biggest victory in Illinois since its 1970s' beginnings when a surprising number of Republican senators abandoned the party's traditional opposition to an amendment that would dramatically change public policy in the name of Equal Rights.
The new support for the ERA passed the Illinois Senate – where the Democrats already have a super-majority – with a 43 to 12 vote. The vote will now go to the Illinois House to be listed among those states that support ratifying the ERA.
Republicans Althoff, Barickman, Connelly, McConnaughay, Nybo, Rezin and Rooney switched sides on the ERA to join the Democrat majority:
I am very upset with Senator Pamela Athoff. In contacting her she promised me only yesterday that she would not be voting for ERA. What made her change her vote? Did she intentionally lie to me in assuring me that she was a NO vote for ERA? Does Senator Athoff really want a genderless society as would be the result if ERA should become law.
Shame on Senator Pamela Athoff. Her constituents should be very upset with her. Pamela has lots of explaining to do, and especially with me. Kudos to McConchie and Oberweis for their principled NO votes. Such principled Republican are indeed difficult to come by here in Illinois, where most Republican are spineless and afraid of their own shadows. Is is unconscionable that Republicans don’t understand what ERA is all about. It’s certainly not good for women!
Remember when proponents of the ERA promised us that there would never be unisex bathrooms as a result of equality laws?
First Sen Curran voted for age restrictions on rifles, now he votes for the ERA. I though Christine Radogno left the senate. DuPage county is lost and may as well be blue, our representatives are.
I’m not surprised that Sen. Althoff voted that way. I heard that she was a RINO, about seven years ago. She should have lost her last primary.
I am so grateful for Senator McConchie, who is a dependable conservative vote for supporting families against all the assaults thrown at them by the liberal Democrats.
The Equal Rights Amendment reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
In this day and age, when people can decide to choose/change their sex, the ERA is wide-open to interpretation. So many laws protecting the family will be interpreted differently if this law is passed.
Thank you Senator McConchie for voting to protect family values.
Fiddling while Some burns