Patch Flash: Marriage Equality Bill Moves to IL Senate
Chicagoland news to talk about: Find out where Chicago ranks among most congested cities.
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Marriage equality legislation in Illinois was approved Tuesday by a state Senate committee, advancing the measure toward a vote of the full Senate that is expected to take place on Valentine's Day.
The Illinois Senate Executive Committee voted, just as they had a month earlier, in favor of the bill, which would legalize same-sex marriage in the land of Lincoln. Nine committee members voted in favor of the bill and five against.
State Sen. Heather Steans, the bill's sponsor, told the committee Tuesday, "Same-sex couples want to marry for the same reasons we all do. Civil unions have created a second-class status," according to Chicago Pride.
The Skokie Police Department has been working around the clock with Chicago and other area detectives since Monday afternoon. The reason: The department believes it's nabbed a serial hair salon bandit, who it says is responsible for 15 armed robberies that occurred in eight different municipalities, spanning two counties.
An annual study of national driving patterns shows that Americans spent 5.5 billion additional hours sitting in traffic in 2011.
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute released a report Tuesday that found Americans are adapting to road congestion by allowing, on average, an hour to make a trip that would take 20 minutes without traffic. The Urban Mobility Report also says clogged roads cost Americans $121 billion in time and fuel in 2011. The study determined that Chicago ranked 8th on the list of most congested cities. The most congested city is Washington D.C.
Nine companies are reportedly preparing for nearly 1,200 layoffs throughout Illinois, including Sun-Times Media, Walgreen's and Kmart, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
Sun-Times Media, publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and other suburban papers, warns that 274 jobs in Glenview, Tinley Park and Aurora could be eliminated due to consolidation.
Northwestern University Athletics and the Chicago Cubs announced on Tuesday a multi-year event and reciprocal marketing partnership featuring Wildcats athletic programs at Wrigley Field, including baseball, lacrosse and five Wildcats football games.
The dates for the five Wildcats football games are pending due to the scheduling of the Wrigley Field restoration project. Details on game dates, opponents and ticket information will also be provided at a later date.
It’s all a part of a massive shake-up under way in Wrigleyville. Along with the $300 million renovation project of the ballpark, the Cubs are vying for more night games at Wrigley, as well as games later on Friday afternoons and Saturday nights.
Living in a home fit for a king is one thing, but what about living in a home fit for a king—of beers?
The "Pabst Mansion," a gorgeous, eight-bedroom Glencoe, home recently hit the market for $6.95 million. The estate was built in 1936 for the late Pabst Brewing Co. Chairman and one-time President Harris Perlstein.
Architect William Pereira designed the home for Perlstein, who merged his Chicago company, Premier Malt, with Milwaukee’s Pabst brewing company the year before Prohibition was repealed, according to Chicago magazine. Pereira, himself a Chicago native, went on the design buildings like San Francisco's iconic Transamerica Pyramid Center.
Sean G.
11:54 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Man can pass any laws he wishes. He can pass a law to call a tree a cat, however the tree has a essence and simply changing or defining a tree as a cat does not make it so and can never change the essence of the tree. Marriage is a sacrament under God, it is the union of one man and woman, it has an essence and a definite purpose. Pass whatever laws you want, because the essence and sacrament of marriage is unwavering and no man made laws will ever change that.
Brian
1:51 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
You can talk all you want about essence, but as I said in another message board in response, isn't the essence of marriage love?
Dan Johnson
10:29 am on Friday, May 24, 2013
Marriage is a fundamental civil right.
Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 95 (1987): “The decision to marry is a fundamental right” and an “expression of emotional support and public commitment.”
Marriage is a fundamental right of all persons. No religious belif is required and people of all faiths as well as those of none, get married every day. While your church can set their own rules and deny marriage to anyone for any reason they choose, you should not be allowed to impose your religious restrictions on everyone else, using the force of law.
"In the court’s final analysis, the government’s only basis for supporting DOMA comes down to an apparent belief that the moral views of the majority may properly be enacted as the law of the land in regard to state-sanctioned same-sex marriage in disregard of the personal status and living conditions of a significant segment of our pluralistic society. Such a view is not consistent with the evidence or the law as embodied in the Fifth Amendment with respect to the thoughts expressed in this decision. The court has no doubt about its conclusion: DOMA deprives them of the equal protection of the law to which they are entitled."
IMHO
12:32 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Sean should preface his comments with, "in my church . . ." and it would make more sense. The Declaraton of Independence and the Constitution of the United States assure equal rights for everyone (all men created equal, etc., etc.). I'm sorry your church does not and respect their right not to, but no one in this country should be subjected to your church's doctrine involuntarily.
Dan Johnson
10:32 am on Friday, May 24, 2013
Marriage it is a fundamental right of the individual.
The only eligibility requirement for fundamental rights is being human.
Reasonable restrictions may be made only when a compelling and legitimate governmental interest can withstand judicial scrutiny.
Most can agree with the courts that reasonable restrictions include age, ability to demonstrate informed consent, and not being closely related or currently married. Gender alone is not a restriction.
While churches may place any restrictions they choose on their own ceremonies, the government can only restrict fundamental rights when a compelling and legitimate justification can be demonstrated.
Procreation ability has never been a requirement for marriage, and therefore fails as a legitimate qualification. Yet even that irrational excuse for discrimination ignores the fact that gay people can and do reproduce, and are raising children either biologically related or adopted. Denial of equal treatment under the law provides nothing to opposite sex couple families. It only harms same sex couple families needlessly.
Gay couples are seeking to be treated equally under the laws currently in effect, in the remaining states that do not yet recognize their marriages, and by the federal government.
Neither tradition nor gender provides a legitimate governmental interest sufficient for denial of this fundamental right.