O&A--What's wrong with BIll Brady?

The first few paragraphs of my latest Out & About Illinois magazine blog post is below. The blog goes along with my column which an be found by downloading the latest issue of Out & About Illinois magazine as a PDF from outandaboutillinois.com! Please go to the site to read (and comment) on the rest of the blog!

What's wrong with BIll Brady?:

"PHIL REESE, MARCH 8, 2010: Have you heard of Senate Bill 3447? Well, if you haven't, you should have. The Bill seems to have gone quiet now after being referred back to the Committee on Assignments, but had it passed out of the Judiciary committee, you might have lost your job. The bill, which was initially submitted by Senator Bill Brady--who hates us--would have expanded the 'Religious Exemption' to the Human Rights Law that protects people from getting fired based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The 'Religious Exemption' would suddenly apply to almost every employer imaginable, rendering the employment non-discrimination law virtually useless.

The hubub that erupted when bloggers from around the state--including myself--caught wind of the bill swiftly put it to bed. The Judicial committee chair who had planned to give the bill a hearing when he thought the lead sponsor was still Bill Brady, swiftly re-referred the bill to the Assignments Committee when he learned the sponsor had changed to John O. Jones. The bill isn't exactly dead, but its not going anywhere for now.

In short, Bill Brady is a shady shady, sneaky, evil man.

According to Senator Michael Frerichs, from the 42nd District, Bill Brady is one of the biggest obstacles to equality and progress, and has been for years.

'I can not think of any examples in my three years in the State Senate when Senator Brady extended a hand across the aisle,' Frerichs said in an emailed statement.

'This is particularly striking,' continued Frerichs, 'because for my first two years, due to the super-majority that the Democrats enjoyed and the limited number of seats on the left side of the chamber, I sat on the Republican side of the aisle. I developed many working relationships with Republicans because of my proximity, but Senator Brady was never one of the Republicans to work with or socialize with Democrats.'"

After you've finished reading, please add your comment to "What's wrong with BIll Brady?" At the Outandaboutillinois.com website! And download the PDF of the latest issue: Straight But Not Narrow: Central Illinois' Straight Allies Speak Out.