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| Illinois history? Or state remaining solidly blue? |
And people seriously quarreled over the Equal Rights Amendment, which never became a reality in large part because Illinois failed to act to ratify it.
NOW, WE
ADVANCE three-and-a-half decades to the present day, where there are those who
are going about saying Illinois finally got off its collective behind and voted
to ratify the constitutional amendment that says a person’s right to equal
treatment should not be limited by their gender.
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| WASHINGTON: A mayoral dream for many |
For the
Illinois House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to approve the amendment –
making Illinois the 37th state to do so. Get 38 states to go along,
and you have a change to the U.S. Constitution!
Yet I’m
not convinced that Illinois’ action means much of anything – except showing
that Illinois is NOT among the states where conservative ideologues prevail on social
issues.
I actually
think there’s a better chance that the head cheerleader of my high school days
will suddenly pop back into my life and throw herself at me, than that Illinois’
action actually means the Equal Rights Amendment is now a part of law. And yes, I realize that's a very un-ERA type of thought to have.
IT ALL
COMES back to the notion that there is a time limit on considering constitutional
amendments, and the issue of the ERA far exceeded that limit.
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| REAGAN: The far-right fantasy |
Which
was March 22 1979 – although Congress voted to extend it to June 30, 1982. It
still failed to get the 38 states for ratification – with Illinois’ refusal to consider
the measure considered by some the move that killed the ERA.
I know
of some political people who, to this day, still want to blame then-Illinois
House Speaker George Ryan for the ERA’s failure and think that act is more
heinous than his behavior later as secretary of state and governor that got him
a six-year prison term.
So I’m
not sure of the significance of the 72-45 vote the Illinois House took
Wednesday, with some people who might have been sympathetic to the ERA’s goals
voting “no” because they considered it a pointless action.
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| STEVENSON: Came so close to being gov. |
I KNOW
THAT from my standpoint, the General Assembly had better come up with a state budget
for the upcoming fiscal year – an act it has not been able to do in any of the
past three years.
If the
Illinois House couldn’t sign off on a budget (which does impact state
government’s daily activity) before adjourning Thursday night for the summer
months but managed to find time to deal with the abstraction that the ERA has
become, then there are going to be those who question political priorities.
And yes,
I realize that government officials are capable (or at least they’re supposed
to be) of addressing multiple issues.
But
anybody who’s acting as though the Illinois House made history on Wednesday,
they’re living in the past. Wednesday’s vote would have been of great historic
significance for Illinois had it been done back when I was a high school junior
– and not at a time when I have a nephew finishing up his high school days.
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| SCHLAFLY: ERA opponent rolling over in grave? |
PARTICULARLY
SINCE THE Equal Rights Amendment is such a simple, declarative sentence that
says all people ought to be treated equal – one whose approval should not have
been any kind of controversy.
All that
talk by critics about how it means the genders will have to share public bathrooms
is just a bunch of bunk. Which remains all these years later among the most
absurd argument I’ve ever heard made against an issue.
People
opposing the Equal Rights Amendment back then and still today? It says more
about your hang-ups in life than anything wrong with the concept itself.
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