www.BellevillePride.comon Behalf of: Windy City Times By: Yasmin Nair
December 18, 2010
(CHICAGO)
Rick Garcia,former Public Policy director with Equality Illinois, was suprisingly "let go" this week from the statewide organization with a reputation of working the trenches along side policy-makers in Springfield, and in every corner of the state.
[Garcia said that Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov told him, "I am going to be very gracious and amicable," and Garcia said he looked at him and said, "Do you think for one minute that I'm going to be gracious and amicable?"] *
Without doubt, the communities of Southern Illinois are in shock at this development. Garcia who is a Metro East native, has a proven track record working closely in our region on issues of equality. Garcia was featured as the keynote speaker at Metro East Pride 2010, and recently coordinated the Civil Union Equality Summit, in Belleville along with MEGS (Metro East Gays & Straights).
When Windy City times writer Yasmin Nair asks, Garcia explains:
"[I went into the office for a meeting at 5 o'clock last night [ Dec. 16 ]
.I went into Bernard's office. There was one of our board members that nobody would know, hello, and I sat down and Bernard just looked at me and said, "Your services are no longer needed and we are terminating you now." Now, the state of Illinois is an at-will state and anybody can be fired at any time, so he just fired my ass at about 5 o'clock last night. Um, about 45 minutes before I was supposed to be over at [ Center on Halsted ] to give a talk.
So he fired me 10 days after we passed a civil-unions bill that only six states have. He fires me. Who has passed more civil-rights legislation in this country than that little nasty—I can't even think of the term—that he would even think of? And then he sits across from me and says, "I'm terminating you because we don't need you up here no more." And that's what he said to me. We're terminating you.] *
Garcia's contribution to the advancement of gay rights in Illinois is undeniable. He was a key figure in the passages of both the amendment of the state's human-rights act that includes sexual orientation and gender identity as well as the civil-unions bill that recently passed through the Illinois General Assembly.
OTHER RESOURCES
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=29843
http://hopeandhelpcenter.blogspot.com/2010/12/il-house-passes-civil-unions-act-senate.html
MetroEast NEWS abridged story by: Colby Kluthe
by: Yasmin Nair
