Dear Equality Warrior,
Yesterday, as the Equal Means Equal team in Illinois (Natalie, Rachel, Jules and Kamala) was checking out of our Chicago Hotel to head back to New York, D.C. and L.A., we found out that the Illinois Senate voted 43 to 12 to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment.
We thank Senator Heather Steans and all of the Illinois Senators who voted to legalize equality for the one hundred and sixty-one million American women and girls who are presently without civil and human rights protections under the United States Constitution.
Chicago Tribune : Illinois Senate approves federal Equal Rights Amendment, more than 35 years after the deadline
This past week Equal Means Equal has been on the ground in both Springfield and Chicago supporting the many local organizations pushing for this glorious outcome — a “yes” vote in the Illinois State Senate!
Kamala, Jules and Rachel went to the Equal Pay Rally in Daley Plaza, Chicago, to make certain that people understood the connection between ERA and equal pay (you will never have equal pay without ERA).
Natalie went to Springfield to meet with individual legislators and hand out our materials, including free copies of Legalize Equality, to the various politicians. We were hoping for a vote Tuesday but when it didn’t happen, Natalie came back to Chicago. And then we got the great news… the Senate voted yes.
There is one final hurdle that we must overcome in order to finish ERA ratification in Illinois:
We must secure the vote in the Illinois House of Delegates in this same legislative session in order to complete E.R.A. ratification in the state.
Help us organize to ensure that this vote is successful – we need to be able to mobilize large numbers of people in these next few weeks. The vote could come anytime between now and the end of May so we must prepare and be ready to move quickly.
If we can complete ERA ratification in Illinois, we will only need one more state to complete the amendment process to the U.S. Constitution and finally provide women with the guaranteed protections they need to move forward towards a more equal future together.
With love and gratitude,
Kamala, Natalie, Rachel, Jules and the EME Team
