Chicago, IL — The Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee will vote tomorrow on a bill, authored by State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) - the likely GOP gubernatorial candidate in Illinois, which would promote religious discrimination.

Brady authored Senate Bill 3447, which would amend the Illinois Human Rights Act and would open the door to employment discrimination by religious institutions, and any association or non-profit group operated in conjunction with them.

Since introducing Senate Bill 3447 immediately after the primary election in February, Brady is now trying to distance himself from the controversial legislation - even removing his name from the bill which he originally drafted. 

"It is interesting that he [Brady] has tried to backpedal on this attempt to expand discrimination by passing sponsorship to Sen. Jones, just as he has tried to backpedal on his efforts to kill animals in a cruel and inhumane way," said State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago). "I wonder where his true beliefs lie: his initial instincts or his reaction to the outrage of the Illinois public."

Brady has also removed his name from a bill he originally sponsored that would re-legalize mass euthanasia of dogs and cats by gas chambers. 

"I am outraged at State Sen. Brady's assault on the Human Rights Act," Equality Illnois CEO Bernard Cherkasov told ChicagoPride.com. "This law has been on the books for over 5 years now, protecting Illinoisans' basic human rights, and doing so very well.  Sen. Brady wants to energize his base in anticipation of his gubernatorial run, and he is trying to do that at the expense of LGBT equality."

Equality Illinois is urging individuals to contact their state senators, especially if they are on the 11-member Judiciary Committee, which is considering the measure first.

"It is up to us as a community to stop this bill from moving anywhere," said Cherkasov. "We, at Equality Illinois, are working hard to educate legislators on the immense damage that this bill would do. But the ultimate pressure has to come from constituents.  We've posted on our website contact information for all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and more details about this bill."

Details about SB 3447 is available at http://www.equalityillinois.org/bnews022010.html

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