Jim Madigan Wants to Bring Gay Marriage to Illinois

Jim Madigan’s humble start suggests the opening scenes of a biopic. He was born and raised in the Rust Belt town of Niles, Ohio, to a father who owned a cigar shop (and later ran a local chapter of AMVETS) and a mom who baby-sat. With his campaign for state Senate in District 7, Madigan looks to complete that biopic trajectory: If successful, he would become the Illinois Senate’s first openly gay member. Recently, we met with Madigan to discuss his political ambitions over Chinese food in Uptown, where he maintains a modest campaign office above Crew Bar and Grill. On Tuesday 18, he holds a fund-raiser at Wilde Bar. Madigan, 35 (no relation to Attorney General Lisa or House Speaker Michael), greets me in pressed khakis and a polo, and like any good candidate (and lawyer), is ready to deliver his stump speech. As we settle in at Silver Seafood, he tells me about his 1997 move from Cleveland to pursue a law degree at the University of Chicago, where he focused on civil rights and studied constitutional law under Barack Obama. In 2000, he turned down an offer from a major law firm to become a U. of C. faculty member. Two years later, he was hired by the Chicago law firm Goldberg Kohn, where he worked on pro bono cases, and in ’05 joined Lambda Legal as staff attorney. Last December, the Buena Park resident began serving as interim director for Equality Illinois, but by then, he’d already decided to run against incumbent Democrat Heather Steans in the 2010 election. To beat her, he’ll have to connect with an incredibly diverse constituency, as District 7 includes Uptown, Andersonville, Edgewater, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood and Rogers Park East. Since Democrats have a near lock on the district, it’s February’s primary battle that will be the hardest fought. Full Story from Time Out Chicago

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Illinois.

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