A quite critical column on Dan Hynes’ committment to Gay and Lesbian rights was written in the Chicago Free Press
The list of Democrats who ushered Hynes on his downstate meet-and-greet includes several anti-gay officials, including Poshard and state Sens. George Shadid (Peoria) and Gary Forby (D-Marion). These senators oppose Senate Bill 101, a law that seeks to discourage anti-gay discrimination in Illinois. Hynes chose state Sen. Vince Demuzio (D-Carlinville), another "no" vote on SB 101, as one of his campaign co-chairs.
Hynes has always voiced strong support for GLBT civil rights issues. But I can’t help but wonder this: If he’s influential enough among conservative downstate Democrats to win their support for his campaign, why is he unable to persuade them to vote for our anti-discrimination bill?
While I think the gay community has legitimate beefs with Blagojevich and legitimate policy problems with Poshard, the problem with this kind of politics is it creates a circular firing squad of the type in which the Republican Party in Illinois is participating. Policy disputes are fine, but guilt by association is a problem. Vince Demuzio isn’t my kind of Democrat, but without him, Democrats aren’t nearly as strong in Illinois as the currently are. And without a strong Democratic presence, gay rights won’t go anywhere in Illinois. The Republican Party is pulling the other way.
More fair is the following,
Following his announcement speech, Hynes told a reporter that "marriage is a union between a man and a woman." His campaign spokesperson Chris Mather later clarified for CFP that the comptroller would support a law to give same-sex couples the privileges and responsibilities of heterosexual marriage. In addition to supporting SB 101, Hynes also backs federal anti-discrimination legislation and other measures vital to GLBT civil rights advocates.
But Hynes has no legislative record to demonstrate the strength of his commitment. With his father’s help, he was elected to the statewide office of comptroller at the age of 29, without having held any prior elective office. Now at 35, he is the youngest candidate in the Senate race. His views on a host of issues remain largely untested.
There is no mention of the words "gay" or "lesbian" on Hynes’ campaign website. On the other hand, his opponent state Sen. Barack Obama (D-Chicago) proudly touts his role as a co-sponsor of SB 101 on the Internet. Candidate Blair Hull’s campaign passes out flyers featuring his support for a number of pro-GLBT policies, ranging from training educators in how to handle anti-gay discrimination in schools to legalizing same-sex civil unions.
Hynes needs to keep in mind that alienating an important section of the Democratic base can be a problem in the primary and the general. And often, in such cases as this, alienating activists happens from sins of ommission as much as anything. While the web site is still being rolled out, he has very little on the environment either.