The news outlets started declaring our failure at around 6pm yesterday. The bill to end the death penalty in Illinois, they said, had lost by one vote.
I work with an organization called Equal Justice USA and we've been been campaigning to end the death penalty in Illinois, along with our partners at the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, for a long time. So the news was pretty crushing. Although we knew technically the vote was not closed and there were supporters in the House who had not yet voted, seeing it in black and white made it feel pretty final. I left the office with a heavy heart.
But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of this bill's death were greatly exaggerated. By the time I reached my apartment, all the votes finally trickled in, and the bill passed - by a vote of 60-54!!!
This is huge. But we still have a few more hurdles before we can start chugging champagne directly from the bottle (sorry, guys). For all you Illinoisans, it's time to set your sights on the State Senate!They are in session on Monday and Tuesday only, and could be voting on the bill on either of those days - so the clock is ticking.
Many people in the Daily Kos community took action to support this campaign. And so I just want to say thank you. I especially would like to thank the brilliant editors of the Daily Kos blog, Criminal Injustice Kos, who have made sure that criminal justice issues aren't forgotten in the progressive community and who have covered this particular campaign for months. We've come a long way and, with just a few more pushes, Illinois could be the next state to end the death penalty - as early as next week!