[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING PATRICIA M. LOGUE, AN EXTRAORDINARY CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 27, 2018

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank 
Judge Patricia M. Logue for her extraordinary leadership in 
establishing the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans and for her service to 
the state of Illinois.
  In 1993, Pat brought the fight for LGBTQ civil rights to the 
heartland when she opened the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal 
in Chicago. Over the next fourteen years, Pat built the office into a 
formidable force. Working with cooperating attorneys from law firms 
across the Midwest, Pat won groundbreaking legal victories that helped 
redefine equality and freedom for students, parents, and families 
throughout the Midwest.
  Pat's deep understanding of constitutional law, ability to select and 
advance compelling cases, and brilliant strategic thinking made her a 
leading voice of the LGBTQ civil rights movement. She has been a hero 
to many in the Chicagoland area and across the country, including to 
me. I am one of many who have relied on Pat to inform us and to inspire 
us.
  In 1995, Pat helped win the right for gay men and lesbians to adopt 
children in Illinois. Four years later, Pat acted swiftly to preserve 
that right against a rogue circuit court whose extraordinary actions 
put adoptions for three small children at risk. In two separate cases 
involving lesbian couples, the judge disregarded social workers and 
court-appointed guardians who testified that the children were thriving 
in these couples' care and ``highly recommended'' the adoptions. 
Instead of crediting these experts, the judge appointed the Family 
Research Council--an organization that opposes all gay and lesbian 
adoptions--to represent the children's best interests. Pat immediately 
appealed these rulings and, minutes after hearing her argument, a 
unanimous three-judge panel moved to affirm the adoptions for both 
families. Reading from the bench, Judge Morton Zwick rebuked the lower 
court's rulings as ``an inexcusable injustice'' and a discredit to the 
``people of Illinois.''
  Pat played a similarly critical role in securing protections for 
students. For four years, Jamie Nabozny endured extraordinary cruelty 
and abuse at his Wisconsin high school. Students urinated on him, 
pretended to rape him, and at one point beat him so badly that he 
required surgery. Jamie asked for help, but school officials told him 
that this was what he could expect for being gay. When Jamie sued, the 
school argued that it was not legally obligated to protect gay students 
from harassment. Pat took Jamie's case on appeal and won the nation's 
first ruling that schools cannot turn a blind eye to anti-gay abuse in 
the landmark 1996 case Nabozny v. Podlesny. By protecting students from 
anti-gay harassment and abuse, Pat opened the door for the gay-straight 
alliances that now flourish in high schools and colleges across the 
nation.
  Pat was one of the lead lawyers in Lawrence v. Texas. At the heart of 
the majority decision in Lawrence is the understanding that the 
Constitution's fundamental protections of liberty, equality, and 
freedom are guaranteed to all Americans. Affirmation of the equal 
dignity and respect of LGBTQ Americans set the stage for the Supreme 
Court's 2015 decision to recognize marriage equality in Obergefell v. 
Hodges.
  When Pat opened Lambda's Midwest office twenty-five years ago, law 
and public policy reflected stereotypes and prejudice against the gay, 
lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Children were removed from 
gay and lesbian parents; LGBTQ workers were denied employment or fired 
from their jobs; and elected officials cited state sodomy laws to deny 
equal protection under the law. To win cases for clients and lasting 
change for the nation, Pat helped change that landscape by opening 
minds and hearts to the realities of LGBTQ lives. She did this time and 
again, changing public attitudes and legal policies and proving that we 
are stronger as a nation when we recognize equality and freedom for 
all.
  In 2007, and after leading Lambda Legal's Midwest office for fourteen 
years, Pat was named as an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook 
County. Pat brought the same clear-eyed sense of justice and fairness 
to the bench, where she has served in the Domestic Relations Division.
  Pat has enriched the lives of thousands of individuals, couples and 
families--those she represented directly and the many others who have 
benefitted from the landmark systemic changes brought about by her 
work--creating a lasting legacy of opportunity and hope for generations 
to come.
  Pat's life and work are a call to action, a reminder that each of us 
has the power to effect significant change. For her leadership and 
courage, her intellect and compassion, we owe Patricia M. Logue a debt 
of gratitude.

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