Midwest Gaze

Legal claims filed by the partners of two lesbians killed in a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair last month could lead the state to re-examine how it defines survivors in wrongful death cases.

Christina Santiago of Chicago and Tammy VanDam of Wanatah, Ind., were among seven people who died after wind toppled the stage rigging before an Aug. 13 Sugarland concert. Their partners, Alisha Brennon and Beth Urschel, were injured.

Republican Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Marion Democratic Sen. Swati Dandekar to serve on the Iowa Utilities Board, raising questions about which party will control the Iowa Senate.

Democrats hold a 26-to-24-seat majority in the Senate, and Dandekar’s district was seen as leaning toward Republicans. Branstad has set a special election for Nov. 8 to replace Dandekar.

Whether it’s the state’s shaky finances, its recent tax hike or strict gun laws, downstate Illinois knows it can always vent its frustration by blaming Chicago.

The metropolis to the north may be Illinois’ cash cow, but it dominates the political scene and has for most of the state’s 193 years, producing the current leaders of both legislative houses and the governor, who doesn’t venture into the hinterlands much but does so more often than his prison-bound predecessor, Rod Blagojevich – also a Chicago guy.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund has endorsed out state Rep. Mark Pocan in his bid for the Madison-area congressional seat being vacated by Tammy Baldwin to run for the U.S. Senate.

Pocan has served in the Wisconsin Assembly for more than 12 years, during six of which he sat on the state’s powerful budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, including a term as co-chair. He has taken a leadership role among Assembly Democrats, helping to secure a Democratic majority in 2008 for the first time in 14 years.

Gay and lesbian students at the University of Iowa are seeking their own floor in a residence hall on the Iowa City campus.

The Gazette in Cedar Rapids says Quentin Hall of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Allied Union is working with the university to open the floor for the 2012 school year.

Just days after GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain said he would have no problem hiring gay employees, his campaign took steps to cover up the employment of a top gay adviser with a record of controversy in Madison’s LGBT community, according to a former Cain staffer.

Republicans who control the Michigan House of Representatives passed legislation on Sept. 15 to prohibit public employees from sharing their health benefits with their domestic partners.

The 64-44 to vote was mostly along party lines. The measure goes next to the Republican-led Senate, where it’s also expected to pass.

Gov. Scott Walker and many of the state’s other Republican lawmakers, including state Sen. Alberta Darling, sat out Labor Day events this year.

Walker issued a Labor Day proclamation praising the state’s workers. But the governor said he would spend time with his family rather than attend any events honoring labor.