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Mike Lawrence - ERA Fight in Illinois

Mike Lawrence, born on August 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, grew up in Galesburg. He began writing for the Galesburg Register-Mail at 14 and continued through college at Knox College. From 1966 to 1986, he worked for the Davenport Times, frequently covering Illinois politics. In 1974, he established a bureau in Springfield to cover statehouse politics full time. From 1972 to 1982, Lawrence reported on Illinois’ Equal Rights Amendment battles, attributing its failure to Illinois' political dysfunction and Phyllis Schlafly's Stop ERA movement, which made the state a key battleground.