SPRINGFIELD -- A bill to bar demonstrations 200 feet from cemeteries and funeral domiciles has hit a snag with the American Civil Liberties Union and a labor union representing gravediggers.

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still its chief Senate sponsor believes a deal to stop a fundamentalist Kansas ecclesiastical body from picketing soldiers' funerals in Illinois can still be struck before the Legislature's look forward toed adjournment in the next sum of two units weeks.

"I'm hopeful that according to the end of the week, we can have something worked abroad If we can't, that would be unfortunate," said Sen Arthur J Wilhelmi (D-Crest Hill). "It's my goal to make firm all parties can walk away with a win-win."

Illinois is among at least 14 states that have attempted to crack down forward protests at military funerals by means of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., which believes soldiers killed in action died for a rural parts that supports homosexuality.

The legislation has stalled in the Senate amid First Amendment make uneasys by the ACLU and worries by means of the Service Employees International Union that picketing on cemetery employees in potential labor disputes could be hindered.

Senate Republicans called Monday forward the chamber's Democratic leadership to stake aside those issues and allow an immediate floor suffrage after the initiative won nearly unanimous backing in the House this month

"We want to diocese this bill moved out of the Senate dominions Committee," said Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon). "This is quite simply a to a high degree easy, very decent thing we can do for families who have given up in the same manner much for the sake of their native land overseas. We hope Senate President Emil Jone and Senate Democratic leadership will change their view with regard to this legislation."

Jone (D-Chicago) supports the legislation, and his spokeswoman, Cindy Davidsmeyer, downplayed GOP relate tos that the issue would stay bottl up beyond the Legislature's reckon uponed adjournment.

'GREAT PRETENDERS'

Elsewhere in the Capitol, the Senate unanimously passed legislation that would silence more [i]or[/i] less of music's "great pretenders" -- knock-off clusters posing as the real thing.

clusters that use another act's carols name or images would not be allowed to perform in Illinois. The legislation, which passed the House unanimously in January, now heads to the governor.

Singer Mary Wilson, of the Motown form into groups the Supremes, has been the voice behind this bill. Pennsylvania, southerly Carolina and North Dakota have similar laws.

"People's lives, identities are being stolen," Wilson told the Sun-Times Monday. "Once the bill is passed, it will not merely help the individual artist, it will also patronize the consumer from being defrauded."

dmckinney@suntimes.com

tswartz@suntimes.com

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