Tracy Baim

Windy City Times March 7, 2012 Edition

Download PDF Issue Daily Breaking Super Tuesday results: Romney leads, Palin winks - Their positions on same-sex marriage haven't changed, and Super Tuesday voting showed that the tightly packed nature of the four-man ...  Windy City Times Election Guide - Welcome to the 2010 Windy City Times Primary Election Guide. View downloadable charts at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/WCT_2012_primarychartsforweb.pdf . Although ...  Iowa justices to receive prestigious Kennedy Award for marriage ruling - From a news release - Des Moines, IA—Three Iowa Supreme Court Justices who were ousted in the 2010 judicial retention vote will receive the John ...  Gerber/Hart announces move to Rogers Park - The Gerber/Hart Library, Chicago's LGBT library and archives, has announced that it will move to Rogers Park at the end ...  Rick Garcia joins TCRA staff - Veteran activist Rick Garcia has joined the staff of The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), Executive Director Anthony Martinez confirmed March ...  One dead, one injured after Lakeview domestic attack - One man is dead and another in critical condition after a domestic dispute in Lakeview turned violent Monday night. According ...  Minnesota school district settles in anti-gay case - From news releases - WASHINGTON — The Departments of Justice and Education, together with six private student plaintiffs and the Anoka-Hennepin School District, filed ...  Rights group reports murders of Iraq gays and lesbians - From the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission - The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has received reports from Iraq of a wave of targeted killings of ...  Coming Out of the Shadows immigration week events planned - From a news release - Chicago, IL.— Three undocumented-led organizations in Illinois, Nuestra Voz ( NV ) , the Latin@ Youth Action League ( L@YAL ...  Kameny ceremony delayed, but stone in place - A planned March 3 graveside ceremony at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. for the late gay activist Dr. Franklin ...  Prop 8 reading: top actors and worldwide YouTube audience - Link included in news release - Los Angeles, CA — The American Foundation for Equal Rights ( AFER ) and Broadway Impact presented the West Coast ...  Vida/SIDA opens LGBT homeless shelter - It took years of revised plans and fundraising, but on March 3 Vida/SIDA cut the ribbon on its much-anticipated LGBT ...  Lesbian denied communion at mother's funeral - The denial of communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral has touched a raw nerve among LGBT Catholics, prompting ...  Griffin to head HRC - The next president of the nation's largest LGBT political group will be Chad Griffin, a California activist who has made ...  Tennessee: anti-LGBT high school principal resigns - From news releases - The Jackson Sun reports that Dorothy Bond has resigned as the principal of Haywood High School in Haywood, Tennessee after ...  Maryland gov signs marriage equality law - From news releases - ( New York, March 1, 2012 ) -Today, Governor Martin O'Malley signed the Maryland marriage equality bill into law, ...  Center on Halsted's Gilmore honored by Attorney General Madigan - From a news release - Chicago — Lisa Gilmore, Director of Center on Halsted's Education and Victim Advocacy program, received a special honor this morning ...  Hate-crime amendment passes through committee - An amendment to the Illinois hate crimes statute that would add gender identity to protected classes passed out of committee ...  News AIDS Dab Garner uses teddy bears to help others cope with HIV/AIDS - It was 30 years ago, on Valentine's Day 1982 at San Francisco General Hospital, that Richard "Dab" Garner was diagnosed ...  AIDS: TPAN, riding against AIDS in 2012 - Gilberto Diaz was literally within shouting distance of the finish to the 2010 Ride for AIDS Chicago when disaster struck. ...  AIDS: Heartland Alliance, 125 years of protecting the vulnerable - The mission of Heartland Alliance for the last 125 years has been to advance human rights and respond "to the ...  AIDS: The Rev. Sid Mohn, Chicago's vanguard against AIDS - The Rev. Sid Mohn grew up on a rural Pennsylvania farm in roots deeply entrenched in both the conservative Dutch ...  Hate-crime amendment passes through committee - An amendment to the Illinois hate crimes statute that would add gender identity to protected classes passed out of committee ...  Windy City Times Election Guide - Welcome to the 2010 Windy City Times Primary Election Guide. View downloadable charts at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/WCT_2012_primarychartsforweb.pdf . Although ...  Guide to the gays - Windy City Times Election Guide: Gays Running For Office - The March 20 primary elections feature several openly gay and lesbian candidates for office. ( All of the candidates are ...  HRC names Chad Griffin as organization's new president - News releases from HRC, AFER - WASHINGTON — Chad H. Griffin was appointed today as the next president of the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) ...  Kameny ceremony delayed, but stone in place - A planned March 3 graveside ceremony at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. for the late gay activist Dr. Franklin ...  One dead, one injured after Lakeview domestic attack - One man is dead and another in critical condition after a domestic dispute in Lakeview turned violent Monday night. According ...  Kelly Cassidy on marriage, activism - ELECTIONS '12 - Depending on where you stand on an issue, Kelly Cassidy can be your best friend or your mortal enemy. It's ...  Early voting through March 15 - For the March 20 presidential primary election, early voting will take place through March 15. Voting locations and hours are ...  Prop 8 reading: Top actors and global audience - The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact presented the West Coast premiere reading of the play 8 ...  Social-networking site launches for LGBT teens - LGBT teens have a new social-networking site they can call their own. JustLeftTheCloset.com launched in February and is a social-networking ...  Super Tuesday results: Romney leads, Palin winks - Their positions on same-sex marriage haven't changed, and Super Tuesday voting showed that the tightly packed nature of the four-man ...  Maryland gov signs marriage equality law - From news releases - ( New York, March 1, 2012 ) -Today, Governor Martin O'Malley signed the Maryland marriage equality bill into law, ...  Rick Garcia joins TCRA staff - Veteran activist Rick Garcia has joined the staff of The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), Executive Director Anthony Martinez confirmed March ...  Gerber/Hart announces move to Rogers Park - The Gerber/Hart Library, Chicago's LGBT library and archives, has announced that it will move to Rogers Park at the end ...  Lesbian Leadership Council holds fundraiser - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - "February Frolic," a benefit for the Lesbian Leadership Council's Lavender Fund, was held at the Beauty Bar Feb. 29. About ...  Ariz. sheriff's new troubles; Olympia Snowe retiring - NATIONAL ROUNDUP: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - There's another controversy involving Paul Babeu, the Arizona sheriff who allegedly threatened to have his Mexican ex-lover deported, according to ...  Paula Basta on priorities, campaign strengths - ELECTIONS '12 - When Paula Basta kicked off her campaign for 14th Dist. State Rep., Chicago's LGBT community was given an unprecedented choice ...  The Basta/Cassidy question - Only one thing is certain when it comes to the 14 District race for state representative: The winner is going ...  Lesbian judge holds campaign fundraiser - Supporters of lesbian Judge Mary S. Trew hosted a campaign fundraiser March 4 at Tsamis Law Firm in Andersonville. After ...  Brad Trowbridge on counseling, inclusive slogan - ELECTIONS 2012: - Since leaving his counseling position at Northwestern University more than a decade ago, Brad Trowbridge has launched his own family-law ...  CPD cutbacks consolidate Lakeview stations - After a year of controversy over a perceived uptick in crime in Lakeview and a tight city budget, the Chicago ...  Activist Judy Shepard coming back to Chicago - Judy Shepard is the mother of Matthew Shepard who was murdered in Laramie, Wyo., in 1998. Since then she has ...  Travel regulation affecting gay couple's future - It seems like something out of a movie: two lovers meeting on the Internet, thousands of miles away from each ...  HRC takes on anti-LGBT Tennessee principal - From news releases - Washington — The Human Rights Campaign is calling on the Haywood County ( Tennessee ) School Board to immediately look ...  Tennessee: anti-LGBT high school principal resigns - From news releases - The Jackson Sun reports that Dorothy Bond has resigned as the principal of Haywood High School in Haywood, Tennessee after ...  Griffin to head HRC - The next president of the nation's largest LGBT political group will be Chad Griffin, a California activist who has made ...  Vida/SIDA opens LGBT homeless shelter - It took years of revised plans and fundraising, but on March 3 Vida/SIDA cut the ribbon on its much-anticipated LGBT ...  White House: Carol Attak a 'Champion of Change' - Manages mentoring program including LGBT-owned, other diverse suppliers - Washington, DC — On Wednesday, March 7th, the White House will honor Carol Attak as one of eleven local leaders ...  Rights group reports murders of Iraq gays and lesbians - From the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission - The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has received reports from Iraq of a wave of targeted killings of ...  New LGBT housing bias rule in effect - From a news release - Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, new Obama Administration housing regulations went into effect strengthening protections for transgender and LGBT people. The ...  Bullied student pushes for no R rating on Bully film - From a news release - LOS ANGELES, CA — Katy Butler, a bullied high school student from Michigan, will deliver more than 200,000 petition signatures ...  ABA seeks noms for first LGBT law awards - From a news release - For the first time, an American Bar Association commission will formally honor lawyers who have considerably advanced lesbian, gay, bisexual ...  White House hosts LGBT Conference on Safe Schools & Communities - From a news release - WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools & Communities will be held in Arlington, Texas Tuesday, ...  HRC site looks at Romney's flip-flops on LGBT issues - From a news release - Washington — Showcasing Mitt Romney's constantly changing positions on issues important to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, the Human ...  Sexual assault lawsuit filed against military - From a news release - Washington, DC — Today at the National Press Club, the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) appeared at a press conference ...  Australia's gay teas; anti-gay bill in Russia - World news: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - In Australia, the company Slurp has launched a line of gay-themed teas to benefit LGBT health charities, according to Pink ...  Key West adopts benefits law drafted by Columbia Law students - New York, March 2, 2012—The Key West City Commission voted unanimously on February 22 to pass an equal benefits ordinance ...  LETTER: Gerber/Hart; Propes - Gerber/Hart To Windy City Times: Barry Aldridge's letter to the editor in the Feb. 15 issue shifts blame for Gerber/Hart's ...  Altgeld, Haymarket Riots subjects of Darrow event March 13 - From a news release - CHICAGO—Clarence Darrow aficionados will gather at the Darrow Bridge in Jackson Park Tuesday, March 13, at 10 a.m. for the ...  Immigration activists headed for trial - Six youth immigration activists, arrested while protesting an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Secure Communities public hearing, face a ...  LaBarbera up for anti-LGBT 'award' - The San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee and its board of directors have announced the slate of nominees for the ...  Center on Halsted's Gilmore honored by Attorney General Madigan - From a news release - Chicago — Lisa Gilmore, Director of Center on Halsted's Education and Victim Advocacy program, received a special honor this morning ...  WikiQueer encyclopedia for the LGBTs launches - From a news release - Ann Arbor, MI and Washington, DC — February 29, 2012 — The Aequalitas Project has announced the public launch of ...  HRC endorses Elizabeth Warren for U.S.Senate - From an HRC news release - Washington — Today the Human Rights Campaign announced the endorsement of Elizabeth Warren running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. ...  Mississippi police: Illegal to be openly gay - From a news release - JACKSON, MS -- Gay Mississippians tried to rally in Jackson this morning to draw attention to the need for equality ...  Study: DP benefits for gov't contractors does not add burden - From a news release - LOS ANGELES, CA — Local ordinances that require city and county contractors to offer domestic partner benefits, such as health ...  Lesbian denied communion at mother's funeral - The denial of communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral has touched a raw nerve among LGBT Catholics, prompting ...  Coming Out of the Shadows immigration week events planned - From a news release - Chicago, IL.— Three undocumented-led organizations in Illinois, Nuestra Voz ( NV ) , the Latin@ Youth Action League ( L@YAL ...  NBC/WSJ poll: Country moving toward marriage equality - From a news release - WASHINGTON, D.C. - NBC News/ Wall Street Journal today released a national survey on marriage equality that reflects the ongoing ...  Minnesota school district settles in anti-gay case - From news releases - WASHINGTON — The Departments of Justice and Education, together with six private student plaintiffs and the Anoka-Hennepin School District, filed ...  Gay & Lesbian Chamber opens new headquarters - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - The Chicago Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce opened its new headquarters Feb. 29 with an open house at ...  Iowa justices to receive prestigious Kennedy Award for marriage ruling - From a news release - Des Moines, IA—Three Iowa Supreme Court Justices who were ousted in the 2010 judicial retention vote will receive the John ...  VIEWPOINTS The time to come out is now - Coming out as gay showed me just how necessary it was to address my undocumented identity. I dealt with both ...  Fairchild to head Cream City Fdn. - Cream City Foundation, Inc.—a community-based organization focused on funding LGBT programs and organizations working towards social change in southeastern Wisconsin—has ...  Purdue Univ. to hire LGBT director - Purdue University has launched a search for a director of LGBT issues, a first for the West Lafayette, Ind., school. ...  Talking with the son of Bob Green and Anita Bryant - In late January, Robert Green Jr. found himself back where he started more than 30 years ago—trying to reconcile the ...  Dignity/Chicago's Lent program thru April 1 - Dignity/Chicago and Wisdom & Word Works Foundation will present a program for Lent focused on "What Covenant means to us ...  WikiQueer launches - The Aequalitas Project has announced the public launch of WikiQueer (www.WikiQueer.org), the nonprofit's LGBT wiki program, according to a press ...  Center hosts event for queer writers of color - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - The Center on Halsted hosted "Ancestors: A Queer Writers of Color Reading," a showcase of literature and poetry, on March ...  WCT seeks nominations for 30 Under 30 - CHICAGO—Windy City Times is seeking to recognize 30 more outstanding LGBT individuals (and allies) for its annual 30 Under 30 ...  T in the Life: Van Binfa - Identifies as: Queer stone femme Latino trans*man. * "I am super careful to include the asterisk because it symbolizes every ...  Entertainment The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later benefit with Judy Shepard - Redtwist Theatre announces the Chicago premiere production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, by Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg ...  Prop 8 reading: top actors and worldwide YouTube audience - Link included in news release - Los Angeles, CA — The American Foundation for Equal Rights ( AFER ) and Broadway Impact presented the West Coast ...  Kyle Richards' take on 'Reality' - NUNN ON ONE: BOOKS Extended for the online edition of Windy City Times - Kyle Richards lives the life that some envy on Bravo television's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Born in Hollywood, ...  Sugar&Spice: The Gage - DISH Weekly Dining Guide in Windy City Times: REVIEW - Some days you just want to kick back with a Guinness and a basket of fish and chips at a ...  Screening of Ferron: Girl on the Road, March 10 - From a news release - 7 pm Social Hour - 8 pm Screening CHICAGO FILMMAKERS 5243 N. Clark St., 2nd floor 773-493-1447 RSVP to [email protected] ...  Nadia G. stirs it up in the kitchen - TELEVISION Special to the online edition of Windy City Times- She rocks a bitchin' risotto while visions of decapitated dolls dance in her head. The Cooking Channel's Nadia G. (full ...  DVDs of Albert Nobbs, Goldfish Memory and more - Disc and That: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - —54 (already released; $19.99 on Blu-ray): Ryan Phillippe stars in this movie about a young man who becomes a part ...  Billy Masters - "Can I confide in you? I'm wearing shape-wear as well. They have it for men. If it makes you look ...  Dining news - —Bistronomic, the French bistro from Executive Chef Martial Noguier, presents the new March late night prix fixe. Beginning at 9 ...  Off-color remarks about Whitney; Brad Goreski's new memoir - Entertainment news: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Crude comments about Whitney Houston's death have sparked changes at a Los Angeles radio station, according to the Chicago Tribune. ...  Pop Making Sense - In between projects as half of the beloved folk group Indigo Girls, Amy Ray continues to fulfill her artistic journey ...  Knight at the Movies: John Carter; film notes - In John Carter—Disney's latest big-budget attempt at creating an action franchise—former Friday Night Lights television heartthrob Taylor Kitsch makes the ...  Annie Potts: From 'Designing Women' to ABC's 'GCB' - NUNN ON ONE: TELEVISION - Actress Annie Potts is known for playing quirky characters in a variety of roles over the years. She played a ...  Fawzia Mirza shows strength on and off screen - Under the amber lights of the Iguana Café, a glass of red wine in hand, Chicago-based actress Fawzia Mirza was ...  Brad Pitt in March 3 Prop 8 play reading, airing on YouTube - From a news release - Los Angeles, CA — The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact are pleased to announce the addition ...  Jomama Jones and Radiate at Victory Gardens April 19-21 - From a news release - Legendary expatriate performer Jomama Jones brings an intimate concert version of her sold-out smash show, RADIATE to Chicago. "RADIATE glows..." ...  The Auditorium Th. sets next season: Werner, Feinstein and more - From a news release - CHICAGO, IL — Executive Director of The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University (ATRU) Brett Batterson announces the Auditorium Theatre's 2012-2013 ...  The Voice finalist Beverly McClellan in Chicago for Red Dress party - From a news release - The Voice's Beverly McClellan has been confirmed to perform at the Chicago Red Dress Party on April 21, 2012 at ...  Chicago Takes Off: Game On photos - Test Positive Aware Network ( TPAN ) showed they were "good sports" with Game On!, this year's Chicago Takes Off ...  Just announced at Mayne Stage: comedian Hal Sparks - From a news release - CHICAGO, IL (March 6, 2012)Mayne Stage proudly announces comedian Hal Sparks. Ticket are currently on sale and can be purchased ...  Logo announces NewNowNext Awards - Logo has announced the nominees for the 2012 NewNowNext Awards, which honor icons, trendsetters and stars on the rise, according ...  'Second Class Citizens' to examine gay-rights movement - MOVIES - Ryan James Yezak has been an Internet and media sensation after releasing his seven-minute trailer for a planned documentary about ...  Cinema Q II Film Series in March - The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, and ...  TimeLine announces 2012-13 Season - From a news release - Chicago, IL — TimeLine Theatre Company, named one of the nation's top 10 emerging theatre companies (American Theatre Wing, founder ...  Revisiting Hidden Histories, LGBTs, censorship in American Art - From an In the Life news release - March 1, 2011 — Tonight public television stations across the country will begin airing Revisiting Hidden Histories, an episode from ...  The Petrified Forest - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Robert E. Sherwood. At: Strawdog Theater, 3829 N. Broadway. Tickets: 866-811-4111; www.strawdog.org; $28. Runs through: March 31 Our setting ... In the Heart of America - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Naomi Wallace. At: Theatre Seven of Chicago at Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. Tickets: 773-494-7336; www.theatreseven.org; $15-$25. Runs ...  CRITICS' PICKS - Dating Walter Dante, Raven Theatre Studio, through March 24. The always-contrary Jon Steinhagen asks how far we can suspend our ...  The Fisherman - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Jayme McGhan. At: Stage Left at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets: 773-677-6398; www.theaterwit.org; $25. Runs through: April ...  The North Plan - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Jason Wells. At: Theater Wit at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets: 773-975-8150; www.theaterwit.org; $18-$36. Runs through: April ...  Spotlight - Chicago improv troupe Octavarius brings back its hit show Stars! Wars! The Musical for a special one-night-only performance. See how ...  fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Sarah Gubbins. At: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Tickets: 312-335-1650; www.steppenwolf.org; $20. Runs through: March 18 Sarah Gubbins' ...  A return to Laramie - SCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT - Director Greg Kolack is surprised that it has taken more than two years for a Chicago theater company to produce ...  XELLE new single benefits GLSEN - From a news release - (March 2, 2012 — New York, NY) — It's 2012 and long overdue for someone to smack Pop Music across ...  Cultural Affairs sets Fall 2012 theater season - From a news release - CHICAGO (March 6, 2012) — Today, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in partnership with the ...  Chicago lesbian gets 'Graphic' with latest book - BOOKS - The Association of Latino Men for Action ( ALMA ) and Vida/SIDA held a cst ( "una noche de orgullo ...  ALMA, Vida/SIDA hosts night of pride, culture - The Association of Latino Men for Action (ALMA) and Vida/SIDA held a night of pride and culture ("una noche de ...  Joan Osborne to drop first blues CD - Joan Osborne's Bring it on Home—a CD of vintage blues, R&B and soul songs—will be released March 27 on Saguaro ...  Clarke, Gore have CD, 'Ssss' - Electronic-music pioneers Vince Clarke (Erasure/ Yaz/ Depeche Mode) and Martin L. Gore (Depeche Mode) have joined forces for the first ...  Glessner House to host film narrated by John Waters - =Glessner House Museum, 1800 S. Prairie Ave., will host the Chicago premier of a feature-length documentary film entitled Of Dolls ...  Killen film Pink Ribbons, Inc., and Joffrey film to screen - Now in its fourth year, the Talking Pictures Festival (which spotlights independent cinema) will take place March 8-11 at Noyes ...  WCPA's 'Broadway and Beyond' March 10 - Windy City Performing Arts will present Windy City Gay Chorus and Aria in "Broadway And Beyond: An Evening of Broadway ...  Outlines Project tackles locker-room culture - The message was simple: if you can play, you can play. The messengers were most impressive. On Sunday, March 4, ...  VIEWPOINT: The pursuit of happiness - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - "Why am I not happy?" My psychotherapy client asked himself in session. "I had three sexual hook-ups, all with hot ...  Estate planning to protect pets - Part of a series - Q. I am getting up in years and I don't have a partner to leave my property to. My family ...  Covering your assets - When it comes to same-sex couples and mortgages, Steve DiMarco—president of Baird & Warner Financial Services and a member of ...  Tickets available for Wright Trust's Housewalk - And other real estate news - Tickets are now available for the internationally acclaimed Wright Plus 2012 housewalk, showcasing rare interior tours of private homes designed ...  Wright Preservation Trust needs volunteers - The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust is seeking volunteers to assist at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in ...  Red Stars women's soccer sign Chalupny for 2012 - From a news release - CHICAGO, Ill. ( March 6th, 2012 ) - The Chicago Red Stars today announced the signing of Lori Chalupny for ...  Gay in the Life: John Park - When John Park was laid off from his insurance job after 24 years, he turned to his passion for painting. ...

 

Windy City Times Pride issue June 22, 2011

Download PDF Issue News Thirty under thirty honored (page 1) - For the twelfth year running, Windy City Times celebrates Pride by bestowing honors upon 30 individuals under the age of ...  Thirty under thirty honored (page 2) - ALEXANDER SEWELL, 23 A native of Chicago, Alexander, 23, is a political science major at Roosevelt University, where he once ...  AIDS: Vito Russo - A true pioneering film activist - When discussing pivotal figures at the forefront of gay activism, gay history, and gay culture, there are few individuals that ...  AIDS: Ongina educates on HIV - Female impersonator Ongina ran the race with us for the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race on the Logo channel. ...  AIDS: Champions of Change: HIV/AIDS – 30 Years of Activism on the Frontlines -NOTE: Champions of Change is a weekly White House initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their ...  AIDS: Testing dates - Community HIV testing day in Englewood The Englewood United Methodist Church, 6400 S. Stewart Ave. in Chicago, will host ...  AIDS: Michael O'Connor, I'm Still Here - With all the private and government organizations designed to help AIDS patients in America, why is there still a shocking ...  Local LGBT coalition presents policy priorities to mayor's council - News posted from a press release Thursday, June 16, 2011 - FROM A PRESS RELEASE The Chicago LGBT Citywide Coalition, a coalition made up of 30 LGBT organizations, attended a meeting ...  Agency to take over Catholic Charities' foster services in Rockford - News posted Thursday, June 16, 2011 - The Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley will take over foster-care services after Rockford's Catholic Charities branch said it ...  Obama spokesman denies 1996 gay survey - Posted June 17, 2011, updated June 21 - Despite a statement by President Barack Obama's White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer June 17 that a 1996 survey response ...  2010 Census shows dramatic upsurge in same-sex couples - News update posted Wed., June 22, 2011 - U.S. Census 2010 data on same-sex couples has begun trickling out and, if the first two states are any measure, ...  Senate Armed Services Committee markup of Defense Authorization Bill includes no DADT delay language, SU, SLDN respond - From a Servicemembers United News Release, June 17, 2011 - SLDN hails Senate Armed Services Committee's action to end Article 125, amend Article 120 in Defense Budget ( Washington, DC ...  Historic LGBT decision at the United Nations - From a news release, June 17, 2011 - Human Rights Council Passes First-Ever Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity ( Geneva, June 17, 2011 ) In a ...  Dept. of State briefing on UN LGBT resolution - From a News Release, June 17, 2011 - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE On-the-Record Briefing U.S. Ambassador to the Human Rights Council Eileen Donahoe; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State ...  Obama, Clinton, Rice, respond to United Nations resolution - From News Releases, June 17, 2011 - THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2011 Statement by the President on the ...  Wisconsin Court Upholds Domestic Partner Benefits - From a News Release, June 20, 2011- (Madison, Wisconsin, Monday, June 20, 2011) - Today, the Circuit Court, Branch 11 in Dane County Wisconsin upheld as constitutional ...  U.N. passes effort to address LGBT discrimination - The United Nations' Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva, voted 23 to 19 on June 17 to approve a resolution ...  Immigration Equality praises Senate introduction of LGBT-inclusive immigration reform - From a News Release, June 22, 2011 - WASHINGTON, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Immigration Equality Action Fund, which advocates on Capitol Hill for equality for lesbian, gay, ...  Move to undo Proposition 8 strikedown fails - A legal attempt to "vacate" the federal court ruling that struck down California's Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution ...  Locals react to Prop 8 ruling - A federal court has upheld a ruling by Chief Judge Vaughn Walker to strike down Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ...  Chicagoans part of historic event with Obama - President Obama will be the keynote speaker at the LGBT Leadership Council Dinner on June 23 launching New York's pride ...  Heartland Alliance gets grant to support LGBT refugees - The federal government has awarded Heartland Alliance $250,000 to create the country's first LGBT refugee resource center. The Administration for ...  Alvarez holds Pride Celebration - Posted June 16, 2011 - Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez was in a festive mood June 14 as she celebrated her 2nd Annual Pride ...  GLAAD secretive about resignation of its president - Under intense scrutiny over his endorsement of a corporate merger between AT&T and T Mobile, Jarrett Barrios, president of the ...  Tennessee sued over anti-gay law - Gays, LGBT groups and elected officials sued Tennessee in state court June 13 over a new law that prohibits cities, ...  LGBT coalition presents policy priorities to mayor's council - The Chicago LGBT Citywide Coalition, a coalition made up of 30 LGBT organizations, attended a meeting of the Advisory Council ...  Roger 'RJ' Chaffin dies - Posted June 18, 2011 - Long-time community activist, volunteer and businessman Roger "R.J." Chaffin, 59, died June 17 after a short illness. A memorial is ...  Gay high schooler becomes prom king - Craig Cassey, Jr., is the epitome of a student-athlete, certainly a logical choice to be named prom king during this, ...  Renee Hanover memorial July 16 - A memorial has been set for long-time Chicago lesbian activist and attorney Renee Hanover. The memorial will be Saturday, July ...  Out attorney is Elgin college trustee - John Dalton may have been unsuccessful in his attempt to become the first openly gay judge elected outside of Cook ...  A 'Flare' for HIV education - Activists, leaders, local personalities, and organizations gathered for "United in HIV: Taking Control Through Unity and Advocacy" June 14 at ...  World News - Extended for the online edition of Windy City Times - French Parliament rejects same-sex marriage France's National Assembly voted 293-222 against legalizing same-sex marriage June 14. President Nicolas Sarkozy's ...  Harris Bank hosts Pride breakfast - Chicago-based Harris Bank hosted its fourth annual Pride breakfast June 17 at its downtown headquarters. More than 30 people attended ...  Chicago House's art auction June 23 downtown - Chicago House's 25th-anniversary Pride weekend begins this year with an annual art auction and cocktail party to benefit families affected ...  Latino Commission on AIDS hosting June 23-25 training - The Latino Commission on AIDS (the Commission) will host "Tratamiento Ahora" ("Treatment Now") Training June 23-24 at the AIDS Foundation ...  Dyke March on South Shore June 25 - The Annual Dyke March Chicago will take place in Chicago's South Shore community Saturday, June 25. Complying with a 2008 ...  LGBT activists talk Edgewater gay history - According to longtime gay activist Rick Garcia, nearly every piece of pro-LGBT legislation to be passed in Illinois has the ...  Teachers' union, Temple Sholom to debut in Pride Parade - Out of 240 entries, the Chicago Teachers Union's (CTU) inaugural float will premiere near the very start of the Pride ...  Bisexual woman starts network, will meet Obama - When Adrienne Williams lost her job a few years ago, she fell into a funk. The former information technology specialist ...  Forum explores Truvada's use in fighting HIV - When Gladstone Institutes released evidence that Truvada, a one-a-day HIV pill, might prevent HIV in addition to treating it, the ...  VIEWS Pride celebrations? Haven't we assimilated? - As we all know, June is Pride Month for LGBTQ communities across the country—and parades abound. Unlike the revolutionary decade ...  VIEWS Pride and prejudice - I am a child of the Chicago Tribune newspaper—and I do mean that in a pretty literal way. My mom ...  Entertainment Knight at the Movies: Poison at 20; film notes - All of urban America, it seems, is on board with Gay Pride celebrations in June. In addition to the parades ...  Filmmakers of burlesque movie seek support - For nine years, producer/director Red Vaughan Tremmel immersed herself in the world of burlesque while shooting her documentary, Exotic World ...  Pop Making Sense - At this year's Alt Q Festival, Ellis captivated the audience with her contagious laugh. Alone on the stage, she opened ...  Details of retail: The history of Marshall Field's - BOOKS - If you ever told someone to meet you "under the clock," then you are no doubt a long-time resident of ...  NUNN ON ONE Philip Dawkins''Homosexuals' - Ask playwright Philip Dawkins what his new play, The Homosexuals, is about, and you'll get the basic answer: "A bunch ...  The Last Act of Lilka Kadison - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Nichola Behrman, David Kersnar, Abbie Phillips, Heidi Stillman, Andrew White. At: Lookingglass Theatre, Water Tower Water Works. Tickets: 312-337-0665; ...  The History of King Henry the Fourth - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Stanton Davis adapted from William Shakespeare. At: Oak Park Festival Theatre at Austin Gardens, Oak Park . Phone: 708-445-4440; ...  Spotlight - Originally just a sketch as part of Collaboraction's Sketchbook X, The New Colony's 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche has now ...  Fifth of July - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Lanford Wilson. At: Infamous Commonwealth Theatre Company at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark. Phone: 312-458-9780;$20. Runs through: July ...  CRITICS' PICKS - Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, At Play Productions at Theater on The Lake, June 29-July 3. Laura Jacqmin reveals the timely ...  The Cherry Orchard - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Anton Chekhov, adapted by Jean-Claude Van Itallie. At: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark. Phone: 773-338-2177;$30. Runs through: July 23 ...  In and Out of Hollywood - BOOK REVIEW - Written by Charles Higham, $29.95; Terrace Books; 306 pages It was just an accident. Nobody meant for it to happen. ...  Tyler Robinson of 'The Voice': Gay Mormon on show, Blake Shelton - TELEVISION - Tyler Robinson provided some soulful singing—and some unintended controversy—to the hit NBC reality-competition show The Voice. An out gay Mormon, ...  Marion Ross: Icon on family and Audrey Hepburn - NUNN ON ONE: TV - Five-time Emmy nominee Marion Ross stars in the new Hallmark production Keeping Up With The Randalls. Forever remembered as Marion ...  Jill Scott's new CD out - Grammy Award-winning R&B singer/actress Jill Scott has released her new album, The Light Of The Sun—one week from the previous ...  Sir Ari Gold releases` CD - Openly gay pop artist Sir Ari Gold is out with his fourth album, Between the Spirit & the Flesh. He ...  God-des and She: Duo's on a roll - MUSIC - God-des and She are a hip-hop/pop/soul duo who grew up in the Midwest—and in the four years since their appearance ...  Chefs and the City at Ritz-Carlton July 15 -  - Vital Bridges—a non-profit organization that provides food and housing services to low-income men, women and children impacted by HIV and ...  Nina Here Nor There: My Journey Beyond Gender - BOOK REVIEW - by Nick Krieger, $15; Beacon Press; 202 pages Nina Here Nor There is about Nina's journey toward self-defined identity and ...  Gerber/Hart book group - Gerber/Hart Library will begin a new book group, the BTQ Book Discussion Group, that focuses on books pertaining to bisexual, ...  Outlines QponChicago.com launches for LGBTs, allies - From a News Release - CHICAGO — QponChicago.com is a new website focused on deals by and for the LGBT and allied community of the ...  Gay man talks about heading StreetWise - StreetWise is not just a magazine sold by the homeless on the streets of Chicago. It's much more than that, ...  Gay Chicagoan on coming out, marriage and losing 200+ pounds - Darryn Dunbar has had quite a journey over the past 10 years, so spending a "pretty chill" Father's Day with ...  A Gay in the Life: Promoter Otis Mack - Raising 14 kids hasn't stopped Otis Mack from living his jet-set lifestyle of hosting parties, traveling, being fabulous and, above ...  Cubs' It Gets Better video out - Posted June 20, 2011 - The Chicago Cubs are the second major league team to release an It Gets Better video, following the San Francisco ...  Gay homeless man turns things around - As music blasts throughout the party and cocktails flow from person to person, his energy defies gravity. His personality decorates ...  Lesbian looks back at life of ministry - Before finding her calling, the Rev. Barbara Pescan, an out lesbian, followed her father from church to church looking for ...  Doug Birkenheuer: Photographer uses 'hands-on' approach - Doug Birkenheuer certainly deserves a high-five for his hand-iwork. Birkenheuer, 43, who lives in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, is the ...  BUZZ! Bullied teen recognized in Secretary Sebelius's speech "Woke Up Black" makes broadcast premier on WTTW June 26. Tracy Morgan speaks for LGBT equality in Nashville Clerk Dorothy Brown remembers RJ Chaffin Study spells out losses from gay-unfriendly workplaces Howard Brown Health Center receives $250,000 GE Foundation grant Lambda Legal sues Oregon to defend health care rights of transgender man  CELEBRATIONS Museum of Broadcast Communications hosts open house HRC Celebrates Fathers' Day, recognizes "Fathers of the Year" Fall Away soundtrack release CD Making the Boys documentary continues Cinema Q Film Series Former Chicagoan debuts 'Burlesque' film

 

Windy City Times May 11, 2011 Edition

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News

 

		Civil-union ceremony with 30 couples to take place June 2 - From a news release, posted May 6, 2011 - In celebration of the first day of civil-union ceremonies in Illinois, the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory ...
		Gay binational couple gets deportation reprieve - From a news release, posted May 6, 2011 - WASHINGTON, D.C.—On May 6, an immigration judge in Newark, N.J., issued a ruling on the deportation of Henry Velandia, a ...
		AIDS: Rahm Emanuel and CDPH commissioner address AIDS in Chicago - News update posted May 9, 2011 - Among the myriad topics Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel must confront during his term, which starts May 16, are health issues concerning ...
		Des Plaines council approves FEMA funds for controversial campground - News update posted May 10, 2011 - The City Council of Northwest suburban Des Plaines on May 2 approved pass-through Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) ...
		ACLU challenges state criteria for transgender birth certificates - From a news release, posted May 10, 2011 - CHICAGO—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit May 10 to allow transgender individuals ...
		Air Force veteran Witt wins full retirement - News update, posted May 10, 2011 - The ACLU of Washington State announced Tuesday that Air Force Reserve nurse Margaret Witt has reached a final settlement with ...
		AIDS: Interview with Cleve Jones - Cleve Jones, the man who once stood beside Harvey Milk and later created the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt, is filled ...
		AIDS: Chicago photographer documents AIDS Quilt history - When AIDS first struck the United States in the 1980s, doctors were at a loss, the public was in a ...
		AIDS: Valle looks back at NAMES Project in Chicago - Modesto Tico Valle remembers the moment he first saw the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington D.C. It was 1988, and ...
		AIDS: War Diaries: An Interview with Ernest Hardy - Ernest Hardy's influential and outspoken body of work includes fiction, poetry, film and music criticism that has appeared in The ...
		AIDS: In Chicago, it's always a 'Season' to give - Although the Goodman Theatre may never outsell the Cubs, their cultural significance to this city is not to be ignored. ...
		Presbyterian Church (USA) vote affirms LGBT clergy, HRC and - WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today applauded ...
		Study: Employment discrimination against transgenders in Massachusetts costs millions - LOS ANGELES — A new research study released today by The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law ...
		New anti-gay bill filed in state House - State Rep. Dwight Kay filed an anti-gay bill, HB3774, with the Illinois House May 11 that would amend the Illinois ...
		Legislative redistricting and the LGBT community - With changes in Chicago's state assembly districts likely to come, some activists are concerned boundary shifts following the 2010 U.S. ...
		Marriage-equality fight shifts to R.I. - The openly gay sponsor of a marriage-equality bill in Rhode Island said last week he would push for civil-unions bill ...
		Gay binational couple gets deportation reprieve - On May 6, an immigration judge in Newark, N.J., issued a ruling on the deportation of Henry Velandia, a Venezuelan ...
		Drama in the court: Judge Walker under scrutiny - Second of two parts - Former U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker recently told a small group of reporters that it would be a ...
		'Boystown' producer: 'The show will go on' - Shortly on the heels of the news of two East Lake View nightspots withdrawing from his proposed Jersey Shore-esque, LGBT-centric ...
		Catholic Charities in standoff over adoption, care - With a new civil-unions law soon taking effect, Catholic Charities says the organization might stop providing foster-care and adoption services ...
		Activists distribute 'coupons' at Chick-fil-A protest - Pro-LGBT activists stood at the location of the new Chick-fil-A restaurant, 30 E. Chicago, May 6 to distribute coupons for ...
		Delaware Gov. Markel to sign civil-unions bill - Delaware Gov. Jack Markell will sign Senate Bill 30—which will enable couples to enter into same-sex civil unions and enjoy ...
		Chaz Bono speaks at HBHC panel - Howard Brown Health Center (HBHC) hosted a panel, "Opportunities for Holistic Trans Health: Inside and Outside the System," May 6 ...
		Howard Brown holds 'Lifeline Celebration' - Howard Brown Health Center (HBHC) held its "Lifeline Celebration" fundraiser May 6 at the Palmer House Hilton's Red Lacquer Room, ...
		VIEWS: Remembering Doric Wilson - To the pantheon of LGBT heroes, we must add playwright and activist Doric Wilson who died May 7 at his ...
		NATIONAL ROUNDUP - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - The trustees of the City University of New York changed their minds about honoring gay playwright Tony Kushner with an ...
		World News - Brazilian Supreme Court creates national civil unions In a 10-0 decision May 5, Brazil's Federal Supreme Court ordered that ...
		National News - Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - Attorney general and judge block two gay deportations U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder suspended the deportation of an ...

 

Entertainment

 

		ShowPlace ICON: A step above the average movie theater - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - The Kerasotes Showplace Icon Theater takes a night out at the movies to a whole new level. The theater, opened ...
		HBHC art benefit at South Side center May 12 - The Artists of EastBank will host a Reclaim Art benefit Thursday, May 12, 6-10 p.m., at the Bridgeport Art Center, ...
		Springfield Pride seeks volunteers - Springfield PRIDE and the Phoenix Center are seeking sponsors, vendors and volunteers for the city's first annual Gay Pride Festival ...
		Knight at the Movies: Bridesmaids; Laurents tribute; film notes - The versatile Kristen Wiig, the Saturday Night Live regular who has a way of making the inane and just plain ...
		New 'Leatherman' book: The story of sexual renegade/businessman Chuck Renslow - CHICAGO — A prominent Chicago gay activist and entrepreneur is the subject of an in-depth biography, Leatherman: The Legend of ...
		Singer Donna De Lory stretches her talents - NUNN ON ONE: MUSIC - "Who's That Girl?" It's Donna De Lory, who toured for years with Madonna and continues to stretch her legs as ...
		Windy City Gay Idol at T's - Jennie and TJ beat out six other contestants at Windy City Gay Idol May 8 at T's, 5024 N. Clark ...
		Nicole Reynolds in ALT Q's line-up - MUSIC - In the 11 years that have passed since Chicago's out singer-songwriter Scott Free first embarked upon his ALT Q Music ...
		Billy Masters - "Arthur Laurents told me the three actresses he had in mind for the role, and of the three, Streisand was ...
		Windy City Gay Idol at Parlour - Shawn and Chad are the two new finalists who advanced May 9 at Parlour, 6349 N. Clark. Check them out ...
		k.d. lang, Barbra Streisand and 'Project Runway' - Entertainment news: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Tony Award nominations have come out—and the gay-inclusive The Book of Mormon (from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt ...
		VIEWS Marriage-equality film comes to Harlem - African-American LGBTQ communities have always existed in Harlem—and they have resided in Harlem since this former Dutch enclave became the ...
		SCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT Tony! Tony! Tony! - The 2011 Tony Award nominations for excellence in Broadway theater were announced May 3. With 14 nominations, the leader of ...
		Matthew Morrison on his career, Elton and public sex - Matthew Morrison doesn't mind being the gayest straight man you know. The 32-year-old actor recently called being a member of ...
		Peter Pan - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: James M. Barrie. At: Chicago Tribune Freedom Center, 650 W. Chicago. Tickets: 1- 888-772-6849; http://www.peterpantheshow.com; $76-$173. Runs through: June ...
		CRITICS' PICKS - The Copperhead, City Lit Theatre, through May 15. A bit o' history comes at you in this once-famous 1918 drama, ...
		Soul Samarai - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Qui Nguyen. At: InFusion Theatre Company at Theatre Wit, 1229 W. Belmont. Phone: 773-975-8150; $25. Runs through: June 5 ...
		The Original Grease - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Jim Jacobs Warren Casey. At: American Theatre Company, 1909 W. Byron. Phone: 773-409-4125; $45-$50. Runs through: June 26 The ...
		Performing Tonight: Liza Minnelli's Daughter; The King and I - DOUBLE REVIEW -Performing Tonight: Liza Minnelli's Daughter Created by Mary Fons . At: The Neo-Futurists, 5153 N. Ashland. Phone: 773-275-5255; $10-$15 . ...
		Spotlight - If you're still kicking yourself for missing the Halsted Street engagements of Alien Queen, then thank your lucky stars that ...
		Aretha Franklin in Chicago May 19 - Legendary singer Aretha Franklin will perform at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State, on Thursday, May 19, at 8 p.m. ...
		Pet Shop Boys' CDs out May 17 - Astralwerks will release Pet Shop Boys' first-ever double CD live album, Concrete, as well as Battleship Potemkin, their original music ...
		WCQ: Jennifer Beals on the Dalai Lama - Author, speaker, respected leader, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama comes to Chicago for two public events ...
		Kimberly Caldwell has new CD, 'Without Regret' - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Vanguard/Capitol Records artist Kimberly Caldwell has released her CD, Without Regret. Produced by Marshall Altman, Tommy Henriksen, John Mark & ...
		Macy's, OUT and Center's design event - The men came out on State Street as OUT Magazine, Center on Halsted and Macy's recently held a men's designer ...
		50 Faggots premiere features glam, lessons - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times- Diamonds, dance, glitter and glam decorated the 50 Faggots screening at Center on Halsted as audiences were granted a passport ...
		Five Worth Finding - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - —Violet Tendencies ( on DVD May 24 ) : The Facts of Life's Natalie ( Mindy Cohn ) , all ...
		NCLR head Kate Kendell talks queer families - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), spoke May 5 at Northwestern University about the ...
		Betty White at Barnes & Noble - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - The now more popular than ever actress Betty White (originally from Oak Park) strutted into Barnes & Noble Booksellers in ...

 

Outlines

 

		Gay man on comeback trail after accident - Partners Keith Ellis and Todd Gagliano had been out with friends on a November night that dramatically changed their lives. ...
		A Gay in the Life: Theater director Aaron M. Kubey - Aaron M. Kubey is coming home this summer. The 34-year-old now lives in West Haven, Conn., and is slated to ...
		Kent Bartram on Frank Lloyd Wright and old Hollywood - REAL ESTATE - Kent Bartram on Frank Lloyd Wright and old Hollywood It is four o'clock on a Sunday afternoon in Oak Park ...
		Frank Kisner: Basketball player finds groove in Chicago - Frank Kisner, a lifelong basketball player, discovered Team Long Beach in 1990—the team run by Mark Chambers, who founded the ...
		'Bowling with the Stars' May 21 - "Bowling With the Stars"—a night when local dignitaries fill the lanes with LGBTQ youth they are paired with from around ...
		Chicago Outfit season opener May 14 - The Chicago Outfit Roller Derby will roll into the Windy City Fieldhouse, 2367 W. Logan, on Saturday, May 14, to ...
		Force overcomes Tribe - The Jessica Springer Show was freakishly good May 7, as the Chicago Force running back almost single handily carried the ...

 

BUZZ!

 

		Windy City Rollers wrap up regular home season with May 21 bout
		Gay Civil Rights History at Library of Congress
		Film on U.S. struggle for LGBT equality featured in Chicago Human Rights Watch Film Festival
		Key West Pride 2011
		Lady Gaga electrifies closing credits of HBO special, with A Cappella "Born This Way"
		Dyke Delicious Screening Series presents May Shorts
		Black Ensemble Theater announces open run for "All In Love Is Fair"
		Bonaventure House offers Sober & Proud Party
		Taste of Chicago 2011 offers 60 restaurants
		President Bill Clinton endorses marriage equality legislation in New York

 

Windy City Times May 4, 2011 edition

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News

 

		AIDS funding: Caught in the crossfire - Before it left on spring recess, the U.S. House passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2012 that the president called ...
		Judge Walker called to answer - First of two parts - FThe new chief judge of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco has asked former Chief Judge Vaughn Walker to ...
		AIDS: Rae Lewis-Thornton: Talking with an AIDS diva - Rae Lewis-Thornton calls herself a "diva living with AIDS." However, she is not the typical self-absorbed individual making constant demands—unless ...
		AIDS: Gay man with AIDS runs against the disease - It had been two years since his last HIV test when—about nine years ago, at age 24—Richard Cordova learned he ...
		AIDS: Youth Pride reaches out on HIV/AIDS - A minority, an LGBT-identifying member and an HIV-positive person—each comes with a sometimes unavoidable external stigma attached. Combine all three ...
		AIDS: Red ribbon symbolizes AIDS fight - By Krysten Thomas There were an estimated 33.3 million adults living with AIDS by the end of 2009, according to ...
		AIDS: Philly starts iCondom iPhone campaign - iCondom, a new free iPhone condom locator application, and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) have partnered to launch ...
		States struggle over gay and lesbian adoptive parents - Part two of a series on children and gay parents - Each year, more than 100,000 children in the United States foster care system are waiting for adoptive homes, according to ...
		'Boystown' show backer has criminal past - Project's status in question - Plans going forward for Boystown, a proposed reality television series centered on Chicago's well-known queer enclave on Halsted Street, may ...
		'Gay caveman' dispute, Kern's tearful apology - NATIONAL ROUNDUP: Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - Washington, D.C.'s, LGBT health center is changing its name, website and logo, according to Advocate.com. Once known as the Whitman-Walker ...
		Chicago Teachers Union to debut in Pride Parade - From a News Release - Chicago, Illinois — The Chicago Teachers Union's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Committee announced today that "We Teach Pride ...
		Things get 'Raw' at youth confab - BY TERRENCE CHAPPELL HIV/AIDS outreach and prevention, healthcare and education were just a few of the hot-button topics explored at ...
		Pro-LGBT group up for award - The Uhlich Children's Advantage Network (UCAN) is a contender for the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence. Two awards (for ...
		Labor department adds protections for transgender people - The U.S. Department of Labor has announced its full commitment to implementing equal employment opportunity policies for all department employees ...
		Wheaton LGBTQ organization forms - "You are not tragic," reads a letter from the LGBTQ group OneWheaton to students of Wheaton College. "Your desire for ...
		Emanuel appoints gay man as deputy commissioner - Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel has appointed John Pfeiffer, a gay man, as the first deputy commissioner of the Department of Family ...
		Chaz Bono to speak at HBHC events - Chaz Bono, renowned advocate for LGBT rights and social justice, will be the featured speaker at Howard Brown Health Center's ...
		Bon Foster's 'Momentum' - "The momentum is ours and our time is now," said co-chair Chubi Anyaoku at this year's Bon Foster Civil Rights ...
		Commission recognizes IDAHO - At its regularly scheduled monthly meeting April 20, the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Lesbian, ...
		Michael Leppen to be honored in Palm Springs - Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - Local out philanthropist Michael Leppen is among six individuals who will be honored May 7 at AIDS Assistance Program's 18th ...
		TCRA to host mass civil union at museum - Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), an Illinois statewide LGBTQ advocacy and political organization, will host a mass civil-union ceremony to ...
		COLAGE's confab for people of color with LGBTQ parents - Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - COLAGE: People with a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer Parent will host the Voices Raised! Leadership Summit—the first-ever conference ...
		AFC luncheon features Dan Savage - More than 400 people crowded the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton Chicago to attend the AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( ...
		AIDS: HIV prevention with drugs: Recent PrEP news a disappointment - Last year—finally—there was exciting news about HIV prevention. Based on the successful results of two large studies, advocates geared up ...
		VIEWS Welcome to McDonald's, where violence and transphobia are on the menu - McDonald's has finally reached the ultimate pinnacle in their quest to provide the perfect family dining experience. The chain now ...

 

Entertainment

 

		Knight at the Movies: Becoming Chaz; film notes - Queer cable show and film producer/directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (known through their moniker World of Wonder Productions and ...
		50 Faggots webisode premiering May 6 - The documentary web series 50Faggots will premiere the second webisode, "I Was Just A Poor Lost Boy Myself, Friday, May ...
		Pop Making Sense - The month of May is serving as a precursor to the multiple happenings with Pride. In the upcoming weeks, there ...
		Kim Cattrall: Sex and the seedy - MOVIES - There's not much city in Meet Monica Velour, but there's sex—and a trailer park and a very haggard-looking Kim Cattrall. ...
		Heather McDonald: On Chelsea Handler and being on the road - NUNN ON ONE: COMEDY Extended for the Online Edition of Windy City Times - Heather McDonald is more than just Chelsea Handler's sidekick. She is a comedian and writer in her own right. She ...
		FASHION Borris Powell: From Lincoln Park to the Oscars - Borris Powell is proof positive that it is worth pursuing one's dream. Powell, a Chicago resident, quit his job to ...
		Windy City Gay Idol adds another venue - Windy City Gay Idol, now in its ninth year, is adding one additional preliminary event to its line up, May ...
		Scottish Play Scott - The New Colony has been named by The League of Chicago Theatres as the winner of the 2011 Broadway in ...
		Bury the Dead - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Irwin Shaw. At: Promethean Theatre Ensemble at the Artistic Home, 3914 N. Clark. Phone: 1-800-838-3006; $20. Runs through: May ...
		CRITICS' PICKS - The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?, Remy Bumppo at The Greenhouse, through May 8. Want to destroy your life? Make ...
		Rantoul and Die - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Mark Roberts. At: American Blues Theatre at the Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln Phone: 773-871-3000; $32-$40. Runs through: May 22 ...
		Next to Normal; Passing Strange - DOUBLE REVIEW - Next to Normal Score: Tom Kitt; Book & Lyrics: Brian Yorkey. At: Bank of America Theatre, 80 W. Monroe. Phone: ...
		Sspotlight: Heartbreak House - Critics like to praise George Bernard Shaw's precient prediction about the decline of the British leisure class in his 1919 ...
		UIC films talk about sex - Tuesdays are the new movie nights as the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) hosts its second year of documentaries ...
		TELEVISION Braxtons make it a family affair - Six-time Grammy Award winner Toni Braxton is ready for reality with a new show, Braxton Family Values. Although Braxton has ...
		Chicago House's brunch in fashion - Harold Washington Library's Winter Garden Ballroom was the place to see and be seen May 1 as Chicago House held ...
		Hollis Resnik in 'All About Eve' benefit reading - Award-winning actress Hollis Resnik is Margo Channing in Season of Concern's benefit reading of "All About Eve" May 23 at ...
		The L Life: Extraordinary Lesbians Making a Difference - BOOK REVIEW - By Erin McHugh. $32.50; Abrams Books; 158 pages I can appreciate just how difficult it would be to select a ...
		Smoking Typewriters - BOOK REVIEW - By John McMillian, $27.95; Oxford; 204 pages I don't just review LGBT-specific books, because I know our readers care about ...

 

Outlines

 

A Gay in the Life: Underground chef Iliana Regan - Credit goes to the pierogis. At least that's what launched Iliana Regan. In 2008, Regan began sprouting pea shoots in ...

 

BUZZ!

 

		Discharged military members oppose measures to delay, derail DADT repeal
		CCHR Advisory Council welcomes International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
		Pride Films and Plays: Gay UK
		Windy City Gay Idol 2011 heats up in its 9th year
		Lesbians up for Crate & Barrel prize

 

March 9, 2011 Windy City Times

Download PDF Issue News Chicagoan Elaine Stocker dies - Posted 9 p.m. March 3, 2011 - Longtime Chicago lesbian activist Elaine Stocker died March 3 of complications from a stroke. Funeral services were March 6 at ...  Ron Helizon, 'The Polish Princess,' dies, visitation March 15, memorial March 16 -Posted March 6, 2011 - Ron Helizon, 65, passed away due to complications of a stroke March 6. He was the beloved partner of Gordon ...  Getting to ENDA: Is it lost, or obsolete? - The first of a two-part series examines the state of things regarding ENDA by LISA KEEN Keen News Service Did ...  Supreme Court: Phelps protests are protected - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 2 that the First Amendment protects an anti-gay protester's demonstrations in close proximity to ...  Gov. Quinn bans the death penalty - News update Wed., March 9, 2011 - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law March 9 a groundbreaking ban on capital punishment, and changed the futures ...  House Republican leaders vote to authorize DOMA defense - Posted March 9, 2011 - Vote Means Spending Perhaps Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Defending Discriminatory Law WASHINGTON — Today the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's ...  Anti-bullying, non-discrimination bills face shaky paths - News update Thursday, March 10, 2011 - Members of Congress are introducing a flurry of bills this week designed to address bullying and harassment of students, including ...  Boehner calls for House group to defend DOMA - U.S. House Speaker John Boehner announced March 4 that his chamber would take some action to defend the federal law ...  Gay federal appeals nominee stalled - Republican members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee have been holding up the nomination of President Obama's only openly gay ...  BEHIV files for bankruptcy, clears air - Having announced it would be closing its doors and transferring its housing and case-management clients to other agencies earlier this ...  World News - Open gays elected to Irish Dáil Two gay men made history by being elected to Ireland's lower house of Parliament, ...  National News - Gay marriage safe in New Hampshire for now New Hampshire's Legislature will not vote in 2011 on either of two ...  Foster-care agencies that deny gay parents under review - While three faith-based foster care agencies receive state funding in excess of roughly $40 million annually as contractors with the ...  Law school hosts LGBT-rights conference - Hundreds gathered at the Chicago-Kent College of Law March 5 as the Chicago-Kent Lambdas hosted the 2011 LGBT civil-rights conference ...  Clarence Darrow event focuses on Death penalty, Queer (In)Justice - CHICAGO—Aficionados of the legendary attorney Clarence Darrow will gather at the Darrow Bridge in Jackson Park Sunday, March 13, at ...  Bailey apologizes for sex-toy demo - Dr. Michael Bailey—a Northwestern University professor who studies such areas as sexual arousal and sexual orientation—has apologized for allowing a ...  Gay-rights activist dies at 32 - Michael Spivak, a gay-rights advocate who grew up in Buffalo Grove, Ill., died in Minneapolis, Minn., according to the Daily ...  AFC, ALMA, new appointments - Keith Green joins AFC as federal affairs head The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) has announced the appointment of Keith ...  National-Louis forum looks at Legacy Project, bullying - National-Louis University hosted the "2nd Annual Forum on LGBTQA issues in Higher Education: Building Knowledge-Practice-Action" March 2. Victor Salvo, executive ...  Advocates turn out for 'Lobby Days' - More than 120 people turned out Mar. 2 to lobby Illinois legislators against budget cuts to HIV prevention funding. The ...  Women talk about sex - Lesbian and bisexual women as well as allies of the community gathered at the Jacob Carruthers Center for Inner City ...  Groups discuss impact of war, marriage and policing on LGBTs - Gender JUST (Justice United for Societal Transformation), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois ...  The Crib: Providing refuge for young adults - Nestled inside the safety of Lakeview Lutheran Church, which is just around the corner from the Center on Halsted, The ...  VIEWS Rev. Peter Gomes: Accidental gay advocate - [Note: Harvard Divinity professor Peter Gomes died Feb. 28 of a brain aneurysm and a heart attack at the age ...  VIEWS We are greater than AIDS - This year marks 30 years since the discovery of the first case of what was later identified as AIDS. With ...  Center screens film on life of Black gay civil-rights activist - The Chicago Urban League and WTTW joined forces to screen Bennett Singer's award-winning documentary Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard ...  Entertainment 'When Romeo Was a Woman'at museum March 10 - As part of its "Out at CHM" series, the Chicago History Museum will host "When Romeo Was a Woman" Thursday, ...  Congregation Or Chadash marks 35 years with gala - When Congregation Or Chadash (or "New Light," in Hebrew) was first founded in 1975, it was little more than a ...  Chicago Takes Off: Lido des Boyz - It may have been snowing outside, but Test Positive Aware Network kept things very hot at the Park West March ...  Pop Making Sense - Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - To raise awareness and funds for The Trevor Project, openly gay vocalist Matt Zarley is remaking "We Belong." This cover ...  Knight at the Movies: For Billy: The Movie; film notes - It's a scenario so familiar to movie goers that it's almost become a cliché: A young gay teen falls hard ...  Billy Masters - "How long did you last? I was asking at what point in the Oscar show was the entire audience gonna ...  Lady Gaga, Matthew Morrison and Russell Simmons - Entertainment news: Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - Openly gay Bravo exec Andy Cohen was in the middle of a firestorm after he criticized the children's choir that ...  Scottish Play Scott - When I first moved to Chicago, people often told me that I would need to take at least one warm ...  Precious Little - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Madeleine George. At: Rivendell Theatre at The Storefront, 66 E. Randolph. Phone: 312-742-8497; $25. Runs through: April 2 On ...  This - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Melissa James Gibson. At: Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont. Phone: 773-975-8150; $18-$35. Runs through: March 27 Melissa James Gibson's ...  Working - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: adapted by Stephen . Schwartz, Nina Faso and assorted guest contributers from the book by Studs Terkel. At: Broadway ...  SPOTLIGHT - There's no denying that Hair is a relic of the idealistic 1960s. But this iconic "tribal rock musical" was thoroughly ...  2011 Garage Rep - THEATER REVIEW - Playwright: Various. At: Merle Reskin Garage Theatre, 1624 N. Halsted. Tickets: 312-335-1650; http://www.steppenwolf.org; $20; 3-play pass $45. Runs through: April ...  MUSIC Boy George: No 'Ordinary' man - When talking about the '80s music scene, Boy George and Culture Club must be considered one of the seminal acts ...  News in Theater - About Face nominated for GLAAD award About Face Theatre Artistic Director Bonnie Metzgar and Executive Director Jason Held have announced ...  CRITICS' PICKS - The Big Meal, American Theater Company, extended through March 27. Generations of family joys, squabbles and tragedies get played out ...  The Beekman Boys are back in town - TELEVISION - The Fabulous Beekman Boys are at it again with a second season of their reality show on Planet Green and ...  Dan Geraci talks high-intensity training - FITNESS Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - Mention to some people that there's a workout that you only have to do twice weekly that would yield results, ...  SUGAR & SPICE DiSotto Enoteca - Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - The folks behind the Francesca's Family of Restaurants are at it again. They've turned the cave-like space beneath Francesca's on ...  Idina in Indy - Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times - Windy City Times drove the Indy 500 to see Idina Menzel at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The entertainer known as ...  Pet for adoption - Mac Gender: Male Mac was found a couple of years ago running around in a park with other dogs. Everyone ...  Outlines A Gay in the Life: Entertainer Honey West - Windy City Times was like a bee to Honey following her all day on Sunday. We visited her house for ...  Ellen DeGeneres invited to join Ride for AIDS - There was the incredible buzz and notoriety for the Facebook page to help get Betty White to host Saturday Night ...  Gold Coast B&B: A nugget in the heart of the city - If you think that bed-and-breakfasts are tucked away in rustic areas in the scenic countryside, think again. There's one in ...  Cassandra Corum delivers fitness tips - The rapidly approaching warm weather is the perfect excuse, says Cassandra Corum, to get your body where you want it. ...  BUZZ! Point Foundation creates scholarship in memory of Tyler Clementi

 

Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=28517

My new book about Obama is out; below is the press release.

Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage is a new book by long-time Chicago-based journalist Tracy Baim. The book presents an in-depth look at Obama's trajectory on gay issues, and will be available on print-on-demand through Amazon.com and ebook readers. It is also available through CreateSpace, https://www.createspace.com/3481486

Baim, co-founder of Windy City Times newspaper, has compiled documents, photos, and interviews with Obama for a close look at how his views on LGBT issues have changed over the years, as well as the accomplishments and stumbles of his presidential administration. In the first book ever published on this important topic, Baim is joined by some of the most respected LGBT journalists, bloggers, and activists from around the US.

The book includes articles by Chuck Colbert, Lisa Keen, Karen Ocamb, Bob Roehr and others; essays by Wayne Besen, Sean Cahill, John D'Emilio, Kerry Eleveld, Rod McCullom, the Reverend Irene Monroe, Michelangelo Signorile, Pam Spaulding, Timothy Stewart-Winter, Andrew Tobias, and Phill Wilson; and dozens of interviews with Chicago and national gay movement leaders. Senior editors are Toni Armstrong Jr., Jorjet Harper and William B. Kelley. Kirk Williamson designed the book.

Baim will read from and sign copies of the book in Chicago Wed., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. at Women & Children First Bookstore, 5233 N. Clark St., and Wed., Oct. 27, 6 p.m. at the Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St. 

DADT. ENDA. DOMA. These four-letter words are familiar to everyone involved in the struggle for gay civil rights. Like it or not, they form the core of the national "gay agenda." When Barack Obama ran for president, he promised repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell military gay ban and passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. He also said he would push for repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, even though he was personally against same-sex marriage.

Obama and the Gays presents a clear, lively, in-depth review of Barack Obama's policies on gay issues, from the early days of his political career through his meteoric rise to prominence—all in the context of the political landscape of the times—and examines the role the gay community has played in Obama's victories. Obama and the Gays also documents the actions and reactions of influential gay organizations and gay community leaders to Obama's speeches, positions, and decisions that directly affect the lives of our LGBT citizens.

The website for the book is www.ObamaAndTheGays.com .

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 new books look at AIDS history

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=24741

The first cases of what would later become known as AIDS ( Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ) were diagnosed almost 30 years ago.

During a time of economic recession and the rise of the "moral majority," the gay community had to fight an uphill battle against not just the disease but also homophobia, complacency, inadequate research and healthcare systems, and gays often even against one another about what approach to take as their friends were dying.

Two new books with Chicago connections take a closer look at the trajectory of AIDS as it impacted the mainstream and gay communities.

University of Illinois at Chicago scholar Jennifer Brier's Infectious Ideas book focuses on the federal and global epidemic, including a detailed account of President Ronald Reagan's criminal neglect and politicizing of the disease. Her book does not address Chicago's response, but instead looks closer at New York, San Francisco, and the overall U.S. and "global south" response.

Meanwhile, former ACT UP/Chicago member Debbie Gould has a more personal connection to the epidemic, and that is evident throughout her book Moving Politics. She looks closely at the Chicago, New York and San Francisco ACT UP chapters, and gives a detailed accounting of both the rise and fall of the ACT UP movement.

The books, both recently published, come at a time when AIDS/HIV activists and donors are fatigued by both the long-standing epidemic and the new recession. They can be used as tools for activists working on same-sex marriage and other issues, and perhaps the book can inspire a new generation to continue the fight against HIV and AIDS complacency.

Reviews of these two new books are at the links: http:// www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=24764 and http:// www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=24758 . This Friday, Feb. 5, Chicagoans can remember the work of AIDS activist Danny Sotomayor. His brilliant editorial cartoons once appeared in gay media including Windy City Times, Outlines and Nightlines. He became a street fighter once he himself was diagnosed with the disease, and he fought with an intensity rarely matched in any movement. He lost his battle Feb. 5, 1992, and his life will be remembered on the 18th anniversary of his death, on Friday, Feb. 5, 6:30 p.m. in a free event at the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, 3015 W. Division. The rarely seen Sotomayor documentary, Short Fuse: Portrait of an AIDS Activist, will be shown.

Mom, A Life Well Lived

My mom was a pioneer in so many ways, a "jill of all trades" so much so that she never stayed in one place long enough to be honored for her work.

On Jan. 28, my sister Marcy and brother Clark and I will give the second annual Joy Darrow Memorial Scholarship in her name to an aspiring female journalist, as part of the Chicago chapter of the Association for Women Journalists.

Our mom died in 1996, at age 63, but had she lived, she would have been in Washington, D.C. to be part of the swearing in of the first African-American President, Barack Obama. It would have meant for her the culmination of decades of civil-rights work that took many forms.

As a journalist, she interviewed Hank Aaron early in his career as he faced racism in Major League Baseball. She interviewed Fidel Castro in the mountains of Cuba before the Revolution, and re-visited Cuba many times after, including in the years before her death. She did a story on AIDS in Cuba for me in the 1980s, having snuck away during an "official" visit to see the AIDS camps. She was an anti-Apartheid activist and loved South Africa.

In the 1960s, she covered many of Martin Luther King Jr.'s marches, in both Chicago and the American South. I recently found an article she wrote about one march where she described how well dressed Dr. King and his wife Coretta were, showing a different face to the world. She admonished other 1960s activists to follow that example as a way to further their cause.

She and my step-dad Steve Pratt covered the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots in Chicago, as they both worked at the Chicago Tribune then. But she was discouraged from covering hard news, and eventually smashed into the Tribune's glass ceiling. After the Tribune, she went in many directions, often at the same time.

Her myriad work included: 

-- Helping architect Buckminster Fuller in all his unique dreams of a geodesic dome.

-- Being a critical part of Environment Inc., an early environmental organization in the 1970s.

-- Working on and off at the Chicago Defender, back then one of the few remaining Black daily newspapers. She even had a section, Joy, named for her. She was managing editor for several years, and as a kid I went with her to the production plant and learned newspaper layout. I was published first in the Defender, at age 10, writing a children's consumer column in 1973.

-- She assisted Dempsey Travis on the national Black mortgage work he did, fighting to free mortgage funds for African-Americans. She also helped him with his book, An Autobiography of Black Chicago.

-- She travelled extensively on human-rights trips, including to China before and after Tiananmen Square; to Germany before the wall came down; to Russia; to Laos and Cambodia when they first opened to outsiders; to India several times; to South Africa during their first free elections after Apartheid; to Haiti to monitor elections; and again and again to Cuba, usually with a religious human-rights group.

-- Because my mom was a relative to famed attorney Clarence Darrow, she also often did work in his honor. She didn't like her stepmom's name, and after her divorce from my dad Hal removed the Baim name, so she instead claimed the Darrow name. Her work included being part of Darrow committees on public housing reform, and an annual dedication in Darrow's honor still held in Hyde Park every March. 

-- She also did public relations work for former Mayor Jane Byrne, Columbia College, and others.

She was constantly hustling, trying to find her way as a journalist and photographer, and as someone who cared deeply about human rights. But she never quite had the luxury assignments as a freelancer she might have had if the Tribune could have broken their sexist ways earlier in her career. I am not sure she ever quite got over the push and shove of that sexism, the way it can crush your spirit and dreams. But she didn't show it, she just kept plugging along.

In some ways, my mom was an enigma. She was a white Catholic girl from Milwaukee who married a Jewish man from Chicago, converting before they were married so that his parents would attend the wedding. Yet she pushed so hard for civil rights, cared so much about the rights of others, especially Asians, Cubans, South Africans and African-Americans, that I often feel it was a way to avoid the crushing defeats of her own life. It was a way to avoid the pains she endured when she was gang raped at a very young age when she first moved to Chicago. I did not even know about that attack until our family experienced a home invasion and attack in 1978 (which I write about elsewhere on this blog). The men who attacked her were Black, as was the man who tried to attack me in our home, stabbing me, Steve and Joy. So my mom finally opened up to me, only briefly and very cryptically, about her own experience. She wanted  to make sure I did not allow that incident to drive my life, to turn me racist, or to cripple my dreams. But she never spoke of it again, it was too painful.

So I feel I don't really know my mom, despite having been very close to her, and despite following as best I can in her very big footsteps. I think each of us knew a part of her, as did her hundreds of friends. But none of us quite knew all of her. Maybe that was the safest way she could handle her pains, to keep working on her passions, to try to overcome the frustrations of her life.

But had she lived to see Obama sworn in, I think she would have felt validated. That even though she suffered greatly, it was worth it. That society may change incrementally, that those changes may not always pass on to all people, but it does move forward. Mom, this victory was for you.

Obama has changed views on gay marriage since 1996

During his run for Illinois state Senate in 1996, Barack Obama stated his unequivocal support for gay marriage, according to an exclusive story in the Jan. 14, 2009 Windy City Times newspaper. It will be available online starting Jan. 14.

President-elect Obama's answer to a 1996 Outlines newspaper question on marriage was: "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages." There was no use of the phrase "civil unions". [Outlines purchased Windy City Times in 2000 and merged companies; I co-founded WCT in 1985 and Outlines in 1987, and was able to bring them together in 2000.]

This answer is among those included in this week's Windy City Times feature on Obama's evolving position on gay marriage. Windy City Times also includes his answers to the candidate questionnaire of IMPACT, at one time a gay political action committee in Illinois. In that survey he also stated his support of same-sex marriage.

During the final weeks of the presidential campaign last fall, several media outlets contacted Windy City Times because of an old internet story from the 1996 Illinois state Senate race. In that campaign, Outlines newspaper reported that 13th District candidate Barack Obama supported gay marriage. Reporters wanted to know what exactly Obama had said. 

Outlines summarized the results in that 1996 article by Trudy Ring, but did not list exact answers to questions. In that article Outlines did note that Obama was a supporter of same-sex marriage; that article was never challenged or corrected by Obama. Just recently, the original Outlines and IMPACT surveys were found in our archives (sometimes me being a pack-rat matters). I have been scanning old files as part of the Chicago Gay History Project I founded as a labor of love in 2007.

More recently, as Obama has run for higher office, from U.S. senate to president, he has further shaped his views on marriage, and now he does not back same-sex marriage, but favors civil unions.

My Jan. 14 Windy City Times article looks at Obama's marriage record, including from a 2004 interview I conducted with the U.S. senate hopeful. The paper also has an article by Timothy Stewart-Winter, a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago, who is writing his dissertation on lesbian and gay politics in Chicago. Stewart-Winter provides a look at the context of Obama's race in 1996 against incumbent Alice Palmer.

As the inauguration nears, it is interesting to look back at the evolution of Obama's views, from at first full acceptance to gay marriage, then to a "practical" approach on wording, to now a more religious take -- not backing marriage itself because of religious reasons, but still backing civil unions. The problem is, governments (federal and states) use the word "marriage" in very non-religious ways, providing more than 1,000 federal and countless state benefits. For now, civil unions are separate and quite unequal.

The full articles and copies of the Outlines and IMPACT 1996 questionnaires are available online at www.windycitymediagroup.com or click here  starting Jan. 14, and  at hundreds of Chicago-area delivery locations.

Burris has pro-gay record

The following article I am posting on Windy City Times today. See here.

Roland Burris, tapped in a controversial move by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the U.S. Senate post once held by Barack Obama, has a pro-gay record in his varied political career. As a perennial candidate, he has often sought gay support in his races, including his 2002 bid for state governor. The notable exception, which is more like the rule for pro-gay pols, is that he does not back same-sex marriage, but rather a form of civil unions.

Whether Burris gets to hold the post for any length of time will be up to politicians and judges, a fate also awaiting Blagojevich. To provide some background on Burris, who has been more out of the spotlight in recent years, Windy City Times takes a look back at his answers to candidate surveys and interviewer questions.

The following are quotes from an interview with Roland Burris that ran in the December 1997 and January 1998 issues of BLACKlines, a now-defunct sister publication to Outlines newspaper, which in 2000 merged with Windy City Times. The interviewer was Jon Dallas:

JD: Same-sex marriages recognized in other states [none at the time] will not be recognized in Illinois under a law [Senate Bill 1773 sponsored by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Palatine] signed in May 1996 by Gov. Edgar. If you had been governor, would you have signed that law? Will you work for its repeal?

RB: [This question] touches on a very philosophical point with me, a personal point. I have made sure that there will be no discrimination against gays and lesbians, as a matter of fact I’ve amended statutes, sexual orientation preferences for hate crimes saying that you can’t attack people and I’ve worked to pass laws for the interest of anti-discrimination. I’ve met with all of my gay friends and they know where I stand on this issue. We have discussed it and we have talked about it and they’ve sought to convince me, but guess what? They haven’t quite been able to do it yet. I’m not there. And the reason why I’m not there as I’ve told them [gay friends] is that they don’t have an answer for it either. If you take it [same-sex marriages] to its ultimate conclusion, it will then be the destruction of the species. So therefore, I am not there. The bill that would come to me I could not sign. Not that I don’t support all [lesbian and gay] efforts, but when it comes to the sanctity of marriage, that to me under my culture and my beliefs ... is a philosophical difference. In our structure in society, when we look for the perpetuation of mankind, we look for the opposite sex. There was a reason for the creation of the opposite sex—for procreation. Various things have to happen when you get the opposite sex together some person may not be able to produce. But under the biological existence, the circumstances are that they [gays and lesbians] can’t. But if you get two females together, you know that they cannot reproduce. You put two males together you know that they cannot reproduce. So given that as I see our societal structure, I see it [society] as having been created in this fashion some other societies and cultures are different as for the perpetuation of the species.

JD: Current statistics state that lesbians and gay men consist of about 10% of the population. Given that fact, how do you feel about [same-sex marriage]?

RB: That’s fine. It could be 30% or 40% of the population. But when you’re dealing with my personal, inner beliefs, and my gay friends have respected my views on this because they have parents the same way ... this is something that I’m not new at discussing. They’ve been trying to convince me [to support same-sex marriage] and some of them haven’t been able to do it. Some of the white [lesbian and gays] have been non-supportive but some Black lesbians and gays [have been supportive]. Marc Loveless [from The Committee] and I have been through this and a couple of [my] white staff members knew that some [in the white lesbian and gay community] didn’t support my task because it was racism. It had absolutely nothing to do with my personal belief in the sanctity of the homosexual marital relationship. I did not get that support from them [white lesbians and gays] anyway ... they have not supported my candidacy [while] other candidates didn’t believe in the marital situation either. It was a race question. To my Black gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, they’re dealing with my inner beliefs. And my belief is that I will protect every right that you have and I will go to death with you. But I don’t think that we can take it to that level of marriage. If the two [lesbians or gay men] want to get married, live together that is their decision. But don’t ask the societal structure to sanction that [marriage]. It would be like the common-law arrangement, and a lot of heterosexuals are in common-law arrangements, there’s some protection that [heterosexuals] get under that [arrangement]. Now in the same-sex arrangement, I don’t want to go down that path because it’s a path of no return. If you start down that [road], generations from now, what will happen to our species? If there’s a law [for same-sex marriage] I will not support it.

JD: What will you do to stop violence against lesbian and gay people?

RB: If someone attacks [lesbians and gays] because you are lesbian or gay, they ought to have an enhanced penalty because they have no right to interfere with whatever you want to be ... it your right. I’m not somebody who’s flippant about this [issue]. I’ve been in it, I understand it, I’ve changed and got educated [on lesbian and gay issues] and have become an advocate for violence against lesbians and gays. I will certainly speak out regarding any violence against any citizen anywhere in the state of Illinois.

JD: Do you favor increasing funds to pay for the new AIDS medications?

RB: I will support anything that will deal with the elimination of AIDS. Certainly. I’ve been out on AIDS Walks and I’ve hired an HIV-positive person on my staff. I think I’m on the right side of that issue.

JD: Do you support a bill to make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal in the state of Illinois?

RB: Absolutely.

For the complete interview see the following links:
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=20127

or here.
and
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=20126
or
here.

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago also surveyed the gubernatorial candidates that year. Burris scored a 73% rating on that survey, while Blagojevich was 100%.

And finally, below are Burris' answers to the 2002 Windy City Times/BLACKlines questionnaire for statewide candidates.

1. Would you support a state civil rights bill for gays and lesbians? YES.

Would you lobby for it? YES.


2. Do you favor a statewide registry of names of people who test positive for HIV? NO. That is an unreasonable invasion of privacy.

3. On AIDS services in the state, do you favor:
a. Increasing funding?    YES.
b.    Reducing funding?  NO.
c. Maintaining current funding?  NO.

4. What steps, beyond current programs, should the state government take to fight AIDS?
State government can do more in terms of incorporating responsible sexual awareness education into our public school curriculum; supporting community-based needle exchange programs; and providing financial support for community-based safe sex public education campaigns.

5. On Medicaid, do you favor mandatory coverage of persons with HIV/AIDS? YES.

6. Do you favor same-sex marriage?   NO. Explain:  I favor civil unions, extending employee benefits to include same-sex partners, and the addition of gay, lesbian and trans-gender protections under the human rights act, but I am opposed, on religious grounds, to recognition by marriage of same-sex couples.

7. Do you believe in the right of gays and lesbians to become foster parents in Illinois?
YES.

8. Should gays and lesbians have a right to adopt children? YES.

9. Should gays/lesbians have the right to custody of their own children? YES.

10.  Do you favor hate-crimes legislation that increases penalties for crimes committed based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the person attacked? YES.

11.  Do you have rights for transgendered persons in employment, housing and public accomodations? YES.

12.  Do you support a woman’s right to choose abortion? YES.

13.  Do you favor maintaining current affirmative action programs? YES.

14.  Do you favor public funding of the Boy Scouts, given that the private agency has been allowed to discriminate against gays and lesbians? NO.

15.  Are any members of your current staff, either campaign staff or legislative staff, openly gay, lesbian, bi or transgendered? YES.

16.  Please list any and all experience you have on gay issues, whether on legislation, voting lobbying, personal, etc. As Attorney General, I was responsible for incorporating gay, lesbian issues into the Victim’s Rights, Domestic Abuse and Hate Crimes legislation. I created the first ever Women’s Advocacy Division to protect women from domestic abuse. Those protections extend to gay, lesbian and trans-gender victims.