The Chicago Commission on Human Relations’ Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues has released the names of 11 individuals and four organizations to be inducted in November 2010 into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame , the only known government-sponsored hall of fame that honors members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, announced Chairman and Commissioner Dana V. Starks.
 
The chosen nominees will be inducted at the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame’s 20th annual ceremony, which will take place from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, in Sidney R. Yates Gallery at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m., and the program is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
 
The event is free and open to the public.

“Chicago is a city of many faces, and the LGBT community is an important part of that diversity. The community is thriving and moving forward, helping to build a strong social and economic foundation for Chicago,” said Mayor Richard M. Daley.
 
“The rich contributions made to Chicago by its various communities are important to Chicago’s quality of life,” said Commissioner Starks. “It is for that reason that we are pleased to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and their allies with these Hall of Fame awards each year.”
 
Those honored in 2010 are:
 
Individuals: Claudia Allen, 55, perhaps the most prolific contemporary writer of lesbian-themed plays; 11 of her 24 produced plays have lesbian themes or a major character who is lesbian or bisexual, including “Hannah Free,” which premiered at Chicago’s Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in 1992 and became an award-winning feature film in 2009.
 
Dan Di Leo (1938-1989), a U.S. Army veteran and co-founder of Gay Chicago Magazine; his experience and knowledge as a journalist and businessman were largely responsible for the early growth of the magazine, which is a cornerstone of Chicago’s LGBT community; he died of complications from AIDS.
 
Scott Free, 50, activist, musician, and founder of both Homolatte, the longest running queer performance series in the nation, and ALT Q, another of the nation’s longest running festivals for LGBTQ performers.
 
Bob Gammie, 84, an active organizer and fundraiser since 1949, for his many years of community service, including being one of the first organizers of gay activities in non-bar settings, in particular the volleyball games in Lincoln Park that grew into the Lincoln Park Lagooners, which continues to flourish.
 
E. Patrick Johnson, 43, scholar, artist, and performer; for his leadership in the African-American LGBT community, including publishing two books that focus on black LGBT life:  Black Queer Studies and Sweet Tea:  Black Gay Men of the South, an oral history of black gay men.
 
David Ernesto Munar, 40, for his leadership and advocacy on both local and national LGBTQ and Latino issues and, as a person living with HIV, for his work to shape local, state, and federal policy on HIV/AIDS.
 
Achy Obejas, 54, activist and writer; appointed by former Mayor Harold Washington to the city’s first Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues and by former Mayor Eugene Sawyer to his Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues, she worked to secure passage of the Chicago Human Rights ordinance; as a journalist she shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2001, and she has published fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
 
Paul G. Oostenbrug, 60, runner and community volunteer, for his long and dedicated service to Team Chicago, which takes LGBT Chicagoans to the Gay Games, and for his involvement on the boards of the Federation of Gay Games and Chicago House, a local AIDS service agency.
 
Jose R. Rios, 42, police officer, for his nine years of service as the Chicago Police Department’s liaison to the LGBT communities of Chicago, including his extensive outreach to the deaf community, youth, other government offices, community organizations, and police departments across the nation.
 
The Rev. Stan Sloan, 47, Episcopal priest and CEO of Chicago House, for his dedicated and innovative leadership in the homeless and AIDS service communities, including opening Sweet Miss Giving’s Bakery, which serves as both a jobs program and a source of income for Chicago House.
 
Mark E. Wojcik, 48, legal scholar, John Marshall Law School professor, and founder of the Chicago Bar Association’s Committee on Legal Rights of Lesbian and Gay Men, for leadership and mentorship in the legal profession and for promoting legislative change at the state and federal levels.
 
Organizations
 
Asians & Friends – Chicago, for 26 years of providing a social network for gay men of Asian descent and building a bridge between them and the larger LGBT community, culturally, socially, and philanthropically; as one of the first organizations of its kind, it inspired other similar groups to form elsewhere.
 
International Mr. Leather, for 31 years of drawing worldwide attention and attendance to Chicago by way of its annual weekend of events for the international leather community, significantly contributing to Chicago’s tourism revenue; it has also been a pioneer in support of LGBT rights and health issues.
 
Friends of the Community
 
American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, for decades of support for the civil liberties of the LGBT community and persons living with HIV as well as for advocacy of nondiscrimination laws covering sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV status.
 
Chicago History Museum., for decades of acquiring and preserving LGBT historical documents and artifacts and for its groundbreaking “Out at CHM” lecture series, which presents LGBT history in the context of Chicago history.

The chosen nominees will be inducted at the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame’s 20th annual ceremony, which will take place from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, in Sidney R. Yates Gallery at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m., and the program is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

A collective of grassroots organizations in Chicago have joined
together to hold a community-wide candlelight vigil honoring nine LGBTQ teens that committed suicide due to homophobic bullying. The vigil will be held on Friday, October 8, 2010, at 7:30 PM on DePaul University’s quad near the corner of Fullerton and Seminary, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

“After the recent suicide of Tyler Clementi,” said DePaul University sophomore and event co-organizer Jeremy Kauffman, “I felt compelled to do something that would raise awareness of this crisis.” Over the past several months, a number of homophobia-induced suicides have come to national attention, including the deaths of children as young as thirteen and as old as nineteen.

The organizers believe these senseless deaths did not occur in a vacuum, but rather in a society that lacks respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and their right to dignity and equality. This vigil is being held in the hopes that both the LGBTQ and straight communities will come together to remember those lost, to provide support for the living, and to inspire hope and action for the future.
 
“LGBTQ teens are four times more likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts,” stated Anthony Martinez of LGBT Change. “With the outrageous number of deaths this past month it has become very clear that as a community we cannot wait to take action.  We must stand together and work harder to address bullying and homophobia in schools. In September alone we lost eight teens. It is truly horrifying“
 
Organizers request that those attending bring a candle and lighter if they have one. There will also be an opportunity to leave behind something for those we are remembering. “We want to allow people to offer something in the remembrance of these kids,” said Andrea Crain of Join the Impact Chicago. “A flower, a balloon or something personal to you – a remembrance.”
 
The collective of organizations coordinating  the event includes:  LGBT Change, Join The Impact Chicago, Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, Gay Liberation Network, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 50 Faggots, Adler Pride, The Civil Rights Agenda, Genderqueer Chicago.

For more information please contact endgaysuicide @   gmail.com
Facebook event page

The Illinois State Library will mark Diversity Month in October by displaying an exhibit based on the 2009 inductees in the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame  and featuring books written by or about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals.
 
The exhibit contains photographs and biographies of the 2009 Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductees, highlighting their achievements and contributions
to Chicago.
 
The books include Ask and Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out by Steve Estes, Ask and Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out by Kate Burns, and The Lesbian and Gay Movements: Assimilation or Liberation? (Dilemmas in American Politics) by Craig Rimmerman.
 
The exhibit will be on display in the 2nd Floor Atrium and the books will be featured in the Illinois Authors Room from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, October 1 through October 31, at the Illinois State Library, Gwendolyn Brooks Building, 300 South 2nd Street, Springfield.
 
Viewers of the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame exhibit will learn, for example, that:
 
·          U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) is a long-time supporter of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities who backs the movement to repeal the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy;

·          Lou Conte is the founder of the Lou Conte Dance Studio and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, both of which contribute to the arts and culture community in Chicago and beyond;

·          Sgt. Lori A. Cooper is an openly lesbian police officer who has helped create significant policy changes within the Chicago Police Department;

·          Zaida Sanabia is a young filmmaker who documented the struggles of starting a gay-straight alliance in her Chicago high school in her film “A Fish Almost Eaten by a Shark,” which has been screened nationwide to educate and train school administrators on creating safe schools for LGBT youth;

·          AIDS Foundation of Chicago  is an organization that has helped lead the fight against HIV/AIDS for 24 years by promoting cooperation among service providers at work across Chicago’s various communities, making more than $18 million in grants to agencies coping with AIDS in those communities, aiding the housing needs of persons with HIV/AIDS, and advocating for sound government HIV/AIDS policy.
 
The exhibit is courtesy of the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations’ Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.

Best Gay Chicago.com