Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

LGBT council faces uncertain future
News posted Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011
by Kate Sosin, Windy City Times
2011-10-19

This article shared 5295 times since Wed Oct 19, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


In their first meeting since they got word that city budget cuts hit Director Bill Greaves and wiped out their council, members of the city's Advisory Council on LGBT Issues sat down Oct. 19 to discuss their options and formulate a response.

"We can go down fighting," said Gary Chichester, a council member, who arrived prepared with a document laying out opposition to the changes.

Members expressed frustration that they had not been consulted about the changes and what they called a lack of transparency surrounding how and why they were made.

Last week, Greaves notified the council in an email that his position was cut.

In addition to Greaves' departure, the city's eight advisory councils were repackaged into just three, among them one on gender and sexuality that will replace the LGBT and women's council. The other two proposed councils are one on veterans' affairs (already a council) and another called "Equity" that combines the councils on African, Arab, Asian and Latino affairs.

"This was announced by the commissioner as a done deal," said Council Chair Beth Kelly, who met with Mona Noriega, commissioner of the Department of Human Relations, earlier in the day and reported little clarity on the meaning of such changes.

Council members wondered aloud why they were not consulted, where the changes were coming from and what the re-organization would mean for those sitting at the table.

Kelly said she asked Noriega what would happen to current council members.

According to Kelly, Noriega said verbatim, "I have been asking that question, and I don't have an answer."

Council members pressed Greaves for additional information. Greaves, who has been private about his reaction to the changes, remained quiet throughout most of the meeting, however.

Council member Gary Chichester said he found it "offensive" that words "lesbian," "gay," "bisexual" and "transgender" had been removed from the council names.

Others worried that three councils could not adequately respond to the needs of the entire city.

According to Kelly, new city ordinances will need to be drafted to account for the changes. However, she said, commissioners will have no input in writing them.

"This reorganization is a very top-down decision," Kelly said.

What the changes mean for the current council remain unclear, and Greaves has declined to comment on record about the changes to Windy City Times.

The news comes at a sensitive time for the council, which has been grappling with a loss of city funding and support for its Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame a few months before the annual induction ceremony.

That induction will take place Wed., Nov. 9, at the Chicago History Museum.

Mayor Daley handed out Hall of Fame awards in past years, but organizers say that Mayor Emanuel has given no indication if he will present the awards. According to council members, the mayor said he will attend the event.

Former Illinois Sen. Dawn Clark Netsch has agreed to hand out the awards. Lesbian icon Rosie O'Donnell was also asked and offered her support for future events, although she will be taping her show that night, Chichester said.

Among other unanswered questions remaining is what will happen to the decades of city-owned records from the council. According to Greaves, the city has nearly four full filing cabinets of materials on everything from council meeting minutes to historical records of the Hall of Fame. Greaves said the documents are well-organized and in good condition.

Council member Bill Kelley said he wants to preserve the historical record of the council for the community, possibly to be entrusted to the Gerber/ Hart Library.

However, council members are not yet ready to throw in the towel. The group has agreed to fight the proposed changes. They will distribute Chichester's letter against the changes throughout the community and the City Council.

"It's not just a done deal," said Chichester. "So we can still make noise."

"For me, this is not about being antagonistic or feeling that something is being taken away from us," said Kevin Smith, a council member. "This is about making sure there still a strong presence of LGBT issues and women and the others as well."

The council will meet in December, even though it had taken that month off in past years. If the budget proposal goes through as is, the council has just two meetings left.

The council will take a commemorative picture in December. Kelly said she would personally see it to it that the pictures were printed and handed out to members.

Silent about how the changes will affect him was Greaves, who ate dinner at the meeting and whose reputation in the 11 years he has held the job has become that of a person who never takes a day off.


This article shared 5295 times since Wed Oct 19, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill
2024-03-27
On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

Kara Swisher talks truth, power in tech at Chicago Humanities event
2024-03-25
Lesbian author, award-winning journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher spoke about truth and power in the tech industry through the lens of her most recent book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, March 21 at First ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Family of 2004 murder victim holds event in Lake View; reward announced
2024-03-24
The year 2004, for the family and friends of Lake View resident Kevin Clewer, will forever be marked by tragedy. On March 24 of that year, Clewer, 31, was found in his apartment at 3444 N. Elaine Pl.; he was the ...


Gay News

Chicago alder proposes renaming street after Obama
2024-03-22
Openly gay Black Chicago Ald. Lamont Robinson has proposed renaming Columbus Drive after former U.S. President and city resident Barack Obama, media outlets noted. The street stretches through the Loop from East Grand Avenue to DuSable ...


Gay News

No charges filed in Nex Benedict fight; campaigns call for Walters' removal
2024-03-22
In Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced that no charges will be filed in connection with the fight that happened the day before transgender, nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict died by suicide, NBC ...


Gay News

Congressional Equality Caucus on FY24 bills passing the house
2024-03-22
--From a press release - WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), released the following statement after the House successfully passed the final funding bills for Fiscal Year ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds
2024-03-21
It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist
2024-03-21
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ candidates Marcelino Garcia, Precious Brady Davis win primary elections to keep MWRD seats
2024-03-21
Marcelino Garcia and Precious Brady-Davis, the two openly LGBTQ+ incumbents in the race to keep their seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), won their primary elections and will move on to the general this ...


Gay News

Small LGBTQ+ candidate pool nevertheless scores some important victories March 19
2024-03-20
Relatively few openly LGBTQ+ candidates were running in the March 19 Illinois Primary Election. But there were some significant contests in play at the local, state and federal levels. Openly gay Ald. Ray Lopez (15th Ward) ...


Gay News

Gay Irish prime minister to step down
2024-03-20
In a surprise move, openly gay Irish Prime Minister (or Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar has announced his resignation, citing "personal and political, but mainly political reasons," according to CNN. Varadkar said he felt he was no longer ...


Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course
2024-03-18
Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS






Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.