AIDS Run and Walk returns with Resist, Restore and Renew theme
Under crisp and sunny blue skies on the morning of Sept. 26, approximately 2,000 participants gathered at Soldier Field for this year’s Resist, Restore and Renew-themed AIDS Foundation Chicago’s (AFC) AIDS Run and Walk. During the event’s 25-year history, over 36,500 participants have helped raise more than $11…
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SAVOR Breast Cancer Awareness specials, Good Ambler, robbery victim’s reflections, Chilli Pepper street-naming
Not fAIr: On Thursday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m., an independent coalition of artists and musicians will rally at Dirksen Federal Plaza, 219 S. Dearborn St., to highlight the devastating effects of generative AI on the music industry. Many of the artists who will gather to voice their concerns are also members of the SCL…
THEATER UrbanTheater Company leader Ivan Vega receives Leaders for a New Chicago award
More than two decades after helping launch a theater company to put Puerto Rican stories on Chicago stages, UrbanTheater Company (UTC) co-founder and Executive Director Ivan Vega is being recognized for his work building community through the arts. Vega was one of eight people named recipients of the 2026 Leaders for a New Chicago Award, a joint initiative…
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OPINION Illinois new online safety law needs a second look to protect LGBTQ+ youth from unintended harms
For over 35 years, TaskForce has served LGBTQ+ youth of Color in Chicago’s West Side. The young people who walk into our building come to find resources and on-site referrals, HIV/STI screening and education, and a safe space for fellowship and community. Oftentimes, members of our staff are the first affirming adults they have interacted…
Nation & World
IN BRIEF Education items, Trans Visibility March, Seattle, activists flee Sierra Leone, Fiji’s HIV crisis, ‘Playing with Fire,’ Andrew Scott
Warning: This column mentions details of violent activities. NATIONAL The Georgia Department of Administrative Services paid $250,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by former Georgia Southern University employee Gemma Skuraton, who said she was fired…
Theater / Dance
THEATER Handbag sends Joan Crawford on encore trip to ‘Hell’
In the first chapter of My Way of Life, Joan Crawford’s 1971 tome intended (according to its dust jacket) “for every woman who wants to live beautifully and successfully,” Crawford pontificates on the idea of regret. “People are always asking me if there’s anything I regret, or would change,” she writes. “The answer is no! Not…
Music
MUSIC Melanie C is set to break a ‘Sweat’ in Chicago
Melanie Chisholm became part of a cultural pop phenomenon as Sporty Spice in the Spice Girls before she carved out a career as a solo artist. Nine albums later, she headlines a 25-city North American Tour that bringing her Sweat to the Windy City this September.The record’s title track “Sweat” samples Diana Ross’ “Work That Body” and…
Film / TV / Gossip
Spanish actor Carlos González digs into history and sand at the 44th Reeling Film Festival
The fiercely talented queer performer Carlos González has yet to visit the Windy City in person, but he is set to appear virtually for two Spanish-language projects at the second-longest-running LGBTQ+ film festival in the world. La Bola Negra kicks off opening night of the 44th edition of Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival at…
Books / Art
Trans
IN BRIEF Election items, ‘Witt v. Air Force,’ Mount Sinai’s anti-trans move, Switzerland’s government, Freddie Mercury mural, WNBA, Janet Jackson, ‘Tip Toe’
Warning: This column mentions details of killings. NATIONAL In Indiana, six candidates for Owen County township offices in the November election are coming out to voters, introducing themselves on two billboards, WISH noted. The promotion, paid for by the Stonewall Democrats of South Central Indiana, marks the first time the organization has endorsed any candidates…
Lesbian
Chicagoans reflect on Gloria Steinem’s relationship with LGBTQ+ community
Gloria Steinem is being remembered as a feminist leader and icon. But the Chicagoans who interacted with her said she never made the movement about her—it was about all of us. “She treated everyone like a peer,” said Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who met Steinem several times, starting when Cassidy worked for the National Organization for Women’s (NOW)…