Popular gay-rights activist Norm Sloan was assaulted by a brick-wielding assailant on Sept. 21 at 1434 W. Bryn Mawr. The attacker made off with Sloan's backpack, which was apparently tossed about a block away from the scene.
According to friends, the attack left Sloan fighting for his life at Illinois Masonic Hospital. As of Sept. 22, he had suffered skull fractures, was dealing with cranial bleeding and was breathing through a tube, according to Sloan's friend Jamil Khoury. The savagery of what transpired stunned Khoury. ' [ Norm ] is such an amazing guy,' he said. 'I've known him for at least 15 years; [ people ] are just stunned.'
Blake Walton, a housemate of Sloan, was one of those stunned individuals. 'Norm's such an exquisite and warm person,' he said. 'There is no right victim in [ a situation like this ] but Norm is definitely not the right one.'
However, the situation had improved markedly by the following day. Khoury e-mailed Windy City Times that Sloan was 'looking and sounding a lot better' and that he had been moved from the intensive care unit to a standard room, although he added that the activist probably would not be 'running marathons any time soon.' According to Khoury, when a nurse asked Sloan who the president of the United States is, he responded 'unfortunately, George W. Bush.'
By Sept. 25, Sloan was on the road to recovery, Walton told Windy City Times. ' [ He is ] doing well; it turned out that there was a slight skull fracture and Norm didn't require any surgery,' he said. However, he added, Sloan 'doesn't remember what happened. He woke up in the hospital.' Walton, a playwright, also mentioned that the theater community missed the presence of Sloan, a noted enthusiast of the genre.
According to Walton, the incident was not the first of its kind in the area—and that the neighborhood block association had not been notified of one situation that occurred just a week earlier. Windy City Times obtained an Area Three community alert that seemed to confirm the former assertion. ( The block association received the same alert in a Sept. 24 meeting with several officials. ) The notice revealed that similar armed robberies have taken place since Aug. 21 at locations such as 1441 W. Olive, 1346 W. Sunnyside and 4731 N. Kenmore. ( All of the locations are in the 20th and 23rd districts. )
Sloan is probably best known as a political activist who has registered thousands of gay and lesbian voters. According to the Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame Web site, Sloan had signed up 38,000 voters between 1988 and his induction date in 1996. During some heavy weeks, he has registered between 1,000 and 2,000 people. He helped form the Lesbian and Gay Progressive Democratic Organization and later worked through Equality Illinois.
Both Khoury and Walton, while ecstatic at Sloan's recovery, wondered about his future. 'Will Norm's behavior around the neighborhood be different? I'm fearful of that,' Khoury said. ( Walton said that Sloan will probably alter several habits, such as wearing earpieces as he walks. )
Another source of concern involves the robbery suspect himself, who is described in the alert 'as a Black male, possibly in his 20s, approximately 5' 10' tall and 175 pounds.' 'That's such a generic description,' Walton stated. 'I don't have prejudices, but now every time I walk by a Black man who's about 5' 10 , I wonder—and I hate that [ I do that ] .'
The attack is not considered a hate crime, according to a police spokesperson, who added that the investigation is ongoing and that no one has been charged. Anyone with information should contact Area Three at ( 312 ) 744-8263.