Two powerful ministers with anti-gay pasts—the Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus and the Rev. James Meeks—are aiming to become the new mayor of Chicago.
De Jesus leads the New Life Covenant Church, located in Humboldt Park. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that he has thrown his hat into the ring. De Jesus is also a commissioner on the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals.
Last year, Windy City Times reported on De Jesus' plan to succeed Billy Ocasio as the city's 26th Ward alderman; however, Roberto Maldonado eventually was picked to become alderman. Many thought De Jesus' presence would be divisive; however, the official explanation was that he technically did not reside inside the ward.
The possibility of De Jesus being a part of Chicago's city council angered many in the LGBT community. New Life is part of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal fellowship that considers homosexuality a sin. In Chicago, many LGBT activists know him as the pastor who put the brakes last year on a planned Pride Campus, a school that designers hoped would act as a model school, providing a safe and affirming environment for LGBT and questioning youth and their allies.
It is not known if De Jesus plans to reach out to the LGBT community; however, Meeks already has. Meeks recently talked with Equality Illinois Public Policy Advocate Rick Garcia. On Oct. 5, Meeks took things one step further by holding a closed meeting with a few LGBT community leaders at Equality Illinois' headquarters in Lakeview.
After the meeting, Windy City Times spoke with one of the attendees—Kim Hunt, executive director of Affinity Community Services, which focuses on Chicago's Black lesbians and bisexual women.
Hunt described the meeting as "a free-flowing discussion. He hadn't reached out to our community before, so we were a little [ suspicious ] , a little cynical. Most of the conversation was about trying to help him understand that he cannot assume that people see him as wearing two hats: minister and mayor.
"He [ knows ] that he's not going to win over the gay community, but he also wants to make sure he doesn't say anything offensive. He was also encouraged to be more proactive about what he will do for the community, such as keeping the Hall of Fame, the Office of LGBT Health and the [ post of ] the mayoral liaison to the LGBT community. He said he wasn't going to dismantle any gains the gay community has made. He didn't know that this infrastructure existed, and I don't think he had a real appreciation [ regarding ] how progressive [ Mayor ] Daley has been on issues related to our community.
"The way it ended was that he wanted to have another meeting with more members of our community."
Years ago, Meeks actively campaigned to defeat Senate Bill 3186, which amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Once it passed both houses of the state's general assembly, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill into law January 2005.
Garcia has told Windy City Times that it is possible for a person to change his views, citing how former Congressman Glenn Poshard and current U.S. Sen. Roland Burris have become allies of the gay community despite harboring anti-gay sentiments in the past.
