To celebrate his first year in office, openly gay Ald. James Cappleman hosted a fundraiser May 17.
Supporters of Cappleman and members of the 46th Ward gathered at Fat Cat bar in Uptown for refreshments, followed by a tour of historic Uptown Theater down the street.
Cappleman spoke of his plans to restore Uptown Theater, which has fallen into disrepair since it closed during the 1980s, to the condition it was when it first opened in the 1920s. Cappleman said he is getting the funding togethernearly $63 millionto restore the theater over two years, with the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"The renovation is going to be beyond your imagination," said Cappleman. "This is going to happen."
Other revitalization projects are also on Cappleman's agenda, like cleaning up the Lawrence Red Line stop.
Cappleman thanked the people who also ran for his position of aldermen, saying, "The neat thing is there was 11 of us in this race and we all became great friends. That's how it should be in Ward 46."
Cappleman closed by announcing plans to marry his partner of 20 years, Richard Thale, Sept. 8 at Lakeview Presbyterian Church. The couple plans to make the ceremony legally binding in Illinois as a civil union.