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

Cappleman in runoff race to hold 46th Ward seat
by Matt Simonette
2019-04-02

This article shared 2368 times since Tue Apr 2, 2019
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


After facing four other candidates in the Feb. 26 election, openly gay Ald. James Cappleman ( 46th Ward ) is competing against Marianne Lalonde in the April 2 runoff. Cappleman's ward, consisting largely of Uptown and portions of Lake View is one of the city's most diverse, and faces numerous challenges surrounding affordable housing, development, homelessness and safety issues. The alderman, who'd be serving a third term should he win, discussed the election with Windy City Times.

Windy City Times: Were you expecting there to be a runoff?

James Cappleman: Yes. About 50 percent of my staff thought there would be a runoff. Fifty percent didn't. But we were prepared either way. It's not earth-shattering. When there are five people in the election, the odds are high. But I won 39 out of 40 precincts, so there's a solid base throughout the entire ward. So we've been building on that.

WCT: Does your strategy change at all between the general election and the runoff?

JC: Now's the fun part. When there were four other candidates, and you were at forums, you'd get two minutes. When people say things that are just blatantly false, you can't really say much—now I can. I'm looking forward to it.

WCT: What are the most important priorities for the ward?

JC: Certainly protecting the diversity of the ward. It's one of the most diverse wards in the city, and that's why many of us moved here—certainly why I moved here. But I also moved here because of gay-bashing. Twenty years ago, you were careful about about where you lived; you lived where you knew you weren't going to get bashed. Now that the ward is considerably safer—there's a huge difference between now and twenty years ago—there are people like Marianne [Lalonde] moving here in droves making huge demands on housing and more in our ward, so I have to make sure that I'm doing everything I can to retain that affordable stock of housing. Marianne has this perception that I can tell building owners what our rent can be. We do not have rent control in the state of Illinois. I've been anxious to get that message out.

So there's a focus on affordable housing. We hear from residents that, although the area is much safer, they also want to make sure that, going forward, we keep maintaining safety in the area. We do have some gang conflicts and I've talked with many of them, and I'm working with them now to help get them employment opportunities, especially with the Uptown Theater, and a lot of the buildings that we're getting.

We're also really pushing economic development. With the city's pension crisis, we need to do everything we can to make sure we are adding to our tax rolls at the same time that we are providing employment opportunities in the area. There are a lot of restaurants close to the Uptown Theater that run by first-generation immigrants. This will be huge boon to them and the community.

WCT: How do you see the 46th Ward, in terms of being welcoming or not welcoming for LGBT Chicagoans?

JC: When Richard and I were looking to buy a place, we wanted something in an area that is very diverse, but we had to see evidence that Windy City Times was available in that neighborhood. If it wasn't, we weren't going to move there. I'm 66 years of age, and every LGBTQ person I knew who's in their sixties or older have been at some point threatened with violence or they've experienced violence. I don't know anyone in my age group who hasn't been threatened or beaten up, no one. That was very important.

Now, the fact that I'm an openly gay alderman? People don't even think of it. It's like, so what? It just doesn't matter.

We've made huge strides and I'm proud of that. I remember that I was at City Council and they announced the Supreme Court was going to allow marriage equality. I was an emotional mess—it was so thrilling. A reporter asked, "The movement is over—now what are you going to do?"

But I do now ask, "What am I going to do?" Transgender people [for example] can't even get to use a toilet sometimes. I spoke with the LGBT caucus, and we pushed to get that law passed. That was a really proud moment for all of us. I think that was a proud moment for all of us.

I am just thrilled that the Baton is moving here. I knew that Double Door was coming, and we'd been working on that for about a year. I had Jim Flint come to my office, and he mentioned that, I was beyond amazed. After he told me, I told one of my staff, "Can you believe this? The Baton in the 46th Ward?"

They said, "Yeah," like it was no big deal. I said, "It's a huge deal!"

When I came here 20 years ago, I would not have thought it was possible. To have one of the pioneers of the LGBT community, to have the Baton here, is just thrilling for me.


This article shared 2368 times since Tue Apr 2, 2019
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

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

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

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. ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood 2024-03-13
- LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77 2024-03-12
- On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner 2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


 


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







Sponsor


 



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.