Arlene Halko, a fixture in the LGBT community who was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1996, is currently hospitalized, according to her partner, Pat Keenan.
As a medical physicist, Halko was a familiar face on Cook County Hospital’s AIDS ward until 1993, and as owner of Piggens Pub (which was on Diversey near Clark) from 1982 to 1989 she used the bar as a community support vehicle.
Halko is currently battling diabetes. She is scheduled to have a leg amputated because of the disease.
Those who wish to send cards can send them in Halko’s name (with the word ‘patient’ after it) to St. Joseph’s Hospital, 2800 N. Lake Shore, Chicago, IL 60657.