Participants at the Gay Games VII Opening Ceremony, July 15 at Soldier Field. Photo by Dmitriy Margolin____________
Here are some of the local news items from this past year. Some made the community rejoice; others surprised or shocked us.
Game on: Perhaps the hottest news of the summer was when Chicago hosted the Gay Games July 15-22. Nearly 12,000 participants from all over the globe competed in 30 sports—from ice skating to softball. Chicago was bumpin' that week with countless cultural events; steamy parties; and beautiful and moving Opening and Closing ceremonies.
Breaking ranks: Early in 2006, in a bold move, Chicago's Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network ( GLSEN ) split from the national organization to form Creating Safe Schools in Illinois. The group wanted to operate as an autonomous entity in order to better create change locally.
Welcome back: After dwindling 11 years ago, ACT UP/Chicago was reincarnated and held its first meeting. Activists met in late January to address the need for the reemergence of the direct action group created to fight AIDS and LGBT discrimination.
That's criminal: An Elgin man, Martin McCoy, was charged with first degree murder for running over estranged wife Francis McCoy multiple times after spotting her with a female lover.
Crystal clear: March 2 marked the beginning of the Crystal Lake controversy. The Crystal Lake Park District Board rejected Gay Games' request to hold the rowing competition with a 2-2 vote, but later approved their request after a March 7 meeting. The agonizingly long meetings were filled with protesters and homophobic remarks. However, local supporters and PFLAG parents came out in droves to battle homophobia. Gay Games would later come before two other area boards before overcoming the final hurdle in April and gain approval for the summer event, which went off in July without a hitch and only a handful of naysayers.
Rage against the ( political ) machine: The March primaries didn't exactly go off without a hitch, however. Community darling and Ravenswood attorney Forrest Claypool lost to incumbent John Stroger for the Democratic spot of Cook County Board President, despite the fact that Stroger was hospitalized for suffering a stroke, in a race that last through election night. The LGBT community made some strides when out lesbian Debra Shore grabbed one of the three Democratic slots for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District ( MWRD ) Commissioner. Openly gay judicial candidates Mike McHale and Mary Colleen Roberts won easily.
Sweet victory: In the Spring, anti-gay group Protect Marriage Illinois ( PMI, a sister organization of the Illinois Family Institute ) hand-delivered over 345,000 signatures Downstate in an attempt to place an anti-gay advisory referendum on the upcoming November ballot. In the summer, Fair Illinois filed an official challenge to PMI's marriage referendum petition with the State Board of elections. The GLBT community and its supporters rallied together, volunteering the necessary hours to check each signature for validity. The hard work of many ensured the anti-gay organization fell short of the valid signatures needed to move forward in August. This was a major victory for the state's lesbian and gay community.
Three strikes, you're out: Shortly after PMI's failure to place a marriage referendum on the November ballot, the anti-gay head of the Illinois Family Institute, Peter LaBarbera, stepped down from his position to pursue his career as head of a long-neglected anti-gay organization he created years ago.
Nothing to sing about: Former Gay Men's Chorus general manager Paul Weldin pleads guilty to meth possession. He was sentenced to 24 months probation and 20 hours of community service.
Arresting news: A 20-year-old Chicago man was arrested in April in connection with the murder of transgender individual Krystal Heskin, 31, whose body was found in an Elk Grove Village Motel.
Continued ally: Gov. Rod Blagojevich extended domestic partner benefits to all state workers in May.
Fahrenheit 451: An act of arson at Lakeview's John Merlo Library destroyed many books from the library's GLBT section—just weeks before Gay Games and days before the annual Pride Parade—leading many in the community to believe it was a hate crime. Later, a 21-year-old homeless woman, Erica Graham, was charged with the fire.
Full support: In a victory for a local gay-straight alliance ( GSA ) , Lambda Legal came to the rescue for Noble Street Charter School's GSA, which filed a settlement in federal court in June that guaranteed the group full support for the next three years.
Making radio waves: The Illinois attorney general's office filed suit against Christopher DeChant and Kim Leffert of the nationally syndicated HIV Talk Radio Project for misappropriation of over $1.4 million of the organization's funds. The case will continue early next year.
Passing the torch: Longtime openly gay and HIV-positive Illinois Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, announced his plans to retire in January 2007 after 42 years of public service. A month later, openly gay and HIV-positive Greg Harris, the chief of staff for Chicago's 48th Ward Ald. Mary Ann Smith, was announced as McKeon's replacement. Four of the six candidates for the open seat were openly gay or lesbian.
Let the jury decide: AIDS activist and former City of Chicago worker Michael Jackson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the February 2005 death of taxi driver Haroon Paryani. The two got in a fight over an $8 fare. Jackson ran over the taxi driver three times with his own vehicle.
Don't discriminate: A local gay superintendent was fired from a suburban high school in November. The school's lawyers said Rich Mitchell was fired based on poor leadership and communication with the school board. Represented by Lambda Legal, Mitchell filed a sexual orientation discrimination suit with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights in December.
Democrats are tops: Democrats came out mostly on top in Illinois with the election and re-election of multiple supportive legislators. Incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich defeated Republican opponent Judy Baar Topinka. After a heated and unusual battle that lasted throughout election night and led to ridiculous late-night marching in the streets and mayhem, Democrat Todd Stroger—son of incumbent John Stroger—declared victory in the race for Cook County Board President. Debra Shore made history by becoming the first open lesbian elected to a non-judicial office in Cook County when she won a seat as Commissioner for the MWRD. Gay visibility on the bench increased to an all-time high thanks to the election of judges Mike McHale and Mary Colleen Roberts, as well as the retention of out judges Tom Chiola and Colleen Sheehan.
Passages
Jim Zulevic, 40, passed away Jan. 7. Zulevic was resident director of the gay and lesbian comedy troupe GayCo. Between 1999 and 2005, he directed several revues for the company. Zulevic also appeared in many films and TV series over the years.
Ethel Cotovsky, 74, passed away in March. She was a longtime activist who was very involved in the Oak Park Area Gay and Lesbian Association.
Thom Dombkowski, 55, Iconic GLBT community figure and AIDS activist, passed away in April after a brief illness after living with AIDS for 22 years. Dombkowski was crucial to the formation of the AIDS agency Chicago House, and was a prominent figure in the Chicago's gay leather community.
Ellen O'Donnell, 59, passed away March 9. She was a fixture in Chicago before moving to Kentucky. O'Donnell opened the women's bars Razmataz and Visions, and was a member of the Mayor's Commission on Human Relations.
Dow Harter, 65, former Chicago House volunteer and board member of the Chicago NAMES Project/AIDS Memorial quilt, passed away in May.
Pat Carrara, 57, passed away on May 12. She was a huge supporter of and volunteer for the Lesbian Community Cancer Project.
Ralph Paul Gernhardt, 72, passed away in June of lung cancer. Gernhardt was the founder of Gay Chicago Magazine and pioneer for the GLBT community. He helped organize the Gay Athletic Association, which preceded Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association, and founded the Gay and Lesbian Press Association. Gernhardt also aided many fund-raising efforts.
Patrick 'Tim' Moore, 51, passed away on Sept. 27 due to an HIV/AIDS-related illness. Many gay men wore his elaborately designed costumes to balls in San Francisco and Chicago.
Rudolph Johnson, Jr., the original owner of the bar The North End, passed away in October.
Milestones
On Jan. 15, Gerber/Hart Library—the largest GLBT library in the Midwest—kicked off its 25th anniversary year.
Gay Jewish group Congregation Or Chadash celebrated its 30th year in February.
The Leather Archives & Museum, a vital part of Chicago's GLBT scene, celebrated its 15th anniversary during International Mr. Leather weekend.
In June, Chicago's Dyke March—the grassroots and mostly lesbian alternative to the annual Pride Parade—turned 10.
Chicago Women in Trades celebrated 25 years of those one-of-a-kind hot pink hard hats.
Executive Sweet, the oldest and largest of all women's parties in Chicago, marked 25 years Dec. 9.