The Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues has named the 2006 list of individuals and organizations for inclusion in the only known government-sponsored hall of fame that honors members of the LGBTA community, announced Commission Chairperson Clarence N. Wood and Advisory Council Chairperson Laura Rissover.
At the 15 previous Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Mayor Richard M. Daley has participated in the awards presentation. This year, he will receive an award himself.
Past Hall of Famers vote on the new inductees each year, based on nominations submitted by the public.
Chosen nominees will be inducted at the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame's 16th annual ceremony, at a date and time to be announced. The event will be free and open to the public.
Among the other honorees are:
Individuals
Margaret Anderson ( 1886-1973 ) and Jane Heap ( 1883-1964 ) , partners and free-thinking literary figures, for founding, editing, and publishing the avant-garde magazine The Little Review, which featured works by some of the most influential modern American and English writers between 1914 and 1929.
Jacques Cristion ( 1936-2003 ) , dancer, costume designer, and dressmaker; for more than 31 years of hosting and performing in the annual Halloween drag ball on the South Side, which created a community of gay men and lesbians that continues today.
Jill M. Metz, 54, lawyer and activist, for nearly three decades of work in developing domestic relations law for same-sex couples, producing LGBT arts events, lobbying for human rights, and serving the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, of which she is now board president.
Charles R. Middleton, Ph.D., 62, historian, educator, and ( as Roosevelt University's current president ) the first openly gay man to head a major U.S. university, for the inspiration his professional achievements have provided and for his active support of sexual-minority interests in academia and in society.
Edward Negron, 36, activist and substance-abuse counselor, for years of dedicated service as a volunteer, mentor, leader, and advocate in the LGBT, Latino, and recovering communities.
Laird Petersen, 49, currently state Rep. Larry McKeon's chief of staff, for 25 years of volunteer and professional contributions to Chicago's LGBT communities, including fund-raising and administrative work to support social service, HIV/AIDS, and political organizations.
Dick Uyvari, 62, athlete, real estate investor, and philanthropist, for 27 years of dedicated service to the LGBT sports community as a bowler, tournament director, leader, fundraiser, and sponsor.
Organizations
Congregation Or Chadash, for 30 years of service to Chicago's LGBT Jews and their friends, families, and partners, both as a voice for sexual-minority concerns in the city's Jewish community and as a Jewish voice in sexual-minority communities.
Sidetrack, for 25 years not only as an innovative, nationally known, and world-class music-video bar but also as an unparalleled backer of LGBT organizations and efforts of all stripes, ranging from social to social service to sports to cultural to political.
Star Gaze, a women's bar that for 8 years has been a contributing and supportive member of the LGBT communities, with consistent commitment without qualification to LGBT organizations and individuals.
Friends of the Community
Marigold Bowl ( 1941-2004 ) and the Fagenholz Family, for being early advocates for diversity after WWII and for establishing, in the mid-1970s, gay bowling leagues that were some of the first openly gay social organizations in Chicago and that were followed by additional gay and lesbian leagues, the annual Chicago Pride Invitational bowling tournament, the Strike Against AIDS benefit, and support for DirectAID, Howard Brown Health Clinic, and Season of Concern.
Richard M. Daley, 64, Chicago's mayor since 1989, for his years of historic top-level support for sexual-minority Chicagoans as integral parts of the city's fabric, and for repeatedly and vocally bolstering their pursuit of fully recognized legal equality in all areas of civic life.
Hall of Fame Celebrity Auction Sept. 26
The Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues will host the 14th annual Hall of Fame Celebrity Auction on Sept. 26 at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted. The registration reception will begin at 7 p.m.—with drink specials and the chance to view auction items—with the actual bidding slated to start at 8 p.m.
Proceeds will benefit the 2006 Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. The fund-raising season began with a 2006 fundraising effort with the 15th Pride and Joy Reception in June.
For more info, see www.glhalloffame.org or call Bill Greaves at 312-744-7911.
Matthew Shepard's Mother at Roosevelt
Judy Shepard, mother of the late Matthew Shepard, will discuss ways people can erase hate and accept diversity at a free lecture sponsored by Roosevelt University on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Auditorium theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress.
In 1998, Matthew Shepard, 21, was tortured and left for dead by two attackers near the University of Wyoming, where he was a student. The convicted murderers are serving life sentences in prison, but were not charged with a hate crime because there were no appropriate statutes at the time. Since Matthew's death, his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, have created The Matthew Shepard Foundation to honor their son.
For more information, call 312-341-3510 or see www.roosevelt.edu .
Ex-Project Runway Designer to Help Host ALMA Event
Celebrity couturier and former Project Runway contestant Nick Verreos will join the Association for Latino Men in Action ( ALMA ) in hosting 'Project ALMA,' a fundraising event that will showcase work by some of Chicago's leading Latino designers.
The event is Sept. 30 at FlatFile Gallery, 217 N. Carpenter, 7-11 p.m. Among the highlights will be a 2006-2007 fall-winter runway fashion show featuring the work of Latino fashion designers James De Colon, Horacio Nieto, Carol Piñeiro and Carla Soledad Rivera.
Show reservations are a must in order to guarantee seating for the event.
Call ALMA at 773-929-7688 or visit www.almachicago.org to purchase tickets.
