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

Protest at Equality Illinois event
by Yasmin Nair
2011-01-12

This article shared 3638 times since Wed Jan 12, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


The Equality Illinois First Friday event is a monthly gathering designed to raise funds and bring members of the organization together in a social setting at the Boystown nightspot Sidetrack.

Rick Garcia, the political policy director of Equality Illinois, was fired in late December, and the decision caused some in the community to call for a protest Jan. 7, the first such scheduled event of the year.

Two protestors with a sign stood outside in the frigid cold while approximately 50 members of Equality Illinois gathered inside. On the sign were the words, "No public policy director … unknown lobbyist on retainer; name background experience unknown; no means to achieve goals; ten dollar donation requested. What's wrong with this picture?"

William Schendel, the organizer of the protest, said he was there because "everything seems very fishy. I'm upset that Rick's not there. He's done a wonderful job. Everything's in limbo. What's the CEO [Bernard Cherkasov] doing there? He's posted a job description [for the position of director of finance and administration]. He's done some things to try and bolster their position, but they haven't done anything. "

He was critical of Cherkasov, saying that "Bernard has created this situation. He needs to shit or get off the pot. He created this problem and the minute he created this problem, his first push was to fundraise like nobody's business. I've gotten more solicitations from Equality Illinois in the past three weeks than I've ever gotten in my life. He's trying to fundraise without someone to do the work. There's no director of public policy to do anything so what are we supposed to be giving the money for? Just months before the 20th anniversary of the organization, their gala to congratulate and thank everyone for all their work on this momentous civil unions bill, they fired the director of public policy. And a co-founder of the organization—they just kicked him to the curb. It's just ridiculous."

Brother Michael Oboza, the second protestor, spoke of his long friendship with Garcia. Both men said they had not spoken directly to either the CEO or the board, with Oboza saying that, "I think firing Rick says a lot—I don't have to talk to Bernard. I have written to [him] and Art [Johnston, EI board member and co-founder] to tell them I'm no longer a member or a volunteer."

Schendel added, "until the job description [for the new policy director] is posted, until you tell us who this interim lobbyist is, until you articulate the new direction that Equality Illinois is headed and with specific goals and action steps for how you're going to achieve those, neither I nor any of the organizations I've been involved with will be supporting Equality Illinois. It's a non-profit; they need to disclose what they're doing and where they're going. Who is leading the charge? Bernard's not known. Where's Bernard's experience?"

As Oboza and Schendel were speaking, Rick Stuckey, a member of Equality Illinois, made his differences with them clear and there was a brief and heated exchange of words. Stuckey said to the two men, "It's an employment issue, it's not about the work that he's done. It's between Rick Garcia and the board of Equality Illinois." Responding to Schendel's question, "What have they done?" he said, "This legislature hasn't been in session so there's nothing to do. Even President Obama's been in Hawaii …. Would you want your employment issues in the media if you had a problem? You can't protest something you can't find information on; you should know your facts." Elaborating to Windy City Times, he said that "Yes, Rick Garcia has done great work but obviously something has been done that they decided that they needed to sever that tie."

Another Equality Illinois member, Mike Szeremet, came down flatly on the organization's side. Saying that the firing seemed like a confidential personnel matter, he said that he had "confidence in Equality Illinois and the board to make the right decisions for the direction of the organization, and if that means changes in personnel, so be it. … I would also say that [based on] the articles that I read that quoted Rick Garcia—if he hadn't been fired he gave them good reason given the language he used, the way he denigrated board members, the directors, the process. You have a legal right to file a grievance if you were wrongfully dismissed, but I think that to trash people … was all the more reason why he shouldn't be there."

Inside, the fundraiser appeared to be in full swing. Dalila Fridi, a member of the board, said she did not know much about the protest and was pleased with the attendance. She said she did not know anything about the matter of the lobbyist. Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov said that the evening's turnout was greater than that of the First Friday in January 2010 and spoke of what he called Equality Illinois' "aggressive" new goals for the future, including "a strong focus on transgender equality issues," adding, "We're going to announce our plans in 2011 and announce our hiring plan."

Addressing the matter of the lobbyist and the search for a new public policy director, Cherkasov pointed out that the last few weeks had been the holidays and they "have not had a lot of time to consider what our policy team's needs are and how to move forward there. As we have for the past number of years, we've continued to have lobbyists who are helping us do our work in Springfield. We have had them for a long."

Most of the attendees approached were reluctant to speak to the press. Art Johnston said he could not speak because of constraints and Bill Greaves—director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues for the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relations—also declined to speak.

But while not everyone would speak, there was some indication that not all of them were there to provide unqualified support. Robert Cohn, a member of the organization from the start and a longtime friend of Rick Garcia, spoke honestly to WCT about the fact that he had come to address his concerns over the firing. "The reason I came inside was to talk to the board members and tell them one on one [that] I think the whole situation and the way they did it was handled badly," he said, adding, "I think they acted harshly, like a big corporation, [unlike] an organization that talks about getting justice and equality for everybody. Regardless of the legality of what they did, I thought it wasn't done in a nice, human, caring way and that they look like heartless bullies."

Cohn said he had chosen to come inside because he believed that it was more effective to "dialogue" with the board than to "stand outside across the street and shout." He said that his disappointment with the way the firing was handled did not mean he would stop his donations, because he was "committed to the organization and the mission." Asked if the firing would have any effect on the mission, he responded, "Yes, it affects the mission because I think Rick was awfully effective in what he did. They'll be hard-pressed to find anybody as good as Rick. I think that they should have done a better job of managing Rick, regardless of whether or not he's difficult. They have to be the bigger person and not act immaturely. … I don't know that I could have handled it any better. I just wish that smarter, wiser people than me had tackled it differently."


This article shared 3638 times since Wed Jan 12, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

NATIONAL Political candidates, flag controversy, HRC gala, New York Times, Disney 2024-03-29
- In California, of the historic 30 LGBTQ+ legislative candidates who ran in the March 5 primary, more than half are moving on to the fall ballot, The Bay Area Reporter noted. Based on the still unofficial ...


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. ...


 


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.