Chicago LGBTQ+ News

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LGBTQIA+

Chicago Pride Parade to scale down due to city's 'safety and logistics concerns'

The 53rd annual parade, set for June 30, will limit its entries and start an hour earlier.

By Erica Thompson

LGBTQIA+

Trans activist Elise Malary honored with honorary street designation in Andersonville

By Violet Miller

Flanked by supporters, Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy speaks during a news conference at the UIC Forum to highlight Illinois legislative victories and celebrate the Trans Day of Visibility, Friday, March 29, 2024. I Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

LGBTQIA+

Chicago health department holds first Transgender Health and Wellness summit

By Violet Miller

Small Business

Chicago entrepreneur Kristina Wynne on coaching LGBTQ-owned businesses

By Isabel Funk

Chicago 52nd Pride Parade North Side 2023

LGBTQIA+

Chicago Pride Parade date, theme revealed

By David Struett

Chicago Pride Guide

LGBTQIA+

Chicago Pride Parade date, theme revealed

The 53rd annual Chicago Pride Parade steps off at noon on June 30, when over 1 million people are expected to pack the parade route.

By David Struett

LGBTQIA+

Chicago Pride Parade to scale down due to city's 'safety and logistics concerns'

The 53rd annual parade, set for June 30, will limit its entries and start an hour earlier.

By Erica Thompson

We won’t have scenes like this from last year because the coronavirus pandemic means there’s no Chicago Pride Parade on the last Sunday of June as usual this year.

LGBTQIA+

Take a self-guided tour of 17 Chicago LGBTQ landmarks

You can move through this list to view some key places and events in the city’s LGBTQ+ communities and history.

By Clare Spaulding and Jade Yan

Local News

The Catherine Cook School in the 49th ChicagoPride Parade. | Rick Majewski/For the Sun-Times.

LGBTQIA+

Chicago Pride Parade denies all previous year's school participants

All schools that participated in the 2023 Pride Parade were denied entry this year, and teachers see irony in exclusion from “one of the most inclusive places that you can go.”

By Mariah Rush

Health

National Labor Relations Board files complaint against Howard Brown Health

In July the regional office of the NLRB found merit in accusations against Howard Brown by union members alleging the organization bargained in bad faith amid layoffs last year. The agency has been seeking a settlement between the two sides.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

St. Sabina parishioners Michael Thiry and Nathaniel Washington kiss each other.

LGBTQIA+

The Rev. Pfleger plans to bless same-sex couple following pope’s declaration

For the people upset with the change in Vatican policy, the pastor at St. Sabina on the South Side said blessings for same-sex couples are a recognition of people’s humanity.

By David Struett

National News

North Carolina Clashes With U.S. Over New Public Restroom Law

Columnists

Imagining injury in order to inflict it

Trans people are portrayed as threatening by those who want someone to beat up,

By Neil Steinberg

Ald. Debra Silverstein Chicago Congregation B’nei Ruven.

City Hall

Proposed rewrite of Chicago’s hate crime ordinance would create new category called ‘hate incidents’

The ordinance Ald. Debra Silverstein plans to introduce would create the noncriminal category, and Chicagoans could report incidents via 311.

By Fran Spielman

The message “We Love You Lauri “ is seen on a Pride flag at a makeshift memorial outside the Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen, near Lake Arrowhead, California, on August 21, 2023. The owner of the store, Laura Ann Carleton, was fatally shot on August 18 by a man who “made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag” displayed outside her store, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department.

Nation/World

Suspect in slaying of store owner ripped down Pride flag, shouted homophobic slurs, California sheriff says

Laura Ann Carleton was defending her Pride flags placed in front of her boutique when she was shot, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group said. Police killed the suspect.

By Saji Mathai

More News

People participate in the AIDS Run and Walk Chicago on Oct. 2, 2022.

LGBTQIA+

Thousands to participate in AIDS Run and Walk Chicago, raise money for local organizations

Saturday’s 32nd annual event seeks to raise $500,000 to support Chicagoans living with and vulnerable to HIV.

By Isabel Funk

Health

Howard Brown Health workers offered job reinstatement following union settlement

All 61 employees affected by the layoffs were offered their jobs back, 24 accepted and the others will receive back pay for the time they spent unemployed, the health center said.

By Allison Novelo

Columnists

Should trans athletes be allowed to compete as they see fit? Issue needs yes-or-no answer

It’s a crazy gender world out there, folks. And, of course, the battlefield over transgender citizens’ societal and political rights has coalesced — where else? — in the so-called toy department known as sports.

By Rick Telander

Movies and TV

Molly Kearney, a former Chicago comic, loves their range of roles on ‘SNL’

The show’s first non-binary cast member performs this weekend at Zanies in Old Town.

By Carl Kozlowski — For the Sun-Times

Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay.

NFL

Jaguars assistant coach Kevin Maxen comes out as gay

Maxen, an associate strength coach, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay.

By Associated Press

Model Kokie Childers in an advertisement for Lululemon.

Columnists

Plenty of room in the tent

Unconventional models not only expand the realm of “normal.” They’re good advertising.

By Neil Steinberg

Charles Barkley again made it clear about where he stands on transgender rights.

Commentary

Charles Barkley is (expletive) right, and courageous, in defending transgender community

Barkley’s words show him not just as a commentator or funny guy, but as someone who gets it, and is a clear ally of the LGBTQ community.

By USA Today Sports

LX Song leans on Jessica and Harper at their home on the North Side.

‘A magic life’: Trans Chicagoans find joy in finding and starting families ‘in spite of’ tribulations

By Violet Miller

LGBTQIA+

Supreme Court ruling in web design case opens door to LGBTQ+ discrimination, Illinois advocates say

The decision from the conservative-majority Supreme Court comes at the end of Pride Month.

By Dorothy Hernandez and Allison Novelo

Nation/World

The Supreme Court rules for a designer who doesn’t want to make wedding websites for gay couples

The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics.

By Jessica Gresko | AP

Events

Hear My Story: An Evening with Chicago Drag Performers

Sun-Times columnist and host Ismael Perez was joined by drag performers Jakki Love, Starr Stallion and Allegra Dee Love for this family-friendly storytelling experience.

By Sun-Times staff

Iggy Ladden, a co-founder of Chicago Therapy Collective, stands in front of a mural in the Andersonville neighborhood for Elise Malary, a transgender activist who went missing and was found dead in Lake Michigan last year.

LGBTQIA+

Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community ‘visible, vibrant’ — but concerned for transgender members’ ability to live freely

As Pride Month comes to a close, the Sun-Times spoke to advocates, service providers and members of the LGBTQ+ community about issues affecting them — and what more needs to be done to protect them.

By Tina Sfondeles

Nation/World

Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ club mass killer gets life in prison, victim says ‘devil awaits’ defendant

Anderson Lee Aldrich pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and 46 counts of attempted murder in the November 2022 attack that left five people dead.

By Associated Press

Rows of $100 bills are lined up on a flat surface.

Chicago

$1,000 available to survivors of gender-based violence through Chicago program

One-time cash assistance will go to city residents who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking.

By Elvia Malagón

LGBTQIA+

Thousands cheer on Chicago’s Pride Parade despite rain

Rain showers didn’t dampen festive spirits as the 52nd annual parade made its way through North Side neighborhoods. Extra police were on hand, but no incidents were reported.

By Mohammad Samra

A paradegoer on a float tosses confetti during the 2022 Chicago Pride Parade.

LGBTQIA+

Chicago Pride Parade 2023 is Sunday, what you need to know

It steps off at noon Sunday from Montrose Avenue and Broadway and ends at Diversey Parkway and Sheridan Road.

By Sun-Times staff

LGBTQIA+

‘Party with a purpose’: Pride in the Park brings community, music to Grant Park

The event is billed as the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ+ music festival. Performers include Zedd, Saweetie, Zara Larsson, CircuitMOM, Years & Years, DJ Lady D and more.

By Kaitlin Washburn

Interim Supt. Fred Waller and Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th) discussed safety plans Friday for this weekend’s 52nd annual Pride Parade.

LGBTQIA+

Sunday’s Pride Parade to get extra police staffing

Officers’ days off also were canceled to ensure the department has enough police for the parade and other activities in the city.

By Kaitlin Washburn

A screen shows “Blackhawks Pride Night” at the United Center in March.

NHL

NHL dumps themed jerseys after some players’ objections to Pride nights

The league’s Board of Governors agreed with Commissioner Gary Bettman’s view that the refusals overshadowed teams’ efforts in hosting Pride nights.

By Stephen Whyno | Associated Press

FILE - Dylan Brandt speaks at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Little Rock, Ark., July 21, 2021. Brandt, a teenager, is among several transgender youth and families who are plaintiffs challenging a state law banning gender confirming care for trans minors. A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File) ORG XMIT: NY750

Nation/World

Judge strikes down Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors

Arkansas’ law would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18.

By Andrew DeMillo | Associated Press

“The Warehouse,” at 206 S. Jefferson St., is regarded as the birthplace of house music.

City Hall

Birthplace of house music one step away from landmark status

From 1977 through the mid-1980s, the resident DJ at the Warehouse was Frankie Knuckles, a record producer and remix artist hailed as the “Godfather of House Music.”

By Fran Spielman

LGBTQIA+

Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach of Chicago celebrates its 35th anniversary

Hundreds filled Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Lake View for a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Blase Cupich, who honored the group as a ‘covenant of people.’

By Emmanuel Camarillo

Boy J performs at the Chicago Pride Fest Saturday in the Northalsted neighborhood.

Entertainment and Culture

Chicago Pride Fest’s return to Northalsted brings ‘Absolute queer joy’

The two-day weekend festival was particularly important this year, some attendees said, in light of attacks of LGBTQ+ rights across the country.

By Violet Miller

Eppie Lederer, the longtime Sun-Times advice columnist who wrote under the name Ann Landers.

Columnists

Covering LGBTQ+ issues, including an Ann Landers column lauded as ‘a beacon of light in a dark world’

The Sun-Times has covered LGBTQ+ communities with growing understanding and support for 75 years.

By Neil Steinberg

Cubs

Pride Month: Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts says she has ‘responsibility’ to represent gay community

The first openly gay owner of a major American sports team seeks to share her experience ‘that other people just don’t have’ following MLB’s recent controversies

By Maddie Lee

Ismael Perez outside the Newberry Library last year.

Columnists

How Chicago LGBTQ+ and straight media trailblazers paved the way for this column

A journalist’s coming-out story in the 1970s. Straight reporters taking on the gay beat. Where are we now?

By Ismael Pérez

Tracy Baim rides in the 1987 Chicago Pride Parade and hands copies of the gay newspaper Outlines.

Sun-Times 75th Anniversary

Tracy Baim: Finding my niche early in the gay press

By 1984, after graduating with a journalism degree — and being a very out lesbian — I knew mainstream newsrooms were not for me. I was not going back into the closet for my career.

By Tracy Baim

Cubs

Cubs’ Marcus Stroman offers support as MLB sends mixed signals during Pride Month

Stroman announced donations to Brave Space Alliance In Chicago, Hetrick-Martin Institute and The 519 in honor of Pride Month.

By Maddie Lee

LGBTQIA+

Cubs celebrate Pride night with special market outside Wrigley Field: ‘I feel good being in this place right now’

Sixteen LGBTQ+-owned and friendly businesses selling baked goods, clothing, candles, scents and jewelry set up booths in Gallagher Way before the Pirates game.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

Obituaries

Michael L. Reid, longtime Ditka’s manager, booster of gay softball leagues, dead at 65

He greeted thousands at the old Ditka’s on Chestnut Street in the Gold Coast.

By Mitch Dudek