Chicago LGBTQ+ News

Latest News

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

Politics

After Alabama frozen embryo ruling, Pritzker has message for in vitro fertilization seekers: 'Come to Illinois'

By Tina Sfondeles

Health

Howard Brown Health names interim president and CEO

By Emmanuel Camarillo

Andy Thayer (right), a member of Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws and a Gay Liberation Network co-founder,speaks outside the Chicago Administrative Law Hearings Courthouse in River North on Tuesday as fellow coalition members Kristi Keorkunian-Rivers (left), co-founder of the Chicago chapter of Stop Trans Genocide, and Linda Loew (center), co-founder of Chicago for Abortion Rights listen.

2024 Democratic National Convention

Can the world be watching? Abortion rights, LGBTQ+ activists want delegates to see them during Democratic Convention protest

By Audrey Hettleman

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

By David Struett

Chicago Pride Guide

Chicago 52nd Pride Parade North Side 2023

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

Rick Garcia the founder of Equality Illinois stands inside St. Peter’s Catholic Church in The Loop, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. Garcia says that it’s a “new day” after hearing news of Pope Francis formally approving allowing priests to bless same-sex couples.

Religion

Chicago Catholics praise pope’s approval of blessings for same-sex couples: ‘This is such a huge shift’

Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy.

By David Struett

Morgan Mesi (right) a 34-year-old transgender Chicago man, with attorney Caryn Lederer at a news conference announcing his lawsuit against his former employer Breakthru Beverage Illinois, which he says denied him gender-affirming care.

LGBTQIA+

Chicago man sues former employer, union for denying gender-affirming care: ‘I was shattered’

Morgan Mesi says Breakthru Beverage Illinois denied coverage of a bilateral mastectomy and hormone therapy, according to a complaint filed in federal court Thursday.

By Violet Miller

Joli Angel Robinson is the incoming CEO of the Center on Halsted.

LGBTQIA+

Center on Halsted names Joli Angel Robinson as new CEO

Joli Angel Robinson, who served as president and CEO of Housing Forward in Dallas, succeeds Modesto “Tico” Valle. The Center on Halsted serves the health and outreach needs of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community.

By Mohammad Samra

National News

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

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

More News

Drag queen Kitty Banks performs in Chicago at the Shedd Aquarium

PHOTOS: Shedd Aquarium Pride Night

By Sun-Times staff

Activists picket against Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill at the Ugandan High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa in April.

Nation/World

Uganda anti-gay law includes death penalty in some cases

The new law doesn’t criminalize those identifying as LGBTQ, but still prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes sexual relations involving people infected with HIV.

By Rodney Muhumuza | Associated Press

Turkish President and People’s Alliance’s presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures to supporters at the presidential palace, in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, May 28, 2023. Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade as the country reels from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities. (AP Photo/Ali Unal)

Nation/World

Turkey’s Erdogan wins another term as president, extends rule into 3rd decade

With more than 99% of votes counted, unofficial results showed Recep Tayyip Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

By SUZAN FRASER | Associated Press and Zeynep Bilginsoy | Associated Press

Obituaries

Marge Summit, gay rights activist and bar owner who welcomed everyone, dies at 87

‘It used to be you could get denied service if you were gay. Now people are welcome everywhere. No one bats an eye, and she’s responsible for some of that,’ said Ms. Summit’s friend David Boyer.

By Mitch Dudek

Advocates for transgender youth rally outside the New Hampshire statehouse in Concord, N.H., in March.

LGBTQIA+

Transgender health bills often came from a handful of far-right interest groups, AP finds

A nonprofit that was launched to oppose diversity initiatives in medicine has evolved into a significant leader in statehouses to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths.

By Jeff McMillan | AP, Kavish Harjai | AP, and 1 more

State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, in an undated photo.

Springfield

Democrats’ all-gender bathroom, gun lawsuit bills prompt heated debate — with GOP warnings of court challenges, violence

State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, told lawmakers that he would “beat the living p---” out of any man who walked into a restroom with his daughter. State Senate Majority Leader Kim Lightford said GOP critics “don’t understand that life is evolving.”

By Tina Sfondeles

My copy of Jonathan Eig’s “King: A Life” with important passages that I want to return to marked with Post-It notes. The book is being hailed as a masterpiece.

Columnists

King’s life just won’t stay in the past

New book by Chicago writer Jonathan Eig resonates as the right wages a ‘War on Woke.’

By Neil Steinberg

Paige Mestan’s guitar tattoo lines up with the real instrument when she plays.

Floral, heart-shaped guitar tattoo’s the culmination of Paige Mestan’s experiences

By Katie Anthony

A young couple sunbathe on a beach in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Nation/World

Sex? Sexual intercourse? Teens are having less intercourse, but that doesn’t mean less sex

The language of young love and lust, and the actions behind it, are evolving. That isn’t being properly captured in studies, say experts — including high school students.

By Jocelyn Gecker | AP

West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins was suspended and had his pay cut after using a homophobic slur during a radio interview.

College Sports

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins gets $1 million pay cut, suspension after using homophobic slur

Huggins used the slur to refer to Xavier fans on Monday while also denigrating Catholics during an appearance on Cincinnati radio station WLW.

By John Raby | Associated Press

FILE - Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature at the Statehouse on Jan. 10, 2023, in Indianapolis. Holcomb on Thursday, May 4, signed a bill that would require schools to notify a parent if a student requests a name or pronoun change at school, one of the final bills approved in a legislative session that had targeted LGBTQ+ people in the state, especially students. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Nation/World

Indiana governor signs bills targeting LGBTQ students

The law will require schools to provide written notification to a child’s parent or guardian if the child asks to be called a different ‘pronoun, title, or word.’

By Associated Press

Judy Blume (left) and Dylan Mulvaney attend the Los Angeles premiere of “Are You There God It’s Me, Margaret” on April 15, 2023.

Columnists

Backlash over eyeliner just more anti-‘woke’ folly

Red state busybodies are coming for Maybelline, iconic Chicago brand.

By Neil Steinberg

Dance

Bolshoi pulls Rudolf Nureyev ballet citing Russia’s ban on LGBTQ ‘propaganda’

The ban on any “demonstration of non-traditional relations” contained in a new Russian law apparently prompted the Bolshoi to pull the ballet because it touches on Nureyev’s homosexuality.

By Associated Press

Cal Calamia, shown running last year’s Chicago Marathon, was part of the Boston Marathon’s first nonbinary category.

Olympic Sports

Boston becomes latest major marathon to debut nonbinary category

The Chicago Marathon added a nonbinary division in the fall. So has the London Marathon, which is Sunday.

By Associated Press

Activists, including Brave Space Alliance, present the city with a report card on Trans Rights during a rally on Trans Day of Visibility in Daley Plaza, Thursday afternoon, March 31, 2022.

Crime

Chicago police Twitter account’s ‘like’ of anti-trans tweet prompts internal affairs probe

The main Twitter account of the Chicago Police Department this week liked a tweet by country singer Travis Tritt that is seen as having an anti-LGBTQ message.

By Cindy Hernandez, Matthew Hendrickson, and 1 more

Blackhawks

Even without special jerseys, Blackhawks celebrate Pride in loss to Canucks

The Hawks are the latest NHL team to get in the middle of a controversy around Pride jerseys.

By Brian Sandalow

Blackhawks

Blackhawks’ Connor Murphy focusing on ‘big message’ for Pride Night, despite lack of jerseys

Murphy, Seth Jones and coach Luke Richardson commented Thursday on the Hawks’ organizational decision not to wear Pride jerseys on Pride Night on Sunday.

By Ben Pope

Blackhawks

Blackhawks nix Pride jerseys Sunday due to safety concerns for Russian players

The Hawks have three players born or with family in Russia, where a law was passed in December banning “gay propaganda.” Conversations with security officials prompted an organizational decision to scrap the jersey plans, sources say.

By Ben Pope

John, who asked that his last name not be used, holding a picture of himself dressed as Karen about 1980, at a restaurant at 2901 W. Addison in Chicago on March 17, 2023.

Columnists

‘There’s no downside’

Trans Chicagoan looks at changes in the LGBTQ community.

By Neil Steinberg

UpRising Bakery and Cafe, 2104 W. Algonquin Road in Lake in the Hills..

Business

UpRising Bakery to close following harassment, vandalism for hosting drag performance

“Closing our doors is the direct result of the horrific attacks, endless harassment, and unrelenting negative misinformation about our establishment in the last 8 months,” the owner said.

By Kaitlin Washburn

White Sox

White Sox prospect posts on social media that he is gay

“This may be my most personal thing I ever share and it’s that I’m proudly and happily part of the [LGBTQ+] community,” 23-year-old pitcher Anderson Comas wrote.

By Daryl Van Schouwen

Columnists

Jews, bicycle riders and trans folk

Why are trans rights so endlessly agonized over? Illumination comes from an unexpected source.

By Neil Steinberg

Tubes direct blood from a donor into a bag in Davenport, Iowa, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022.

LGBTQIA+

FDA eases rules again for gay men seeking to donate blood

The Food and Drug Administration released a proposal Friday to do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men.

By Matthew Perrone | AP

Gov. J.B. Pritzker (left) in the Greektown neighborhood in December; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right) in Las Vegas in November.

Elections

Pritzker: Don’t change high school AP course to appease DeSantis and ‘Florida’s racist and homophobic laws’

In a letter, Pritzker told the nonprofit College Board that Illinois will reject a revised African American Studies course if it doesn’t include “a factual accounting of history, including the role played by black queer Americans.”

By Tina Sfondeles

The marquee outside the Des Plaines Theatre

Suburban Chicago

Des Plaines Theatre operator cancels Awake Illinois event after outcry

“What saddens me was the amount of hate that surfaced during all of this,” Onesti Entertainment CEO Ron Onesti said.

By The Daily Herald

Movies and TV

Music Box cancels screening of film called ‘transphobic’

Lake View theater isn’t commenting on its decision to pull ‘Actors,’ a movie about a male filmmaker who re-identifies as a woman for attention.

By Contributor

Crime

Gay-owned restaurant in Rogers Park targeted in suspected homophobic attack

The owners of R Public House say a hammer-wielding man yelled gay slurs at patrons and broke a glass door Monday evening. ‘We’re not afraid,’ co-owner Sandra Carter says.

By Tom Schuba

Howard Brown Health workers and their supporters march Tuesday during a strike outside Howard Brown Health Sheridan in Uptown.

Business

Howard Brown Health workers begin 3-day strike

The action comes after 61 union employees were laid off Friday.

By Mitch Dudek

Grant Wahl smiles as he holds a World Cup replica trophy during an award ceremony in Doha, Qatar on Nov. 29.

Obituaries

Soccer writer Grant Wahl dies at World Cup match in Qatar

Wahl, one of the most well-known soccer writers in the United States, collapsed and died early Saturday while covering the Argentina-Netherlands World Cup match.

By Ronald Blum | AP

Francis W. Parker School, 330 W. Webster Ave. in Lincoln Park, Thursday morning, May 20, 2020.

LGBTQIA+

Chicago private school defends LGBTQ sex ed, tightens security after right-wing viral video

A Francis W. Parker School administrator was secretly recorded by an operative with the group Project Veritas posing as a conference attendee.

By Char Daston | WBEZ