Chicago dining, nightlife, events and photos for the gay and lesbian community http://www.chicagopride.com en-US http://www.chicagopride.com/graphics/cplogo-sm2.gif http://www.chicagopride.com Pie Hole Pizza owner Doug Brandt confirms to ChicagoPride.com that the popular Boystown pizzeria will close at the end of May, 2010. Pie Hole has been a fixture in Chicago's LGBT neighborhood for years and remains a popular late night destination. According to Brandt, the restaurant's lease ends on May 31, 2010 and the lease agreement offered no option for Pie Hole to renew at it's current location, 739 W Roscoe in Chicago's Lakeview neighborho... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8839764 2009-11-19 A candlelight vigil is being planned in Humboldt Park this Sunday, Nov. 22, from 4-6 p.m. in memory of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, a gay teenager who was murdered, decapitated and burned in Cayey, Puerto Rico. The vigil is planned to begin at California & Division. From an Equality Forum news release, Nov. 17, 2009 On Saturday, November 14, 2009, the body of 19-year-old George Lopez Mercado was found by the side of the road in Cayey, a cit... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8833849 2009-11-18 A man died Tuesday after collapsing in an adult film theater in the Old Town neighborhood, Chicago police say. The unidentified man, believed to be in his 40s or 50s, was found unresponsive at the Bijou Theater, 1349 N. Wells St. He was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy is scheduled for today. http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8827936 2009-11-18 House Democrats on the Education & Labor Committee appear to be united in favor of passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would outlaw employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The committee has scheduled a November 18 final markup of the legislation where members will decide whether the bill reaches the House floor for a final vote this session. Democrats control the com... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8822025 2009-11-17 The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has quietly distanced itself from former Miss California Carrie Prejean. Over the weekend, the group altered the front page of its website, removing a prominent reference to a video the group created that features Prejean. Prejean's quick ascent into Christian celebrity came after the 22-year-old denounced gay marriage because of her religious upbringing during the Miss USA contest in April. She said... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8816116 2009-11-16 In a recent Newsweek article, reporter Ramin Setoodeh suggests effeminate men on TV is promoting stereotypes and hurting gay rights. In his article titled Kings of Queens, Setoodeh writes that gays on television once helped promote tolerance, but now might be hurting it. He points to characters like Glee's Kurt (Chris Colfer), "the sensitive gay boy who really wants to be a girl." Setoodeh also notes Ugly Betty's Marc (Michael Urie), ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8810209 2009-11-16 Dr. Rachael Ross, the nationally recognized relationship expert and sexologist, is urging everyone to get tested for HIV/AIDS as part of the global effort to stem the spread of the illness, reaching epidemic proportions. "This is no joke," said Ross, a family physician and relationship expert who advises teens, young adults and couples on health issues and safe sex. "We've got to fight the spread, and one of the ways is getting te... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8804304 2009-11-16 Gay publisher Window Media has shuttered its most recognizable newspaper, the Washington Blade, after 40 years. In a Blade Twitter post Monday, the paper announced the closure: "Washington Blade, like all Window Media publications, is closing today. Thank you for your support." The paper's website was offline on Monday. Also ending their runs today are the Atlanta-based gay weekly Southern Voice, Houston Voice, David Atlanta, South ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8798401 2009-11-16 Making the talk show circuit this week to peddle her newly released book, Still Standing, former Miss California Carrie Prejean has called her recently revealed sex tape the "biggest mistake of her life." But now according to an exclusive report on RadarOnline.com, the religious beauty queen has apparently made the same mistake seven other times. The website has uncovered seven more solo sex tapes and 30 more nude photos most taken by... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8792500 2009-11-14 Last month while appearing on the Howard Stern Show, Rosie O'Donnell insinuated what many have speculated for years, that Oprah and Gayle King are lovers. "I don't know. I think [Oprah's] never been married and she's exceptionally close to Gayle," O'Donnell said. "I don't know that she and Gayle are necessarily doing each other but I think they are the emotional equivalent of&" "A gay couple," Stern chimed in to fi... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8786601 2009-11-12 Keith Lewis, the executive director of the Miss California organization, issued a statement concerning Carrie Prejean's bizarre appearance on Larry King Live Wednesday night. "The public is finally getting a glimpse of the real Carrie Prejean who lives in her own delusional world. The childish behavior, her negative attitude, the sarcasm and condescending tone, the disrespect and continual lying she is demonstrating now is only a fraction o... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8780704 2009-11-12 Former Miss California Carrie Prejean refused to take a gay caller's question Wednesday night on Larry King Live, then threatened to walk out on the show. The pair wrangled about a lawsuit settlement before King put the caller on the line. King asked Prejean, who was only interested in peddling her just released book Still Standing, why she settled a lawsuit against the Miss California USA Pageant. "Why settle since you had a fight to car... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8774809 2009-11-12 As people around the nation acknowledged the service of veterans, Former President Bill Clinton today addressed guests at a luncheon held at Chicago's Palmer House hotel about the service and responsibility every individual has in addressing homelessness and the growing problem of HIV. "We are in this together; around the corner and around the world," he told the crowd of nearly a thousand. The organization which invited the Former Pre... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8768916 2009-11-11 Leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) announced Tuesday they support a gay protections bill unanimously approved by the Salt Lake City Council, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. "The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," spokesman Michael Otterson said before city leaders voted on the measure. The legislation intr... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8763025 2009-11-11 The Kansas City Chiefs have released running back Larry Johnson, according to a press release on the team's website this morning. Johnson was set to return from suspension after making demeaning comments about Chiefs coach Todd Haley on his Twitter account.  Johnson also used a gay slur responding to comments made my one of his followers on the social network site and in the Chief's locker room. According to the Chiefs website, in 75 g... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8757136 2009-11-09 A gay couple, both former Chicago attorneys, said they have been banned from Walmart for life after a dispute over BIC lighters and allegations of homophobia from the chain's employees. The South Bend Tribune reports that on Aug. 16, Joe Paolucci and Thomas Hitchcock were stopped by store employees at the Niles, Mich., Walmart who suspected they had stolen lighters after the couple used a self-checkout. The pair, along with their 11-year-old ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8751249 2009-11-08 A man was shot this morning during a robbery in the West Lakeview neighborhood. At about 1:24 a.m., the man was walking in the 3500 block of North Janssen Avenue where he was approached in an alley by an unknown suspect who demanded his property, said Chicago News Affairs Officer Ron Gaines. The suspect shot the victim in his abdomen, Gaines said. The victim was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he is described as in s... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8745364 2009-11-08 In a victory for President Barack Obama, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Health Care Reform Bill by a 220-215 vote late Saturday clearing the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue. House Representatives from Illinois including Jan Schakowsky voted in favor of the bill. In a statement on the Congresswoman's web site, she says: "It is so important to make health care affordable for everyone. We are finally recognizing f... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8739481 2009-11-08 The Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues will induct 13 individuals and one organization into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame, the only known government-sponsored hall of fame that honors members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, in a ceremony next week. The chosen nominees will be inducted at the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame's 19t... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8733600 2009-11-05 Ted Arthur Haggard, the former pastor who ran afoul of his Denver congregation after admitting to a three-year pay-for-sex affair with male prostitute Mike Jones, will begin leading a prayer meeting in his Colorado Springs home, The Colorado Springs Gazette reported. Haggard told the paper it would be correct to call it a church. Haggard's comeback began in January with an image makeover that included an HBO documentary titled The Trials of Ted ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8727721 2009-11-05 The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected a legal challenge to the state's gay partner law, the AP reported. Opponents of the law argue that Governor Jim Doyle's gay-inclusive domestic partnership is unconstitutional because it violates the state's constitutional amendment banning marriage and civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Doyle, a Democrat, lobbied for the legislation that extends a limited number of protections for gay couples when... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8721844 2009-11-05 U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk asked a national Republican power broker to secure an endorsement by conservative former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin when she hits town later this month to appear on the "Oprah Winfrey Show," according to a memo obtained by the Tribune today. The request came a day after Kirk, who has long billed himself as a moderate, dodged questions from reporters about whether he would want Palin, the controversial 2008 ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8715969 2009-11-04 Former Miss California Carrie Prejean has reportedly walked away from her million dollar lawsuit against Miss California USA Pageant officials after an XXX home video of the beauty queen surfaced. The video is said to be extremely graphic and has never been released publicly. Those who have viewed the pornographic home video say it makes Prejean's topless photos look tame. Editors for the TMZ.com say they've had a copy of the video for months bu... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8710096 2009-11-04 Legalized same-sex marriage in Maine appears to have been rejected by a small, but solid margin, according to the latest report from Bangor Daily News. In May, the Maine legislature voted to approve same-sex marriages and Governor John Baldacci signed the measure into law. But the law was not implemented after opponents gathered enough signatures to put it on the ballot. The National Organization for Marriage and the Catholic Archdiocese were... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8704225 2009-11-04 Openly gay former news anchor Charles Pugh will lead Detroit City Council, the Detroit Free Press reported. Pugh was the top vote-getter in Tuesday's city council election and as such will be council president. "This is unbelievable," Pugh told the paper. "It means Detroit has really wanted change for a very long time." The thirty-seven-year-old, self-proclaimed "Detroitaholic" traded in an anchor post at Fox 2, ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/8698356 2009-11-04