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 A majority of Iowans do not believe gay marriage should be discussed by the Legislature, according to the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll. Sixty-two percent of respondents told the paper that gay marriage doesn't deserve the time of lawmakers, thirty-six percent said it did, and two percent were unsure. The poll, which has a 3.5% margin of error, comes on the day that Republican lawmakers are expected to act on the issue. Gay rights group... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9601056 2010-02-08 Better Existence with HIV (BEHIV) is partnering with NBC-5 Chicago (WMAQ) on the "Color of AIDS" series, highlighting the impact of HIV/AIDS on Chicago's minority communities. The campaign kicks off on Sunday February 7, 2010, National Black HIV Awareness Day and will feature a series of special reports and a fundraiser for local agencies that assist HIV/AIDS victims. "We are excited about this opportunity to shed light on an ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9594889 2010-02-08 An area winter storm warning has been issued for late Monday through early Wednesday with up to 12 inches of snow expected to blanket the area, according to the National Weather Service. The warning takes effect at 9 p.m. and will continue until 4 a.m. Wednesday. The heaviest snowfall is expected Tuesday afternoon and early evening. Blowing and drifting snow with near blizzard conditions in open areas can be expected Tuesday night, the weather... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9588724 2010-02-08 Iowa House Republicans will attempt to bring about a vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on Monday, the Iowa Independent reported. The paper is reporting that gay rights group One Iowa believes Republicans will attempt to fish a bill that seeks to define marriage as a heterosexual union in the Iowa Constitution out of committee and put it up for a floor vote. Committee members have not acted on Democratic state Representative... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9582561 2010-02-07 A man was hospitalized after he was beaten and robbed in the bathroom of Ontourage night club, 157 W. Ontario, early Saturday morning. WBBM-AM reports the 23-year-old man was beaten and robbed in the bathroom at the club around 1:30 a.m. According to the report quoting police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez, the victim, who had been drinking, was approached by a group of males who beat him up and took his property, including a cell phone, wal... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9576400 2010-02-07 Helsell Fetterman LLP, one of Seattle's premiere law firms, is proud to announce that long time partner Llewelyn G. Pritchard will receive the prestigious Father Robert F. Drinan award at the American Bar Association's (ABA) mid-year meeting this February. Each year, the award recognizes an individual whose sustained and extraordinary commitment to the ABA's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities has advanced its mission of providing l... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9570241 2010-02-05 Dan Hynes conceded the Democratic governor nomination to Gov. Pat Quinn this morning, telling a news conference that "we rose up but fell just a little short." Hynes phoned the governor around 9:30 a.m., aides said, then made a public announcement shortly after 10 a.m. "Well, the people have spoken, and the votes have been counted. And I'm here to report that we rose up but fell just a little short," Hynes said. "And if... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9564084 2010-02-04 As of February 1, contestants representing 17 community businesses are vying for the title of "Chicago's Sexiest" while raising money for Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) in its month-long, online strip-a-thon fundraiser, "Bar-lesque." As people visit the Bar-lesque Web site and donate money, the contestants will appear in various stages of undress. Over the course of 10 donation levels, contestants go from fully dressed t... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9557929 2010-02-03 Front-runners from the start, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk scored solid primary victories Tuesday night, setting up a battle with national implications for the U.S. Senate seat whose last elected occupant was Barack Obama. Giannoulias, a one-term state treasurer, became the Democratic nominee by holding off David Hoffman, a former Chicago City Hall corruption watchdog, and Cheryle Jackson, head of the Chicago Urban League,... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9551776 2010-02-03 A Chicago police officer who has had several federal civil rights lawsuits filed against him will not be indicted. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez will not press criminal charges against officer Richard Fiorito, who works the night shift in the heart of Boystown. Of the nearly 40 people who have filed lawsuits against Fiorito, a large proportion are gay or lesbian and claim the officer made anti-gay comments during allegedly phony DUI... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9527184 2010-02-02 With open and objective statements, Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Admiral Mike Mullen testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee early this afternoon on the controversial issue of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT). Gates and Mullen took a posture of when the policy will be done away with, not if. "We have received our orders from the Commander in Chief and we are moving out accordin... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9521041 2010-02-02 Voters prepare to head to the polls this morning for Illinois' primary election to determine their choices for the fall ballot, including a replacement for Barack Obama's US Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris, Illinois Governor and Cook County Board president. This primary election has become increasingly more important to the LGBT community as there are 9 openly-gay candidates running in the election before Jacob Meister withdrew his ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9514900 2010-02-02 Democrats are growing concerned that Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias' ties to the failing Broadway Bank will become a liability in the fall against likely Republican nominee Congressman Mark Kirk as Democrats hope to maintain control of Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat. "The seat is a problem because a Mark Kirk victory [in the primary] is likely," State Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) told ChicagoPride.com. "Novembe... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9502624 2010-02-01 An HIV-positive Blue Island has filed a civil rights lawsuit in district court against the City of Blue Island and two of its police officers for allegedly using excessive force, maliciously prosecuting him and verbally assaulting him for being an HIV-positive, gay man, among other allegations. According to the complaint, Demetrius Anderson, who suffers from clinical depression and anxiety, attempted suicide in April 2009. When EMTs arrived, And... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9508761 2010-02-01 In an attempt to overrule the Washington D.C. City Council, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has introduced a Resolution of Disapproval in the House. On December 15, 2009, the D.C. City Council approved a Marriage Equality Act in Washington by a vote of 11-2. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed the measure the following Friday in a public ceremony. All laws and ordinances passed in the District and then signed by the Mayor are subject to a 30 legisla... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9496489 2010-02-01 On the final weekend before Tuesday's primary election the Democratic candidates for governor, Comptroller Dan Hynes and Governor Pat Quinn, were making a last-minute push for voters. The tightness of the Democratic primary race for governor has reached a fevered pitch as both Hynes and Quinn spent the weekend courting voters. Hynes spent Sunday night reaching out to gay and lesbian voters at Sidetrack in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood. Hynes... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9490356 2010-02-01 Jacob Meister has withdrawn his name from consideration for the US Senate seat, currently held by Democrat Roland Burris and previously held by President Barack Obama. The openly-gay candidate has also announced his support for Democratic frontrunner Alexi Giannoulias. "I entered this race last year because I knew that keeping the discussion on jobs and keeping the seat Blue were of equal importance," Meister said. "Today we have ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9484225 2010-01-31 For the first time in its 33 years of publishing, Gay Chicago Magazine has offered political endorsements as the gay entertainment weekly expands coverage of local LGBT news. When gay weekly Chicago Free Press lost its core editorial board in December, Gay Chicago publisher Craig Gernhardt recognized a need for LGBT endorsements in this active primary. Gernhardt contacted former CFP employees Gary Barlow, Amy Wooten, Matt Simonette to form the ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9478096 2010-01-31 CBS has rejected to air an ad for gay dating site ManCrunch.com during the Super Bowl, CNBC reported. The exclusion drew a sharp protest from the companies executives, who immediately leveled a charge of discrimination against the network. "We're calling on every same-sex advocacy group to petition CBS and let them know this & behavior will not be tolerated," the Toronto-based dating site said in a statement. In the 30-second spot, t... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9471969 2010-01-30 The Courage Campaign has organized an online petition to President Barack Obama (D) to address Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policies now. Titled "Mr. President: Don't wait. Don't delay. End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" now.", the communication demands that Obama use his executive authority to immediately repeal the controversial policy. In a statement today to ChicagoPride.com, Courage Campaign founder and chair Rick Jacobs said &... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9465844 2010-01-29 On the heels of Pie Hole announcing that its lease will end on May 31, 2010, owner Doug Brandt has found a creative and possibly unprecedented use for social networking sites. Against conventional and strategic business thinking, Brandt intends to share his experience of finding a new home for Pie Hole using ChicagoPride.com, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. "We've received a lot of public interest in our displacement," said Brandt, &... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9459721 2010-01-29 Indiana senators on Thursday approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, Indianapolis CBS affiliate WISH-TV reported. In a 38 to 10 vote, the state Senate voted in favor of Republican Senator Carlin Yoder's amendment that seeks to ban civil unions for gay couples as well as marriage. The measure now heads to the Indiana House. "The Marriage Discrimination Amendment violates every Hoosier's basic right to fairn... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9453600 2010-01-29 Todd Conner took the time to sit down with ChicagoPride.com a few weeks ago and discuss his candidacy for the Metropolitan Water reclamation District (MWRD). My first question to him was what is the Metropolitan Water reclamation District? "The Water Reclamation District is a $1.7 billion utility, larger than the CTA and Cook County healthcare, .and is charged with taking responsibility for all waste water in the District." . Connor, 31... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9447481 2010-01-28 In his first State of the Union address, President Barack Obama again promised to address the discriminatory Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policy which has haunted LGBT military members for years. "This year," Obama said, "I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." No time frame was offered as to whether this... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9441364 2010-01-28 Robert Marshall, is a radiologist and Democrat candidate for the US Senate. Different from his challengers, he takes a more conservative stance on many issues, including those which directly affect the LGBT community. He took time to meet with ChicagoPride.com at the Intercontinental Hotel a few weeks ago and discuss his candidacy. Marshall was open and direct with his answers. "We are for legal civil unions and a lot of legal problems can ... http://www.chicagopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/9429136 2010-01-27