If Reagan-era debates about tax cuts and "government waste" don't already have you feeling like D.C. has turned back the clock to the 1980s, how about some good old fashioned culture war, with bonus AIDS politics? more ›

Howard Brown Health Center, which has provided health care and wellness programs for the LGBT community for over three decades, announced yesterday that they're in pretty bad financial shape and may have to cease operations by year-end if they can't raise $500,000. That's going to be a lot of second-hand shopping at the Brown Elephant resale shops. more ›

While many folks will be taking in the sights of hundreds of drag queens, a lesbian country starlet, the newly gay-friendly-fied Stanley Cup and even a giant cat head (courtesy of Threadless) this Sunday for the 41st annual Pride Parade in Boystown, the day also carries a perhaps more serious meaning: National HIV Testing Day. more ›

The number of people in Cook County living with HIV or AIDS has doubled in the last eight years according to a new report [PDF] released by the Cook County Department of Public Health. In 2008 there were 3,474 cases reported compared to 1,507 cases in 2000. The largest demographic diagnosed with HIV was African-American and white males between ages 30-49 who had same sex partners. But there was a little good news: HIV cases resulting from heterosexual contact and drug use injection declined slightly while HIV-related deaths also declined by 37 percent. Outside of Chicago, the suburbs of Cicero, Harvey and Maywood had the most diagnosed cases. more ›

Former star second baseman (and former White Sox player) Roberto Alomar is in hot water: an ex-girlfriend is suing him for $15 million, alleging he forced to her to have unprotected sex though he knew or suspected he was HIV positive. The ex, Ilya Dall, tested negative for the disease but is suing for "punitive damages and emotional distress." Alomar spent part of the 2003 and 2004 seasons playing for the White Sox but had very little impact. Our sister site Gothamist has more details on this disturbing story. more ›

Today is National HIV Testing Day, "an annual campaign produced by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA-US) to encourage at-risk individuals to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing." Testing centers around the country will be providing HIV tests, health fairs, and outreach to anyone wishing to participate. It comes on the heels of unsettling news from the CDC: between 2001 and 2006, HIV/AIDS cases in gay men climbed 8.6 percent. According to other CDC findings, in 2006, almost three-quarters of diagnosed cases were in males; half of the 2006 diagnoses were from male-to-male contact and a third resulted from heterosexual contact. These statistics hit home as the city prepares for this weekend's annual PRIDE parade.

“The bottom line here is we are woefully under-serving gay men” in the fight against HIV/AIDS, said Jim Pickett, director of advocacy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. more ›

We’re usually level-headed about other people’s opinions even if they don’t correlate with ours, and normally hold a live and let live attitude. But then something like this comes along so foam-at-the-mouth-inducing that our fingers tremble with all the rage we must type out. more ›

We're celebrating by making you a list of things that are awesome. more ›

Everyone knows Bratz dolls cause cancer of the AIDS. But Jammin' Jenna dolls, a slightly softer-seeming knock-off from Ty, are also poisonous. Her vinyl shoes contain an amount of lead that's illegal in Illinois, but Ty refuses to recall the toys, saying they'll stop selling new dolls to Illinois distributors but won't pull the dolls already on shelves. more ›

This week Missed Connections entered a big of a segregation war, with a few groups banding together to try and prove that more MCs happen in their respective neighborhoods than any other. (Let Chicagoist give you all a little tip: if your locale is full of arty, emotional, sexually fueled 20-somethings, more connections are made rather than missed. Trust us.) more ›

Over on Kid Nation, the episode focused on money and greed, as the Council receives directions to go to an abandoned, bat-infested mine (eee!), where they discover a treasure chest full of the town's currency, buffalo nickels. Faced with the decision of distributing the cash among the kids or buying items that the town can collectively share, the Council takes the "big government" approach, buying toys for the town. Shockingly, the kids are A-OK with... more ›

Is Barack Obama a hypocrite? Bloggers want to know. Obama's looking for votes in South Carolina--that primary is only 97 days away--by hosting three gospel concerts. (We've seen Obama use gospel music to inspire people before.) Included in the line-up is minister and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Donnie McClurkin, who says "homosexuality is abominable" and can be "cured" with prayer. (FWIW, he also says prayer cured his leukemia.) Obama released a statement on the LGBT section of... more ›

Here’s what you missed while you were thinking about giant ketchup packets: August is supposed to be a slow month? The dance community didn't get that memo. Aside from the Jazz Dance World Festival, next month sees Dance for Life, a gala for AIDS-related charities; Mark Morris Dance Group presented by Ravinia at the Harris Theater; Chicago Dancing Festival at Millennium Park; and the conclusion of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Summer Festival. The Berwyn... more ›

There is so much going on this weekend that is guaranteed to keep you from getting a whole lot of sleep. Take a nap and enjoy! Tonight in the Kinzie Corridor you'll find music, fashion, and art for a paltry $10. We are pretty excited about seeing the magical sounds of Chicago's Telefon Tel Aviv. The $10 ticket gets you the address to the loft party, free beer from 10 p.m. - 4 a.m., and... more ›

Your theme this week, in honor of Earth Day/Week/Month: "Being Green." This is the song that Kermit the Frog made famous, but Ray Charles did a knockout version of it, and our favorite take on the song has to be Van Morrison's version from 1973's Hard Nose the Highway. It's so good, we insist on this song being played while our casket's being lowered to the ground. Let's dive in, shall we? Moo Moo, I... more ›

Tom Simon does a lot of things right. He investigates white collar crimes for the FBI, volunteers for a youth crisis hotline, biked thousands of miles for AIDS charities, and donates his organs to perfect strangers … just because he can. But whatever you do, don't call him a hero. According to Simon's blog, The Kidney Chronicles, his desire to "help others and alleviate suffering" led him to consider handing over one of his kidneys.... more ›

Rarely do we have a little extra cash around, but with the weather being how it's been we have managed to save money that would otherwise have been spent at a beer garden. What to do with the extra cash? How about drinking and running for a good cause? We thought we'd highlight a few charitable events coming up this month that are sure to put a benevolent smile on your face. The AIDS Marathon... more ›

By the end of 2007, every state will be tracking people with HIV by name, much to the chagrin of AIDS advocates who worry about the privacy of those included in these state databases. more ›

The world over, there is no place we'd rather be than Chicago. Sometimes though, with spring bringing only blustery winds and rain, it's nice to bury ourselves in a book that puts us someplace warm and dry. more ›

After reading through today's news stories consisting of a child beaten to death, a shooting leading to a car plowing into a home, stabbings in Edgewater, and a human skull discovery, Chicagoist yearns to enlighten you about something a little lighter, a little prettier, a little less riddled with death and violence (well, on the surface, at least). Because we care.
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Rep. Bobby Rush and two co-sponsors introduced a bill to the U.S. House of Representatives in January that would allow groups to hand out condoms to inmates. The Tribune reports that inmates are 5 times more likely to contract HIV than others. A similar bill was struck down by an Illinois State House committee 6-5 on Thursday, leaving the controversial and unpopular issue in the hands of the U.S. Senate. The AIDS foundation of Chicago,... more ›

Kids tend to have a bad rep when it comes to premarital sex, teen pregnancy and the like. That's why Chicagoist believes in a firm, informative sex education class (huh huh, we said firm). It's the whole "The More You Know" thing, right? more ›

Remember when there was that big launch last October of (PRODUCT)RED? And Oprah and Bono showed up at the Michigan Avenue Gap and acted like douchebags? Do you remember that? We do. We also remember seeing a litany of celebrities — Steven Speilberg, Christy Turlington, Mary J. Blige, Penelope Cruz — in advertisements wearing the (PRODUCT)RED clothing. And we thought to ourselves, are we really supposed to be feeling good about buying clothes to benefit... more ›

Discussions about Black History Month have become as complex as discussions about race. Debating the labels ‘black’ and ‘African-American’ lead to debates about biracial identity and, recently, whether Senator Obama, Joe Biden’s “first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” friend, is actually African-American. In the same vein, Black History Month has increasingly been relabeled African-American Heritage Month and African Heritage Month, terms emphasizing the present and future as... more ›

It's been over two decades since Tipper Gore's PMRC started censoring music with parental advisory stickers and other politicians jumped on the bandwagon equating music with the downfall of youth in America. Yesterday, the University of Chicago Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture released the findings of their survey regarding hip-hop culture primarily focusing on Black youth's attitudes towards sex, music, and even (gasp) politics. Rap and hip-hop have been used to... more ›

In a perplexing marketing move, some of the cast of The Real World Denver will be at Crobar on Friday for a “Premiere and Holiday Party.” Now, we’re not here to make fun of the higher-ups at MTV for having a premiere party three weeks after the actual premiere. We’re not even here to poke fun at Colie for making out with Alex and thinking they were actually going “steady.” And we’re still not here... more ›

For a helping of style along with your charitable endeavors, stop by Mystic Celt (3443 N. Southport) on Wednesday. From 6 to 10 p.m., Pediatric AIDS Chicago will host the Third Annual Purse Bazaar on the heels of World Aids Day. more ›

Have you been meaning to get one of those pesky AIDS tests but don't want to fork over the $100 or so in lab fees that your doctor charges? more ›

There are all kinds of ways to volunteer and support your causes. Some require that you walk a 5K. Many take time and dedication. Most are geared at raising money. So if you’re a little light on the time and effort, and walking just isn’t your thing, maybe you’d like to donate some cash to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) this Thursday and eat chocolate all night. As far as that whole community service thing goes, there are certainly less appealing options. more ›

Yee Haw, Pardner! We got us a whole mess 'a turkeys to rustle up here, so let's get these doggies rollin'! Chicago taxpayers are footing the bill for legal representation of witnesses in the Hired Truck Scandal to the tune of $595,080, for witnesses alone! This number only covers the cost of witnesses that weren't implicated in the scandal. The largest portion of this bill, $210,717, went to a single law firm that used to... more ›