The Rev. Jeffrey Lee, a moderate in the eyes of religious leaders, was elected as the 12th Bishop of Chicago at the diocese convention in Wheeling on Saturday. Lee was selected over seven other candidates, one of whom is an openly lesbian priest, the Very Rev. Tracey Lind. Theological conservatives are condemning the vote and Lee, saying it doesn’t demonstrate enough restraint in maintaining the traditional view that the scripture condemns homosexuality. And some are... more ›

Want to go to a play--but you don't know how? The Trib has you covered. This "Theater 101" article is full of such helpful tips as "If the show starts at 8:00, get there at 7:50." Honest to God, we can't tell if the item "Applause: When the play ends, there's a blackout, then the lights come back on and all the actors come on stage to take a bow. This is when you should... 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 ›

The annual Pride Parade roared through the streets of Lakeview this afternoon. Through its 38 years, the parade has become more corporate and mainstream. Channels 2, 5, 7, and 9 had a presence, as did every major bank in the city, Jewel, Whole Foods, Pepsico, AT&T, and many other corporations. Former NBA star John Amaechi, the first NBA player to come out as a gay man, welcomed the crowd as the parade’s grand marshall. A... more ›

Oh, we enterprising gays. First we gentrify the gayborhood. The next thing you know we’re creating gay sports leagues and gay churches. And Tuesday Mayor Daley will join us hand-in-hand as we cut the ribbon to our brand new Center on Halsted, a gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community center that blows the door off the closet for GLBT centers across the country. There are about 160 GLBT centers in the U.S., but none are... more ›

As John Edwards buckles down and tries to keep his presidential bid moving forward while his wife deals with the return of cancer, the two other major Democratic players — Hillary and Barack — have been in the news lately for their stands not just on gay marriage, but the morality of homosexuality in general. After Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune that "homosexual acts between... more ›

Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band Director Tom Kowalczyk more ›

We're a liberal bunch here in the Chicagoist offices. Liberal even for Chicago, which is a blue city, in a blue state. So sometimes it really amazes us that people have such different views on certain topics. For example, we were absolutely stunned at the comments made recently by retired NBA star Tim Hardaway. During an interview with Dan Le Batard on Miami sports radio station WAXY-AM, Hardaway was asked about former NBA player John... more ›

If you've been reading Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week" series from its inception, you'll remember that one of our primary rules of alcohol consumption is if you're old enough to legally order something like Sparks, Long Island iced teas, vodka and Red Bull, frozen cocktails, any drink that ends with the word "bomb," or any cocktail containing Southern Comfort, you're old enough to know better. So where does that leave all you folks who... more ›

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. Getting on the wrong train sucks. Getting on the wrong train and becoming the victim of what will later be described as a "stabbing spree" really sucks.... more ›

The Westboro Baptist Church, with the charmingly named website of www.godhatesfags.com, is coming to Chicago Wednesday. Chicagoist is going to dub this the Evil Jackass Monsters of Hate Tour. The “Church” is based in Topeka, Kansas (that’s good publicity for the city), and it’s been protesting the funerals of Iraq war vets. The “Church” feels that our casualties in Iraq are part of God’s punishment for the United States tolerating the gays. It's monitored as... more ›

After over a week of silence, Governor Blagojevich has finally said something about the controversy involving Claudette Marie Johnson, a Nation of Islam member who last year was appointed to serve on the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes (CDHC). Johnson has refused to condemn comments made by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan bashing Jews and gays. Blago refused to remove Johnson from her post, and five members of the CDHC have resigned... more ›

A bunch of new laws have taken effect as of January 1. Lots of them are much needed - requirements for trigger-locks on guns, higher fines for meth makers, people who commit domestic battery in the presence of a child must pay the kid's counseling bills, job and housing discrimination against gays is finally illegal. Some laws we were suprised weren't already in effect - drug stores didn't have to disclose medicine costs before if... more ›

If you notice a bunch of gays and lesbians walking down Michigan Ave. this weekend with reporter notebook and pen in hand, they're here for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association's 15th annual convention. Say hi. Okay, so they probably won't be walking down Michigan Ave. with reporter notebooks. They're likely at the Palmer House Hilton listening to such gay journalist luminaries like Chad Allen (yes, that Chad Allen) speak on topics like freelancing,... more ›

We hesitate to mention anything written in the Red Eye because, well, little of their freaking content is online and available for linking. C'mon behemoth Tribune, it's an easy task. Get a clue and join the internet revolution. Anyway, it's a rare occasion when a Chicago daily puts on-the-verge-of-kissing gays on the cover, so Chicagoist is obligated to discuss. "Meet Mr. Right" screams the headline. Turn to pages 8-9 and you'll find that "Gays are... more ›

ready for Pride festivities this weekend? more ›

As Pride Weekend gears up, gay news is spewing forth from Chicago faster than Jerry Falwell can yell "boycott!" A few gay briefs: · A recent poll commissioned by Equality Illinois found that while a majority of your neighbors would reject a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, most don't favor marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. Even though no amendment is likely to be introduced soon, 67% of those polled would vote no, only... more ›

There's nothing more fitting than grilling in the backyard with dad on Father's Day. Unfortunately for many gays and lesbians disowned by their dads, Father's Day is painfully spent alone. Interviewed by TimeOut Chicago [subscription required], father-of-a-gay-son John Cepek says it's sometimes harder to come out to dad than mom: "Men in our society have a harder time asking about our children's feelings. I would imagine it would be harder for a son or daughter... more ›

Stand back, John Rocker, it's Carl Everett's at bat to bash the gays. more ›

Illinois wants it some gay money. Hoping to show the world that Chicago is gay friendly and to grab a slice of the $54 billion gays and lesbians spend on travel yearly, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism will step up efforts to target gay and lesbian travelers. more ›

Watch out! Comedian Margaret Cho is back, hitting Chicago Theater tonight and tomorrow night on her Assassin tour. Last month, Cho told the Windy City Times that Assassin is about the nation's current political struggles, "such as how we are dealing with our administration and how we are dealing with issues like gay marriage." The 36-year-old San Francisco native has been doing stand-up comedy since her early twenties. Her two previous national tours -- Notorious... more ›

It is sinful, and it is irresponsible, and someday we will look back on this period of our history and ask, 'Why were we so obsessed with this issue?' We're using this to stir up people who have more to worry about, who are living with widespread AIDS and famine and poverty. With those words, Chicago's Episcopal bishop, William Persell, jumped into the Anglican divide over ordination of gays in the church. Anglican leaders were... more ›

The first-ever Gay Chicago Bloggers Bash kicks off on February 24 at 7pm at Roscoe's Bar (Halsted & Roscoe in Boystown). Gays, straights, bloggers, and non-bloggers are welcome to stop by and meet Chicagoist's Aaron Bailey and and co-host Angst-identProne.org's Kris. more ›

This morning the Illinois House passed an amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act (the Senate passed it yesterday) banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in matters of employment, housing, public accommodations (restaurants, hotels, etc.) or credit. The Senate passed the bill with a 30-27 vote and the house passed it 65-51. Activists have been trying to get a bill passed adding "sexual orientation' to the Human Rights Act for decades and the House passed... more ›

Chicagoist was about to write a post about our bucking the national trend of rising syphilis rates when we noticed on Gapers Block that Chicago ranks really low on the list of the most literate cities . So now we must sit back and ask ourselves: "What's more important? Being able to read or being clean? The University of WI - Whitewater released "America's Most Literate Cities 2004," a report that ranks 79 US cities... more ›

Out at CHS, organized by the Chicago Historical Society, is spending the year exploring the LGBT past by hosting a series of events that celebrate the illustrious history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people in Chicago and throughout the country.
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