Results tagged “hiv”

• Police say a fire in Arlington Heights that killed two and injured three others this morning was arson.
• The car of a missing Midlothian woman, as well as a body, have been found; police have not yet announced the identity of the body or said whether it is that of the missing woman, Irma Rodriguez.
• Mayor Daley came to the defense of indicted Ald. Ike Carothers today.

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.

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.

Continue reading "Today Is National HIV Testing Day"

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

After rumors that Jon Bon Jovi would be the guest judge on last week's Project Runway proved to be false, with Sarah Jessica Parker filling the celebujudge role, Chicagoist was hoping that he might venture to show up on this week's episode. As Tim Gunn led the contestants onto a soundstage, we held out hope, but instead were treated to...Tiki Barber? Yes, the former NFL running back/Today Show correspondent was the challenge subject and guest...

Metra officials voted today to raise fares 10 percent in January, and again in Jan 2009 and '10. But Sunday service is safe. Osyp "Joe" Firishchak, an 87-year-old Chicago resident, is being deported to the Ukraine for aiding the Nazis during World War II. Firishchak, who has lived in the United States since 1949, has until December 10 to appeal. Holy crap, that's a lot of people: 47 people were arrested for a high school...

First, you're diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and then you wait months and months on the UNOS list (along with about 100,000 other Americans) for an organ. But your case is rare; you actually get the transplant you need. Hurray! Unless you're one of four transplant recipients in Chicago whose new organs gave them HIV and hepatitis C. This is the first time in more than 20 years that donor organs have transmitted the virus....

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...

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...

The Chicago Innovation Awards were announced today, and sure, everybody loves Threadless, but we were pretty geeked about some of the other winners: Permeable, light-reflective "green alleys" can help cities reduce heat costs and better manage ground water. A molecular diagnostic test helps physicians closely track different strains of HIV. A fuse that can fix itself means people don't lose power--nor do they have to pay for crews to come repair blown lines. And who knew Radio Flyer wagons were the wave of the future?

With summer easing onto its laurels and panting in the heat, it's easy to get into a mindset that all the fun the season brings to Chicago is over. Not so! While the rest of the city is waiting for the humidity to give way to fall, you could squeeze in some more entertainment, in the form of Queerfest Midwest. The event, from noon to 10pm on Saturday at the Pulaski Fieldhouse in Wicker Park,...

While the state government devolves into a teeming cesspool of Machiavellian intrigue and self-loathing (quickly becoming an annual tradition in one form or another here in the Land of Lincoln), the world of politics moves on. While we have no problem kicking around Blagojevich (and the other asshole cynics downstate), this week, we're putting it aside, damn it! With out further adieu, here it is, your dose of news before lunch: Daley Takes his Public...

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...

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...

Wow. Snow. That's messed up! A virus has killed a bunch of fish in the eastern Great Lakes and it seems to be heading this way. Chicagoland mayors think that the state should pick up more of the bill for public schools. Abbott Labs has more than halved the price of its HIV drug to poor countries. The state wants to get its mitts on some Abe Lincoln artifacts, including a stovepipe hat valued...

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.

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,...

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?

Some fans are petitioning against advertising at Wrigley field. Jesse Jackson went to jail to get an HIV test and to encourage inmates to get one too. No surprise: Oprah likes Obama. Thousands of insane people ran up the steps of the Hancock Center this weekend. At least it was for charity! They raised a record $1.2 million to research lung disease. Sharky's Billiards says they paid for Justin Timberlake to sign autographs at...

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...

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.

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?

Halfway through reading about Tom Tunney's proposal for the city, we had to start over. We searched and searched, scratching our heads, thinking, "Wait, is a Chicago alderman actually doing something?" Inspired, we smiled wide. So THIS is why we vote in local elections!

We can't hide the fact that we're a little bit of a conspiracy theorist. We aren't for a national ID card. We aren't into biometrics. We don't feel it necessary to give up all our personal info so we can get the equivalent of an airport speedpass.

Chicagoist never needs a good reason to go to a bar, but it’s a nice bonus when we have one. Lucky for us, Bar AIDS is giving us a great reason this Thursday.

"flowers et the city" via Olivia Leigh

"orangeline" via abbyworld

We don't know how else to put this -- there's bad junk going around. Chicagoist hopes that you're not nodding off whilst checking the blogosphere, or getting into a comment war and then running off to cop, but if you are into heroin or were considering picking up the habit, you might want to think twice. Besides the regular old hazards from being riding the big H, (e.g. HIV or Hepatitis C from dirty needles,...

This Thursday there's a great benefit going on where you can help some kids who need help dearly while you enjoy some live music, great hors d'oeuvres, drinks and an auction. Plus Barack Obama is the honorary chair, if you've ever wanted to see and hear him speak up close. The benefit is the second annual "Reality of Hope" fundraiser to benefit international HIV-exposed children orphaned by AIDS. All of the proceeds benefit Chances by...