Would Chicago Elect a Gay Mayor? (Plus Some 'Mo News)

By Joseph Erbentraut in News on Apr 30, 2010 5:30PM

Openly gay Ald.Tom Tunney announced this week he may consider a mayoral run should Mayor Daley not seek re-election. [Editor's Note: All this "if Mayor Daley doesn't run" nonsense has us wondering if there will even be an opponent for Daley next year. - M.G.] His announcement - joining the ranks of Mike Quigley and Rahm Emanuel as other potential successors to the crown - raises the question of whether Chicago could join the ranks of cities like Berlin, Paris and, weirdly enough, Houston by electing a gay mayor.

"I am a longtime ally of Mayor Daley and encourage him to run for re-election," read the statement, as reported by the Windy City Times. "However, if he chooses not to seek another term, I am interested in exploring the possibility of running for mayor. I will not consider it until the mayor makes his decision."

Tunney, also known for owning the Ann Sather restaurant chain, has served as alderman for the 44th Ward since 2003. And you also have him to thank for leading the effort to repeal the city's foie gras ban.

More gay news after the jump.

• The strange scandal at Howard Brown Health Center just keeps getting stranger. Turns out the center is under federal investigation under allegations they misused federal funding to support a long-term study of HIV-infected men. The center has also just announced attorney Jamal Edwards as its new CEO and president, as of June 1. Community leaders aren't thrilled with the center's lack of transparency as of late: "They're acting like our own little Vatican; They are trying to sweep it under the rug," said Equality Illinois public policy director Rick Garcia told the Windy City Times. "That's exactly how the Vatican operates. If we can criticize the Vatican, we can criticize Howard Brown."
• A contingent of activists from LGBT youth organization Gender JUST continues to pressure Chicago Public Schools to implement a grievance procedure allowing students to report staff harassment. Some fifty activists took over the CPS lobby in protest Thursday, according to a statement. Gender JUST has been campaigning for the procedure's introduction since June 2009 with little action from CEO Ron Huberman.
• Finally, the city's LGBT communities have lost a truly fierce advocate, Renae Ogletree, who died of cancer last Friday at the age of 59. Ogletree, inducted into the city's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1998, was instrumental in supporting youth programming at Center on Halsted, opposing bullying in CPS, served as a co-chair of Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays and was director of the city's Department of Human Services youth division. She will be honored in a public memorial service tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark.