Homophobia within the Chicago Police Department (CPD) has been an issue for several gay activists and attorneys of clients alleging homophobic slurs and misconduct by police officers. A recent press conference by, among others, Jon Erickson of Erickson & Oppenheimer Attorneys at Law, Gay Liberation Network and local activists spotlighted lawsuits recently filed against Officer Richard Fiorito, an officer at the the 23rd District police station at Addison and Halsted.
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) , a program of Heartland Alliance, hosted a conference on LGBT Immigration issues entitled ‘defending the Human Rights of LGBT and HIV-Positive Immigrants and Refugees.” The conference took place March 26-27. The conference took place at Northwestern University Law School, 357 E. Chicago Avenue (on the first day) and the law firm McDermott, Will and Emery, 227 W. Monroe (on the second day).
The Chicago Department of Senior Services is required to conduct annual citywide public hearings on the Area Plan on Aging. This public document is designed to describe how the Office of Senior Services will use funds from the Older Americans Act of 1965 and from the State of Illinois General Revenue Funds. Howard Brown recently conducted an LGBT Elder Needs Assessment, and the results were presented at a public forum at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, March 24. The event was organized by the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Aging and the SAGE Advisory Council.
The Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC; formerly the Office of GLBT Concerns) at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) hosted a town hall March 12 to discuss its future directions and the search for a new director. The previous director, Patrick Finnessey, left in November and Liz Thomson was appointed interim director. Thomson has been keen to engage the larger LGBTQ community with the mission of GSC.
In the Chicago area, the number of donations to the No on 8 campaign (to defeat the Proposition) far outnumbered contributions to support. As it turns out, this reflects the national trend. According to Advocate.com, opponents of Proposition 8 raised about $43.3 million while the measure’s backers amassed $39.9 million.
On Thursday, March 5, the California Supreme Court began hearing arguments about Proposition 8. Join the Impact Chicago organized a candlelight vigil on the evening of March 4 to draw attention to the issue. This was part of a nationwide series of such events designed to draw attention to what organizers feel is a critical testing point for the validity of the legislation. Similar vigils took place in cities like San Francisco; Santa Barbara, Calif.; and New York.