How Chicago programs are turning jobs into lasting careers for LGBTQ+ workers
Chicago organizations are expanding employment initiatives designed to help LGBTQ+ residents not only find jobs, but stay in them long enough to build careers. Employment is often a gateway to economic stability, but advocates say extra barriers—especially for transgender workers—can make workplaces difficult to enter…
Keep readingRecent News
Chicagoans snack their way through AFC’s World of Chocolate
On Feb. 27, AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) presented its annual World of Chocolate at Artifacts Events, continuing a tradition of fundraising, HIV activism and chocolate—lots and lots of chocolate. This 2026 edition featured 14 chocolatiers and chefs in contention for awards, along with fundraising opportunities that included a balloon drop, an online art auction, a…
New (and FREE) from Windy City Times!
Subscribe to Chicago Social Butterflies,
News on Q, BLACKlines, and En La Vida.
View All News
Gerber/Hart dips into archives to mark Black History Month
Black LGBTQ+ History was the focus of a Life is Work-hosted presentation, Black Queer History: Celebrating the Black LGBTQ+ Community in Chicago and the Midwest Through the Archives, on Feb. 26 at the organization’s resource center location in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Gerber/Hart Library and Archives Operations Director Erin Bell led the discussion. She first detailed Gerber/Hart’s work, then reflected…
Nation & World
Chicago couple among those trapped in Puerto Vallarta unrest
Several LGBTQ+ Chicagoans were among those caught up in violence in Puerto Vallarta following the assassination of Jalisco New Generation Cartel Leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes by the Mexican military on Feb. 22. Violent…
Theater / Dance
AHF presents ABBA Burlesque Blow-Out
On Feb. 20, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation presented The Ohh Mamma!!! Burlesque Show, a stunning, sex positive, wildly romantic explosion of modern dance, theater, eroticism, naughty humor, vaudeville, disco and ABBA. Ohh Mamma!!! , which took place at Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph St., was a celebration of National Condom Day and, despite all the raciness and ribald humor,…
Music
Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus brings diva royalty to the Center on Halsted with Lipstick & Lyrics: Bette, Barbra & Beyoncé
CHICAGO, IL (March 6-7, 14) – Hold on to your wigs! Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus proudly announces the return of its annual live-singing drag extravaganza, Lipstick & Lyrics: Bette, Barbra & Beyoncé, lighting up the stage at Chicago’s Center on Halsted. Tickets are available now at cgmc.org/lnl. This year’s edition celebrates three legendary divas: Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand,…
Film / TV / Gossip
Deconstructing Harrys: ‘Pillion’ star and director open up about their new motorcycle dom-com
Pillion is a Scottish Gaelic word for a seat behind a motorcyclist. It is also the title of a powerful new queer film. Actor Harry Melling plays Colin, the pillion rider sitting behind Alexander Skarsgård’s Ray in a story adapted from the book Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones. In the film, Colin and Ray explore what it means…
Books / Art
Trans
Trans candidate Zoey Carter focuses on working class in state House bid
If Zoey Carter wins her bid to represent her central Illinois district, she would become the first openly trans woman elected to the state legislature. Carter, a longtime retail and manufacturing worker from Pekin, is seeking the Illinois House seat for the 93rd District, challenging Republican incumbent Travis Weaver in the general election in a…
Lesbian
IN BRIEF Medical group’s update, HRC dinner, ‘Rafiki,’ Algerian boxer, queer gymnast, Super Bowl
NATIONAL The American Medical Association (AMA) has updated its recommendations for gender-affirming care, endorsing certain limitations on surgery for minors, LGBTQ Nation noted. The AMA is now the second major medical organization (following the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, or ASPS) to walk back its total support for whatever gender-affirming treatments a doctor and a…