Family of Dejanay Stanton demands answers after acquittal
The mother of Dejanay Stanton joined Chicago LGBTQ+ advocates Oct. 30 to demand answers and accountability after a jury acquitted the man charged with killing her daughter eight years ago. Stanton, a 24-year-old transgender woman, was killed in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood in August 2018. Tremon…
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Haunted Halsted celebrates 30 years with parade and festival
On Oct. 31, under a cloudy fall sky, Northalsted celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Haunted Halloween Parade in a unique fashion. Northalsted Business Alliance expanded the annual festivities by adding an hours-long festival that included musical acts, circus-inspired performances, artisans, a kid’s section with three massive bouncy houses, crafts and jugglers. Those clouds suggested rain, but…
IN BRIEF Dem candidates vary on trans support; Dolores Huerta; intersex awareness; German raid; Zelenskyy’s support; ‘One Job Away’; Sir Patrick Stewart
Warning: This column mentions violent activity. NATIONAL Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek released a campaign ad calling for an end to taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care, including treatment for transgender adults—and that has sparked backlash in the queer community, PinkNews noted. In a video, Turek—a two-time Paralympic gold medalist and an Iowa state legislator—also reiterated his…
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Howard Brown Health to expand and modernize Clark Street Health Center
Renovation will add exam rooms, a dedicated behavioral health space and an expanded on-site lab, growing capacity to serve more than 10,000 patients a year CHICAGO — Howard Brown Health today announced plans to renovate and improve its care center at 6500 N. Clark St. in Rogers Park into a more modern, accessible, efficient and…
Nation & World
IN BRIEF Kansas challenge, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Elliot Page, queer Taipei bar raided, Pet Shop Boys, ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Robin Roberts
Warning: This column mentions violent activities. NATIONAL While transgender and intersex Kansas residents challenge the state’s driver’s license and restroom restrictions, Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach contended that the plaintiffs have not shown the law…
Theater / Dance
THEATER ‘A Strange Loop’ wows in About Face Theatre and Raven Theatre’s Chicago premiere
There is a lot going on in the mind of Usher, the simultaneously insecure and ambitious leading man at the center of A Strange Loop. This unabashed and self-described “big, Black and queer ass” Broadway musical is making a fabulous Chicago premiere via a strong co-production by About Face Theatre and Raven Theatre through Nov. 22. A…
Music
TRAVEL Pride in Dallas was a weekend of unabashed joy for Texas’ queer community
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Blade Pride arrived for a second time this year in Dallas, Texas, with the local community coming together for a few more days to uplift their LGBTQ+ neighbors. It was a weekend of fun inclusivity that this city is no stranger to; Dallas currently boasts the sixth-largest population of LGBTQ+…
Film / TV / Gossip
FILM Queer Fright: Filmmaker Zach Lorkiewicz brings “psychosis incarnate” feature debut to Chicago
After graduating from Northwestern University, gay filmmaker Zach Lorkiewicz headed for Los Angeles. While he has found a successful creative home there, his ties to the Midwest remain strong. “The Night Jane Went Insane,” his colorful seven-minute grand dame freak-out, had its local premiere in 2023. Now his feature film debut, a horror film entitled It…
Books / Art
Trans
Yasemin Smallens is Human Rights Watch’s eyewitness to the harms of anti-trans laws
Yasemin Smallens has been an eyewitness to the ill effects of anti-transgender laws—and wants to raise public awareness about them. Chicago-based Smallens, acting researcher in the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, has traveled to a variety of places, including Texas and Botswana, to observe the harms of these laws. “The impact is far…
Lesbian
Legacy Walk marks Cannon and Pulaski’s contributions to history
On the unseasonably warm and sunny afternoon of Oct. 10, Open Hand/Chicago Co-Founder, LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS ally/activist and Legacy Project Co-Founder Lori F. Cannon and U.S. Revolutionary War Brigadier General, Father of the American Calvary and hero Casimir Pulaski were inducted into the Legacy Walk in Chicago’s Northalsted neighborhood. The 15th annual event included a…