A packed house of area LGBTQ+ people and their allies gathered July 28 at Replay Lakeview, 3439 N. Halsted St., in support of Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Chicago LGBTQ+ community organizers Austin Baidas and Justin DeJong spearheaded this event to raise money for Harris’ campaign.
Baidas told the crowd that over $23,000 was raised in the four days since the event was first publicized, while DeJong gave a shout-out to the five queer Illinois DNC delegates who will be representing the community at the upcoming convention.
Those delegates include DuPage County Democratic Party Immediate Past Chair Ken Mejia-Beal; Ald. Lamont Robinson Jr. (5th Ward); Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd); 15th District Cook County Board Commissioner Kevin Morrison; and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Commissioner Marcelino Garcia.
DeJong added that Harris “has consistently stood up for LGBTQ people—and specifically LGBTQ people of color—and officiated some of the first same-gender marriages in the country. Through the years she has been visible and present at Pride Parades and other events in our community. There is a lot at stake in this election, as I think you all know.”
“Project 2025 is terrifying for women, LGBTQ people and other historically marginalized people, including our Black and Brown friends. Republicans want to turn back the clock on our rights, and we will all need to make sure our friends, family and neighbors know what is at stake—our freedoms. We have a powerful voice in Kamala Harris to make the case against the awful Trump/Vance ticket, and also highlight what we are for—healthcare for all, a pathways for immigration, a strong education system, pathways for everyone to get ahead and freedom for all of us. Our democracy is at stake.”
Mejia-Beal said, “When democracy breaks you have to put it back together, you have to use a double-stitch. What President Biden was able to do was get us back to where we needed to be. What Vice President Harris is going to do is do that double-stitch and take us to the next level … It is so important to take five or 10 people to the polls with you. We also have to call our friends in other states and [go canvas there too].”
Chicago LGBTQ+ Advisory Council Chair and Q Force Co-Chair Jin-Soo Huh acknowledged some of the other queer/trans leaders in the audience and said how “lucky we are to live in a Democratic state with an incredible Governor JB Pritzker.”
Huh also said that Q Force’s voter outreach focus will be in Michigan and Wisconsin, key battleground states, in coalition with other organizations like Indivisible Chicago and Operation Swing State to knock on doors to get people out to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. He reminded people that the Wisconsin state legislature has new, fairer maps after that state’s Supreme Court decision, and there is a potential to flip both statehouses blue. He added that “every single minute counts” from now until election day, Nov. 5.
Baidas also said the event’s donation link will stay active and Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community will get credit for the money that is raised from this event.