Former state Rep. Greg Harris was honored with a plaque at the AIDS Garden Chicago for his decades of service to LGBTQ+ communities and people living with HIV.
A crowd of community leaders, elected officials and longtime friends gathered June 26 at the AIDS Garden Chicago, located along the Lakefront just south of Belmont Avenue, to thank Harris, who served in the Illinois General Assembly from 2007-2023 and was House Majority Leader from 2019-2023.
Harris was diagnosed with HIV in 1988. At the ceremony, he spoke about the past and present struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community, drawing lessons learned from the AIDS epidemic that can be applied to the fight for LGBTQ+ justice today.
“We need to keep telling and retelling our stories and repeating our history,” Harris said. “Because if we do not, people will forget just how many dark times we have faced before and how we triumphed over them.”
The ceremony, held in front of the garden’s 30-foot Keith Haring sculpture, reflected on Harris’s legislative victories and early community service work, including co-founding Open Hand Chicago during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and championing LGBTQ+ rights like marriage equality and health equity.
Open Hand Chicago was one of the city’s first food delivery services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Harris recalled its early days delivering meals to people across all 77 neighborhoods of Chicago, regardless of whether organizers knew them personally.
Several speakers reflected on Harris’ influence as a legislator, mentor and community organizer. State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz drew attention to his role in writing Illinois’ civil union bill and, later, its marriage equality bill.
“He was like a magician,” Feigenholtz said. “I don’t know how he did it. And he did it with very cool hands.”
Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th Ward), who’s worked with Harris for years, described him as both a legislative powerhouse and a personal guide as he learned to navigate the world of politics.
“I was 21 when I met Greg and just figuring out my way in politics, in queer life, and he has always been a powerful mentor to me, in a way that I probably don’t fully appreciate,” Lawson said.
Harris reminded the crowd of the importance of allyship in the fight for health equity and justice, recalling the role that members of and friends to the LGBTQ+ community played in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“These were not people who were gay men,” Harris said of those early allies. “These were lesbians. They were trans people. They were straight people, people from every walk of life, … and all of us have got to think of all the allies who are not our identity that we also have to be there to support when they’re ours.”
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the new superintendent of the Chicago Park District, called Harris “a pioneer and a hero in our community,” adding that it’s because of people like him that “the park district is able to make strides to ensure a welcoming environment for the LGBTQIA+ community and everyone alike.”
The ceremony closed with a musical performance by Lakeside Pride Wilde Cabaret and a group walk to unveil the plaque at the garden’s entrance, which sits near the former Belmont Rocks, a historic LGBTQ+ gathering space in the ‘80s.
While accepting the honor, Harris again emphasized the power of solidarity.
“There are so many lessons from the AIDS epidemic,” Harris said. “One, we’ve got to be sure no one is left behind. We have to lift up everybody, and even if people may not feel like us, we have to be there for them.”
