The Illinois Family Institute (IFI) wants the Illinois Bureau of Tourism to keep public funds away from Chicago’s 2006 Gay Games, according to the Chicago Tribune and the IFI Web site.
The Glen Ellyn-based organization has asked its supporters to persuade the state tourism department to deny a request for a grant from organizers of the sporting event, which will take place July 15-22, 2006. The Gay Games VII, an event conceived in 1982, will take place at various sites throughout the city, including Soldier Field.
Chicago Games Inc., the organizing group behind the Games, submitted an application in June for money to help promote the event and attract participants and spectators from around the globe. Organizers expect more than 10,000 participants and 100,000 spectators to spend $70-$80 million locally during the event. The grant request is under review and a response should be delivered within two months. If the grant is approved, the tourism bureau would provide a 50 percent match, up to an undetermined amount, on funds that Chicago Games Inc. raises through donations from the private sector.
This situation is not the first time the IFI has gotten involved in activities concerning the Games. The organization, along with the American Family Association of Tupelo, Miss., criticized Kraft Foods and Harris Bank for each contributing $25,000 to the sporting event and have asked both companies to rescind their support.
On its Web site, the IFI states that it ‘is wrong to promote homosexuality, but it is worse to do so with [one’s] hard-earned taxpayer dollars.’ The organization also expressed doubts about the claims of gay-rights advocates about the amount of revenue the Games will bring: ‘Homosexuals may be better off financially than the average Joe, but I doubt they can spend THAT much!’ The group is urging people to contact tourism bureau director Jan Kostner (312-814-4733) to express their opinions.
It is not known how IFI had knowledge of the grant applications, as they have not been announced in public. The funds used for tourism grants come specifically from tourism taxes earmarked for tourism marketing promotion.