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'When Black queer people win, everybody wins': Foundation releases report to improve equity at community orgs
In November, Lighthouse Foundation released its 2023 update on its research project, the Black Queer Equity Index, providing a guide that non-profit leaders can use to improve the experiences of marginalized employees and clients. Since 2020, ...
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Scotland announces five-year plan to help nonbinary people
Scotland's government has announced a five-year action plan to improve the lives of non-binary people, Yahoo! News reported. Among other things, the first-of-its-kind plan in the UK (and, quite possibly, in the world) includes actions to ...
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NATIONAL Bishop removed, business news, Jezebel shutting down, MAP head
Pope Francis removed the bishop of Tyler, Texas—a conservative prelate active on social media who has been a fierce critic of the pontiff, PBS reported. A one-line statement from the Vatican said the pope had "relieved" ...
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Howard Brown Health Workers United members gather for post-strike rally
Howard Brown Health (HBH) Workers United members held an evening post-Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) strike rally Nov. 15 in front of the new multi-story HBH Halsted clinic. It was the conclusion of their two-day strike that ...
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Eye-opening LGBTQ+ women's survey shatters myths and spotlights challenges
The realities, ambitions and hardships of queer women aren't often given deep analysis by researchers. Mainstream socio-political conversations, research data and legislative choices frequently center individuals whose lives are marked ...
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Mayor Johnson names new CPDH commissioner
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the appointment of esteemed public health leader Dr. Olusimbo "Simbo" Ige, MD, MS, MPH to serve as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). The announcement took place days after ...
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IDHS head Dulce Quintero reflects on making history, being an advocate
Dulce Quintero has always believed in helping people—and decades of doing so has resulted in an especially noteworthy achievement. Recently, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker appointed Quintero, a member of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame, as ...
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UN committee criticizes United States' LGBTQ+ record
Reviewing the United States' record on civil and political rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) condemned the country's record on LGBTQ+ rights, according to Human Rights Watch. In 1992, the United States ratified the ...
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Former CDPH head accepts position with the CDC
Former Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) commissioner Dr. Alison Arwady is now with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, according to Axios. The CDC announced on Nov. 9 that Arwady will ...
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NATIONAL Election results, campus items, Puerto Rican icons, healthcare suit
Historic developments took place during the Nov. 7 elections that happened in some states. LGBTQ+ Victory Fund candidate Rue Landau won an at-large seat on the Philadelphia City Council—making her the first out LGBTQ+ candidate to ...
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Three states sue to block abortion-pill sales
On Nov. 6, three states—Idaho, Kansas and Missouri—sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Health and Senior Services for approving the abortion pill mifepristone and allowing its ...
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Berlin Nightclub workers urge customers to boycott as they fight for fair contract
Berlin Nightclub workers are calling for people to boycott the LGBTQ+ club while they push for their first contract, which they hope will include increased wages and access to healthcare. Berlin Nightclub workers unionized in April ...
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WORLD Spirit Day, pope's meeting, conversion therapy, 'Elite' actor, tourism
Spirit Day—an annual observance celebrated every third Thursday of October that is dedicated to taking a stand against bullying and showing support for the LGBTQ+ youth—was marked globally, GLAAD noted. ...
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Former 'Bachelorette' contestant Josh Seiter talks bisexuality, mental health
t's safe to say that 2023 is probably one of the most pivotal years in Josh Seiter's life. During the summer, Seiter—a former Bachelorette contestant who's also a Chicago resident, Chicago-Kent College of Law grad, mental-health ...
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois faces LGBTQ+ fertility lawsuit
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that Illinois resident Kelsey Murphy can proceed with a proposed class-action lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL), Bloomberg Law reported. The ...
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Georgia to cover gender-affirming healthcare for state employees
As part of a settlement, Georgia's health-insurance plan will now cover state employees after the state agreed to a $365,000 court settlement with three employees, according to several media outlets, including The Georgia Reporter. Co-plaintiff Benjam ...
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Report from National LGBTQ+ Women's Community Survey includes high rates of disability, intimate partner violence
--From a press release
LOS ANGELES, October 12—Today, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, in partnership with Justice Work and 120 partner organizations, released the first full report from the largest and most comprehensive survey on LGBTQ+ women who partner with ...
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Advocates to appeal ruling denying request to temporarily block Oklahoma ban on gender-affirming care
--From a press release
OKLAHOMA — The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma has rejected a request from families and a medical provider to temporarily block an Oklahoma law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth ...
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Former Illinois GOP chair joins Personal PAC board
Former Illinois Republican Party chair Pat Brady has joined the board of Personal PAC, a pro-choice organization, Politico Illinois Playbook reported. The move is considered controversial within the Republican Party ...
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Support group for LGBT widows and widowers unites members in grief
In May of 2016, C. Russell Bond of Wilmette founded a Meetup.com monthly support group for LGBT widows and widowers. The group's most recent September meeting happened to fall one day after an anniversary date with ...
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Kentucky, Tennessee allowed to enforce anti-trans youth healthcare bans
The Cincinnati, Ohio-based Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed Tennessee and Kentucky to enforce laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, such as puberty blockers, hormones and surgery, Reuters reported. The ruling is the ...
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OPINION Social media use, mental health literacy and related problems among LGBTQ+ youth
Special to Windy City Times Depression levels in the United States have risen steadily over the past five decades, and steep increases have been observed in recent years among children, adolescents, and adults under 25 years ...
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Lambda, TLDEF urge 4th Circuit to uphold rulings protecting gender-affirming care in NC, WV
--From a press release
(RICHMOND, VA - Thursday, Sept 21) — Today, a full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard arguments in two cases involving equal access to health care for transgender people. State ...
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Pritzker and Brady-Davis honored at Planned Parenthood gala
On the evening of Sept. 14, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action (PPIA) and Planned Parenthood Illinois Action PAC (PPIA PAC) organizations presented their annual Fighting Forward Gala fundraiser. The event shone ...
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NATIONAL Lesbian politician, Nancy Pelosi, bomb threat, politician dies, Lyft
Kathy Kozachenko—the first out politician elected to public office in the country—will be honored with a statue on the 50th anniversary of her historic election, per The Advocate. The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, will honor ...
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MAP reports on obstacles trans people face with healthcare, legal recognition
--From a press release
Today the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) released Banning Medical Care and Legal Recognition for Transgender People, the fifth in MAP's report series, Under Fire: The War on LGBTQ People in America. The report details how the ...
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Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to resume abortions after ruling
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) announced that it will resume abortion-care services Monday, Sept. 18, after a judge ruled in July that an old state law that appeared to ban the procedure does not apply to ...
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Aging LGBTQ+ Americans face additional caregiving challenges
While Darcy Connors was a nursing home administrator in the South, she also operated a COVID-19 recovery center. Connors and her staff noticed that two of the patients in their charge had a strong connection with ...
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On the (gay) horizon: Center on Halsted marks 50 years
In 1973, a group of Chicagoans organized a telephone hotline, which they named Helpline, allowing the community to more easily find and assist one another. This was a time when LGBTQ+ bars were still regularly raided ...
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WORLD Brazilian court, Scottish items, Canadian policy, PEPFAR
The Brazilian Supreme Federal Court ruled nine to one that homophobia is now punishable with up to five years in prison, The Washington Blade reported. Their decision equates homophobia to racism in terms of prison time. ...
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Howard Brown Health reinstates workers following NLRB settlement recommendations
--From a press release
CHICAGO, Aug. 29, 2023 — Howard Brown Health reinstated 25 employees as part of a plan to follow the recommendations outlined in a proposed settlement from Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The ...
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Chicago Dancers United raises more than $365K at Dance for Life
Chicago Dancers United (CDU)—which supports the health and wellness of Chicago's professional dance community—welcomed 1,600 people to the 32nd annual Dance for Life on Aug. 19 at Auditorium Theatre, per ...
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WORLD Argentinian elections, indian prince, UN, Gay Games
The results of Argentina's Aug. 13 primary elections revealed a political landscape that combines significant advances in LGBTQI+ rights with the expansion of the far-right in that country, The Washington ...
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Court allows anti-trans youth healthcare ban in Alabama
On Aug. 21, a three-judge panel on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court judge's temporary injunction against Alabama's law banning gender-affirming care for people under 19, The Hill reported. The development ...
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Federal Judge issues injunction restoring health care for Georgia transgender children
--From a press release
ATLANTA—A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction late Sunday halting a provision in Georgia Senate Bill 140 ("SB 140," the "Health Care Ban," or the "Ban") from taking effect while a lawsuit filed by four Georgia ...
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Planned Parenthood of Illinois receives $525K grant for youth STI pilot program
—From a press release. CHICAGO - Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) received a $525,000 grant to pilot a new Chicago Healthy Adolescents & Teens (CHAT) STI testing initiative for adolescents 13 to 24-years-old in Chicago. The ...
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CDPH head Dr. Allison Arwady loses job
Dr. Allison Arwady—the head of the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) who led the city through the COVID-19 pandemic—was let go from her job on Aug. 11. She never met with current Mayor Brandon Johnson ...
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Healthcare Cultural Competency Law approved, Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition responds
--From a press release
CHICAGO — The Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition applauds Governor JB Pritzker's approval today of legislation that will ensure cultural competency is part of continuing medical education for a range ...
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Equality Illinois officer files for state Senate seat
Public health, LGBTQ+-rights advocate and Wicker Park resident Jose "Che-Che" Wilson is joining the list of candidates seeking to fill the vacancy in the Illinois Senate for the 5th District. Democratic committeepeople are meeting on Tuesday, ...
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Illinois attorney general joins push against anti-trans laws
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general opposing laws in Kentucky and Tennessee that severely limit transgender youths' access to critical healthcare, per a press release. The amicus brief ...
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NATIONAL Medical news, Fauci's successor, O'Shae Sibley, Grindr, trans death
The American Academy of Pediatrics again expressed its support for gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors, The Advocate reported. In an unanimous vote, the group's board of ...
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WORLD Sauna raid, HIV items, World Bank, 'Barbie,' JK Rowling
In Venezuela, three men who were arrested when authorities raided a gay sauna on July 23 have been released from jail, per The Washington Blade. Officers in Valencia, the country's third largest city, arrested 33 people ...
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Openly gay AMA president Ehrenfeld tackles pressing physician challenges
Milwaukee-based anesthesiologist Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, this past June became the first openly gay individual to take on the role of president of the American Medical Association (AMA). "While I didn't run as an LGBTQ candidate, I ...
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NATIONAL Drag news, HIV-bias lawsuit, Disney, Brittney Griner, gay dancer
Swastika flag-toting neo-Nazis, some of them armed, were at a Wisconsin LGBTQ+ Pride celebration that included a drag show, The Advocate reported. Members of the neo-Nazi extremist group Blood Tribe joined other right-wing hate groups, like ...
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LGBTQ+ cycling club builds both community and awareness
By Charlie Kolodziej
For the second summer in a row, Cruise Chi, Chicago's new LGBTQ+ cycling club, has been fostering a sense of community while supporting queer- and trans-advocacy. The group, led by co-founders Alton Deon and Shai Garcia, ...
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WORLD Global conference, asylum-seekers, HIV study, lesbian couple, The 1975
More than 400 people attended a global LGBTQI+-rights conference that took place in Mexico City, The Washington Blade reported. Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights; and Victor Madrigal-Borloz, ...
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National Labor Relations Board rules Howard Brown Health workers wrongfully laid off
The National Labor Relations Board Region 13 has ruled that Howard Brown Health (HBH) leadership wrongfully laid off 60 of its employees at the beginning of this calendar year. Those layoffs led to a three day ...
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WORLD Iranian president, HIV in Asia, asylum, lesbian moms
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi praised Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for signing the African country's Anti-Homosexuality Act, The Washington Blade noted. Iran is among the countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations ...
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Russia's lower house bans gender-reassignment surgery
In that country's most recent attack on LGBTQ+ people, Russia's lower house of parliament (the State Duma) passed a new law banning gender-reassignment surgery, the BBC reported. The measure will also ban people changing their genders ...
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FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act would undercut equality, Modern Military Assoc of America comments
--From a press release
Washington D.C. - Anti-equality House members are using the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act to pass dangerous amendments targeting healthcare, gender-affirming care, education, and LGBTQ+ friendly services and resources. The ...
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Lambda Legal replies to Biden administration proposed HHS grants rule
--From a press release
(Washington, DC, July 11, 2023) — Today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposed new rule modifying nondiscrimination protections for beneficiaries of and participants in ...
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Executive summary of Nat'l LGBTQ+ Women's Community Survey released
--From a press release
Los Angeles LGBT Center, in partnership with Justice Work and 120 partner organizations, has released the executive summary of initial findings from the largest and most comprehensive survey on LGBTQ+ women who partner with women in ...
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Federal court lifts Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care
A federal appeals court lifted Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, meaning the law will now take effect. According to CNN, the appeals court granted a stay of a lower-court injunction, which had been blocking ...
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Gilead prevails in HIV antitrust suit brought by consumers
On June 30, pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences triumphed over consumers in a $3.6-billion class-action suit that claimed the company deliberately manipulated the market in order to profit off of its expensive HIV treatment drugs, Courthouse News ...
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WORLD Australia case, Turkey march, Elton John, Mexico City, China
In Australia, the judge overseeing an inquiry examining the 30-year-old unsolved murder of former AC/DC manager Crispin Dye criticized New South Wales (NSW) Police after the revelation of explosive evidence in the case, The Advocate noted. ...
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Madonna postpones tour for health reasons
Madonna's upcoming "Celebration" tour has been postponed, an Instagram post from her manager Guy Oseary noted, according to Variety. "On Saturday, June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which led to a several-day stay in ...
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Equality Illinois heralds July 1 effective date of trans-affirming birth certificate law
--From a press release
CHICAGO — Effective July 1, trans and gender-expansive individuals born in Illinois will be able to self-identify for gender marker corrections on their birth certificates because of a law approved by Governor JB Pritzker earlier this ...
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HHS hosts Pride Summit and celebrates Pride month
--From a press release
On Monday, June 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted a Pride Summit featuring hundreds of advocates and allies from the LGBTQI+ community and leaders from across the Biden-Harris Administration. The ...
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Los Angeles LGBT Center releases executive summary of National LGBTQ+ Women's Community Survey
--From a press release
LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles LGBT Center, in partnership with Justice Work and 120 partner organizations, released the executive summary of initial findings from the largest and most comprehensive survey on LGBTQ+ women who partner with women ...
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Trans former bus driver alleges discrimination, wrongful termination in court filing against CTA, union
Russia Brown, a former Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver whose legal wrangling years ago resulted in the agency adding gender-affirming surgery to its health insurance plan, is in the process of suing both the CTA ...
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NATIONAL School news, Larry Kramer, trans veteran, Steamworks battle
In a late-night vote, the Virginia Beach School Board narrowly approved a resolution that opposes discrimination and harassment of LGBTQ+ youth and adults in the school division, WVEC reported. The vote came after board members spent ...
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One in five LGBT high school students experiences hunger because of food insecurity
--From a press release
A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds 20% of LGBT high school students—an estimated 371,000 youth—experienced hunger last month because there was not enough food at home. Among older youth ...
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Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming treatment for trans youth struck down
On June 20, U.S. District Court Judge James M. Moody Jr. invalidated Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth. Moody said that the state's "Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act" violated the U.S. Constitution and that ...
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Chicago's DFSS launches emergency financial assistance for gender-based violence, human trafficking survivors
--From a press release
CHICAGO — The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) today announced the official launch of the Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) for Gender-based Violence and Human Trafficking (GBV/HT) Survivors ...
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Illinois Poor People's Campaign to join faith leaders from 30+ states on Capitol Hill to demand action
--From a press release
WASHINGTON - Poor, impacted people, advocates and faith leaders with the Illinois Poor People's Campaign will travel to Capitol Hill June 19-21 to highlight poverty as an American death sentence and demand action to end murder ...
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SHOWBIZ Janelle Monae, 'The Last of Us,' Christine and the Queens, GALECA, Outfest
Queer singer/actress Janelle Monae released her newest album, The Age of Pleasure, via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records, per a press release. Executive-produced by Monae, Nate Wonder, Chuck Lightning and Sean "Diddy" Combs, the album includes such ...
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State Rep. Kelly Cassidy to attend White House panel on reproductive rights
--From a press release
CHICAGO — State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, will attend the White House's State Legislative Convening on Reproductive Rights tomorrow where she will join with other legislators from states as a panelist discussing protections for patients an ...
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Study: More than 70% of U.S. adults oppose using religion to discriminate against LGBTQ people
--From a press release
Large majorities of U.S. adults oppose denying medical care, employment, and business services to LGBTQ people based on religious beliefs, according to a new report from the Williams Institute ...
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Howard Brown Health's upcoming Lake View clinic to expand healthcare access
Howard Brown Health (Howard Brown) is preparing to open a new, larger and more holistic facility at 3501 N. Halsted St., two blocks south of Center on Halsted in Lake View, for this coming Fall. Organization ...
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Art-felt: Pearl Dick helps young victims of trauma with mentoring
Almost a decade ago, glass artist Pearl Dick and clinical psychologist Dr. Brad Stolbach co-founded Project FIRE (Fearless Initiative for Recovery and Empowerment), an arts program that provides victims of trauma the chance to heal through ...
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Fabrizzio Subia navigates loss and grief through art
When it comes to loss, Fabrizzio Subia may know more than most people. Having dealt with everything from familial loss to the erasure of his history, the Ecuadorian-American multidisciplinary artist (who has also done things like ...
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Ehrenfeld becomes first gay AMA president during Chicago event
On June 13, a truly historic inauguration took place at the annual American Medical Association (AMA) meeting of its House of Delegates as Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld became the first openly gay president in the history of ...
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VIEWPOINT For divorced parents, transgender children's health can present tricky dilemmas
Over the last few months, issues impacting individuals who identify as transgender and non-binary are getting a lot of attention in the media and among some politicians. Sadly, because it's become a political issue; a lot ...
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Iceland passes trans-inclusive conversion-therapy ban
In a landslide majority, Iceland's parliament, on June 9, passed a law banning so-called conversion therapy practices on the bases of sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity, PinkNews reported. The country joined Brazil, Canada, New ...
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NATIONAL La. bills, LGBTQ Southerners, gay-bar shooting, Maddow, Lemon, Grindr CEO
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a press release criticizing Louisiana legislators for advancing three discriminatory bills targeting LGBTQ+ youth. The Senate passed a Gender Affirming Care Ban (HB 648) ...
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