By a two-thirds margin, the 600 delegates who represent Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members in their House of Delegates recently voted for the entire union to boycott payroll donations to the Chicago United Way in protest against that agency's support of the anti-gay Boy Scouts of America (BSA). This important action is due primarily to the activism of the union's Lesbian and Gay Caucus, which succeeded in putting the 30,000 strong public employee union squarely behind the campaign to rid the Scouts of discrimination.

Last spring CABN and another GLBT delegation initiated a series of meetings and phone conversations with the Chicago United Way in an attempt to persuade them to cease funding the Boy Scouts until the Scouts rescinded their bigoted policies against gays and atheists. Nonetheless, the Chicago United Way decided last May to continue to fund the Scouts. In fact the Scouts recently hardened their stance as they wrote the policy into the minutes of a national board meeting when they also refused to allow local BSA Councils such as the one in Chicago to adopt inclusionary policies.

In March CABN met with the CTU Lesbian and Gay Caucus to screen "Scout's Honor," which tells the story of Steve Cozza's campaign to end discrimination in his beloved Boy Scouts of America. The caucus took things from there. Tina Beacock is a delegate to the union's House of Delegates and chair of the union's Lesbian and Gay Caucus (and a CABN member). At a Delegates meeting she spoke convincingly in support of the resolution, and despite some opposition from the floor, it passed with substantial support of the leadership and well as the delegates. Great work Tina!

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The 85% Coalition, our downstate allies in direct action, recently hung a banner from the gallery of the Illinois Senate demanding that Senate President James "Pate" Phillip stop blocking consideration of HB 101. This is the number of the House bill which would extend job, housing, public accommodations and lending protections to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people.

Phase two of the campaign to get Phillip to budge is to send him a message to his office demanding that he support equal rights for all people in Illinois.

Why are we targeting Pate? He is the Senate President. He opposes HB 101. If he supported it, most if not all of the Republicans on the Senate Executive Committee (where HB 101 is stalled) would support it, and it would move on to the full Senate where it would pass. The reason the sponsor of HB 101 didn't allow the bill to be voted on was because it doesn't have the support it needs to get out of Committee. Why doesn't if have the support? Because Pate opposes it

Contact Pate Phillip before May 17 at one of his offices or send an email to the Senate Republican Caucus, and mark it to his attention. A phone call or faxed letter would be best.

Addison, IL office:
Phone: 630/941-0094
Fax: 630/832-2356

Springfield office:
Phone: 217/782-8194
Fax: 217/782-7818

email: SenateGOP@senategop.state.il.us
[mark to attention of "Pate" Phillip, Senate President]

…and while you're at it, use the same address to e-mail the other Republican members of the Executive Committee: Kirk Dillard, Walter Dudycz, Doris Karpiel, Dick Klemm, Edward Petka, Frank Watson and Stanley Weaver.

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Community Members Interested in Adding Gender-Identity Protections to the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance and the Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance Are Urged to Attend!

Sponsored by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, Chicago Department of Public Health, It's Time, Illinois!, and Transgenesis

Ann Sather Restaurant
929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 23

A forum highlighting discrimination and violence based on actual or perceived sexual and gender nonconformity will be held at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 23 at Ann Sather's Restaurant, 929 W. Belmont Ave., 2nd floor (wheelchair accessible). It's Time, Illinois! will release its sixth report on discrimination and hate crimes against gender-variant people in Illinois. Victims of recent hate crimes will discuss their experiences.

The presentation will include a report on current efforts to add gender-identity protections to the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance and the Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance. The process for introducing and passing legislation in the city council will be discussed. Those interested in helping gain passage of the amendment are urged to attend.

The forum is sponsored and organized by The Advocacy Committee of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues (ACGLI), the Chicago Department of Public Health Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Health, It's Time, Illinois!, and Transgenesis.

It's Time, Illinois! is the state's leading political action and public advocacy organization for the gender variant and transgender community. It began collecting information in 1995 about discrimination against gender-variant men and women. Since that time, it has documented nearly 100 cases of violence and other discriminatory acts. In these cases, persons were made - either through violence or through the denial of employment, housing, or public accommodations - to feel like second-class citizens merely because their lives or appearance did not conform to traditional expectations for gender.

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CABN Calendar

Friday, May 17 -- Help thank Crossroads for their generous donation to CABN! Attend THEIR benefit at the Hothouse, 31 E. Balboa, 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20-150.

Thursday, May 23 - LGBTQ Community Forum: Gender Identity Discrimination and Proposed Amendment to the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance. 6:30 p.m., Ann Sather's Restaurant, 929 W. Belmont Ave., 2nd floor (see notice above).

Friday, May 24 -- Monthly CABN show on Chicago Access Network TV (CAN-TV). 6:30-6:55 p.m., Cable Channel 21 in Chicago.

Wednesday, June 5 -- Monthly CABN meeting at Ann Sather's Restaurant, 929 W. Belmont, 2nd floor (wheelchair accessible).

Sunday, June 30 - Chicago Gay Pride Parade. Join the CABN solidarity contingent! Call 888.471.0874 for more information.

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"Formed in response to three September '98 anti-gay bashings in the "Boy's Town" neighborhood… [we] respond to all serious hate crimes, no matter which scapegoated group is targeted. We will actively seek out and work with individuals and organizations in other communities to assist them in responding to hate crimes which target them. Only by the active involvement of grass roots people from all communities can we isolate the bigots and thus lessen hate crimes." -- from the CABN founding statement
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