Lake View: The problem is...

by Rev. Deborah E. Lake
Windy City Times

Laura Washington's May 19 Chicago Sun-Times article and Amy Wooten's May 28 follow-up article in Windy City Times have sparked new energy in an ongoing debate between the business owners and residents of Chicago's Lakeview Boystown neighborhood, and some adult Black LGBTQ self-identified youth advocates. The debate, often heated, passionate and littered with accusations of racism, is over how to handle the teens who come to the gay-focused Boystown from the South and West sides of Chicago.

Yes, we have choices to make. We can continue to honor taboos, look for blame, act out of guilt and treat one another with suspicion. We can continue to see each other as “those” people, and continue to argue about who has the right to make change happen. We can continue the fight about change all while another year passes and the only change we see is in the faces of the people arguing. Another year passes and the only change that happens is more young people are lost to HIV, addiction or abuse.

The problem is not race, although race is part of the picture. The problem is not age, although age is part of the picture. The problem is not grandstanding, although grandstanding is part of the picture. The problem is us. The problem is our community has become stuck in ancient battles, old ways, and irrelevant rhetoric. The problem is we are silent in the face of people who prey on the innocent and hide in the chaos. The problem is me. The problem is you.

This means that the solution must be us.

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39 years of Pride, Chicago Pride 2008, June 28th

The Chicago Gay Pride Parade is held on the last Sunday of June in Chicago, Illinois.

This year it falls on June 29th. This year will celebrate the 39th annual Pride Parade.

The Chicago PrideFest happens the preceeding day, June 28th.

For parade maps, tips and photos visit the Chicago Pride Website.

Forum focuses on LGBTs and immigration

by Amy Wooten
Windy City Times

During the week of the large immigration march downtown, members of the community gathered at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, to discuss the many ways LGBT and immigration issues intersect.

At the April 30 Immigration at the Margins conference, members of various aspects of the LGBT community touched on just a small number of ways immigration issues impact the LGBT community, from corner day workers and sex workers to domestic violence.

“A lot of us are part of many worlds—queer, immigrants and more,” said community activist and Windy City Times writer Yasmin Nair. “A lot of us have to deal with immigration.”

During a two-hour discussion, conference participants tried to shed light on issues complicated by immigration issues.

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Chicago police abuse

Three women claimed Thursday in a federal lawsuit that an off-duty Chicago police officer roughed them up and called them names because of their sexual orientation after this year's gay pride parade.

The lawsuit could become the latest black eye for the Chicago Police Department, which has faced tough questions lately about the actions of off-duty officers, among other problems.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit filed on behalf of Kelly Fuery, 36, Debra Sciortino, 32, and Nicole Tomaskovic, 25, were the police department, officer William Szura and two state troopers.

According to the lawsuit, a vehicle driven by Fuery came upon a car moving at 30 mph on Interstate 55 after the June 24 parade. Fuery beeped her horn, and Szura responded by slamming on his brakes, speeding up and switching lanes, making it impossible for Fuery to pass, the lawsuit said.

Fuery was forced to the shoulder, where Szura screamed words such as "dyke" and spit at her, according to the lawsuit. The women claim he stuck a gun in Fuery's abdomen, "causing her to fear for her life."

When Sciortino tried to step in, Szura shoved her, and she fell, the lawsuit said. When Tomaskovic drove up in another car and tried to help, Szura placed her in a chokehold, according to the suit.

In other Chicago police troubles, six members of an elite unit are accused of using their badges to shake down residents and intimidate people. One of those six was accused Wednesday of considering hiring gang members to kill a former colleague and potential witness against him.

In July, three off-duty officers pleaded not guilty to beating four businessmen in a bar in one of two videotaped confrontations that helped ramp up criticism of the department.

In the other case, an off-duty officer was caught on tape apparently beating a female bartender. The officer has pleaded not guilty.