Election Guide ...

OUTLINES' voter guide was prepared by Trudy Ring and Shamara Riley from a variety of sources, including OUTLINES/BLACKLINES' surveys, Project Vote Smart, Human Rights Campaign, Log Cabin Republicans, Republicans for Individual Freedom, NAACP, League of Women Voters voter guide, Illinois Federation for Human Rights, IMPACT and other organizations that make political endorsements.

Endorsing groups cited in the guide are:

The Committee Black gay political action committee, (773) 404-9619.

Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, seeks to elect qualified gay and lesbian candidates nationwide, (202)VICTORY

Human Rights Campaign, national gay/lesbian rights organization, (202) 628-4160

Illinois Federation for Human Rights Political Action Committee, state gay/lesbian rights PAC, (773) 477-7173

IMPACT, Illinois gay and lesbian PAC, (773) 528-5868

Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization, rates candidates on variety of progressive issues, (312) 236-5105

Log Cabin Republicans, gay/lesbian Republicans, Chicago chapter, (773) 248-1384; national office, (202) 347-5306

National Organization for Women, Chicago chapter; (312) 578-9351; Illinois PAC, (217) 528-2077; national office (202) 331-0066

North Lakeshore Gay and Lesbian Community Organization, c/o Conn's Catering, 4753 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640. Their endorsements came in late: Clinton for President, Durbin for Senate, Yates and Blagojevich for U.S. House, and for state legislature, Arthur Berman, Carol Ronen and Larry McKeon.

Personal PAC, state pro-choice PAC, (312) 422-0005

Bar associations: Chicago Bar Association, (312) 554-2000; Chicago Council of Lawyers, (312) 427-0710; Cook County Bar Association, (312) 630-1157; Illinois State Bar Association, (312) 726-8775; Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, (773) 404-9574; Women's Bar Association of Illinois, (312) 341-8530.

OUTLINES does not make endorsements. Instead, we seek to provide information to help voters make informed decisions. We seek to highlight candidates' positions on lesbigay issues and others that we believe to be of interest to our readers, including women's concerns and racial issues.