Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez was in a festive mood June 14 as she celebrated her 2nd Annual Pride Celebration and Awards Ceremony at the Center on Halsted.
The awards ceremony honored LGBT trailblazers Circuit Court of Cook County Judge Patricia Logue and Chicago House CEO the Rev. Stan Sloan with the State's Attorney's Pride Awards. The Chicago Spirit Brigade kicked things off with a high-spirited routine. WGN reporter Dean Richards introduced Alvarez to a full house at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre. During her presentation Alvarez said she had told her staff that she would not rent any floats for any other parade but the Pride Parade in June.
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Logue described her tenure at Lambda as very fulfilling, as it has given the LGBT community the legal rights "to be out, to be safe in school, to serve our country, to be intimate without intrusion, to have secure parent child relationships, to keep jobs after testing positive, to be protected by civil rights laws and not have those laws repealed and much more," Logue co-founded Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office in 1993 and has been a litigator in a number of cases that have set positive precedents for the LGBT community.
Sloan said he was humbled by sharing the award with Logue, who is his personal "hero," but also stressed the importance of employment opportunities for those living with HIV/AIDS. "Our [ Chicago House ] real emphasis is employment, employment, employment. Let's help create some flow to the system where people can graduate out of case management, where they can graduate out of our housing, and help create some slots for people who are newly diagnosed and most in need," said Sloan. He also publicly acknowledged longtime activist Vernita Gray, who was in the audience and was honored at last year's ceremony.
Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago President John Litchfield accepted and awarded Loyola student Padraig McCoid with the LGBT Pride Celebration Scholarship. McCoid will be doing an externship for the state's attorney's office in the fall.
The cocktail receptionwhich included a blue raspberry lemonade cocktail called the "Anita-Tini"featured a live jazz band, cocktails and heavy appetizers. Alvarez's LGBT advisory council organized the entire event while Walgreens Co. sponsored it. Photos by Kat Fitzgerald ( www.mysticimagesphotography.com )