Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov, who announced in January that he would be stepping down from his post, told Windy City Times that his last day on the job will be March 31, and he will next head up operations for a new-to-Chicago children's relief organization.
Cherkasov will become executive director for the national organization Cradles to Crayons, which provides essentials, such as clothing and school supplies, to children in need.
"It means so much to me to be a part of this organization, because, when I was a kid, my brother and I were on the receiving end of those kinds of services," he said, adding that he would be helping to build a Chicago presence for the organization, which has so far been active mainly in Boston and Philadelphia. Cherkasov added that childhood poverty is an issue about which he has long been "passionate."
He previously worked as an attorney and entered his Equality Illinois post in 2009. Cherkasov was at the organization's helm during the state's protracted battle for marriage equality, as well as during pushes to ban anti-gay conversion therapy and guard against school bullying. Equality Illinois recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and also opened a satellite office in Springfield as a base for its Central Illinois operations last year. The board of directors has not yet publicly named Cherkasov's successor.
"It's a little bit sad," Cherkasov said. "Having been part of this organization, loving nearly every part of my work for the last seven years, and to now know that I have just a few days left. But I feel great about the last seven years and the position that the agency is in, and I look forward to seeing what Equality Illinois is going to achieve next."
