There were several bittersweet moments for Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez as, alongside the LGBT Advisory Council, she hosted the 7th Annual Pride Celebration and Awards Ceremony at the Center on Halsted June 14.
The awards, which Alvarez initiated, would be the last in her role as Cook County state's attorney following her defeat to Kim Foxx in the March 15 Illinois Democratic primary elections.
The ceremony also came on the heels of the devastating June 12 attack on the Pulse nightclub at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead.
"I think President Obama said it best when he described it as 'a crime of terror and a crime of hate,' and I truly share that sentiment," Alvarez said in her opening remarks. "Several times, over the past few days, I have shuddered to think that this type of violence, which has become all too common in our world, can so easily happen here in our own community."
"Unless we find the courage to change, one day it could be that I or someone I know or love is among the names of the dead in a future rampage," Alvarez added. "I refuse to believe that the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution was ever intended to allow free access to weapons that only have a place on a battlefield."
Despite the somber reflection of the evening, there was hope to be found as Alvarez and the event's master of ceremoniesaward-winning CBS Chicago reporter Brad A. Edwardshonored three members of the community who, according to Alvarez, "have made significant contributions to the cause of fairness, equality and justice for all. "
"The individuals that we are honoring today are some of the best, brightest, most inspiring and dedicated people we have spent a great deal of their time and talent to make our city, county, state, nation and world a much better place for all of us," Alvarez stated.
The two recipients of the Pride Community Service Awards were ESPN Editor and transgender activist Christina Kahrl and Sittercity Incorporated Vice President of Corporate Strategy and General Counsel Jeremy H. Gottschalk.
Kahrla 2014 inductee into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Famewas honored for a litany of selfless achievements including her voluntary work with the Department of Justice and the State of Illinois educating and training law enforcement personnel on transgender issues and her efforts which led to a Chicago Police Department ( CPD ) General Order establishing policies for "interactions with transgender, intersex and gender nonconforming individuals."
In accepting the award, Kahrl described herself as an "accidental activist."
"In all of the issues, I got sucked in the way that I think all trans people do," she said. "You end up having to become your own advocate who fights the battles not just for yourself but for those of us in our community who don't have the power to fight [them]."
Kahrl noted that she became involved in police issues and social justice "In part because I had two friends murdered when I was living in Washington D.C. who I think about every single day."
"They were murdered for no other reason than they are transgender," Kahrl said. "From my perspective, anything I can do to help my brothers and sisters in community who don't have the benefits that I have, I see that as paying it forward to make sure they don't have to deal with negative situations."
Gottschalk was awarded for his work with the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago ( LAGBAC ) as well as his founding of the annual fundraiser Lawyers for Diversity which "has contributed over $500,000 for several local organizations including the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Center on Halsted and PFLAG."
"For many of us, we view service as simply our responsibility to our community," Gottschalk said. "For me, it's where I derive such a big part of my identity and my value. If any one of us is sitting here today not thinking about what we can do to change the current narrative, then Orlando was in vain. Each and every one of us has a voice, a skill and each of every one of us can make a difference and we must. To sit on the sidelines with what we are facing at this time in our history threatens our community to its core."
One significant individual who made a difference was the late cherished community activist Vernita Gray.
Receiving the Vernita Gray Lifetime Achievement Award was speaker, published author and Clark Hill attorney Ray J. Koenig III.
In honoring Koenig, Alvarez described him as "a legal and community activist who has been called 'a fierce advocate for the LGBT community.' As an advocate, his dedication and unwavering commitment to the LGBT community is well established."
A surprised Koenig recalled Gray in his remarks.
"I was honored to know Vernita," he said. "She was somebody who just experienced more adversity than I could ever imagine. She fought for the rest of us, until she died, for marriage. With everything that happened in Orlando and the slaughter of our brothers and sisters I can imagine her saying 'we'll fight, we'll win.'"
Alongside Sidetrack co-owner and famed activist Art Johnston, Koenig then turned around and surprised Alvarez with her own award.
"I have had the honor and the duty of working with every state's attorney since Richard Daley before he was mayor," Johnston said. "The LGBT community has been under attack for as long as I can remember in one form or another."
He described Alvarez as "one of the reasons that we have this safe place in the city of Chicago. On a day-to-day basis, LGBTQ people were treated fairly in the office of the State's Attorney. Let's all try to hold the State's Attorney's office in the future to the high standards that Anita has set."
In accepting the award, an emotional Alvarez said that "it has been a true honor to serve in this office for all the years that I have and a really true honor to be a part of this community and to get to know so many of the fighters who have opened so many doors for young LGBTQ members. I'm very proud of the work that we've done."
John Marshall Law School student Nicholas A. Ventola received the LGBT Pride Celebration Scholarship.