Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Equality Illinois PAC endorses pro-LGBTQ equality candidates for April 4
From a press release
2017-03-29

This article shared 484 times since Wed Mar 29, 2017
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


CHICAGO—Pro-equality office-holders are on the front lines of protecting the rights and improving opportunities of LGBTQ Illinoisans, which are the reasons why the Equality Illinois PAC ( EI PAC ) is endorsing candidates in significant school board and local government races for the April 4 election.

In two of the school board races, in Elgin-based District U-46 and Palatine-based District 211, the EI PAC-endorsed candidates are fighting opponents who are running on platforms to roll back the rights of transgender students.

"In our efforts to achieve justice and fairness for LGBTQ Illinoisans, we must engage in elections at local levels of government, especially school boards," said Nicole Bashor, chair of the EI PAC. "School boards are critical to adopting policies that ensure our schools are truly welcoming places for transgender students. The opponents of LGBTQ students know this, and that's why they're fighting against trans-affirming policies and candidates at board meetings and at the ballot box. The candidates endorsed today share our values of fairness, inclusion, and the freedom to be who you are without burdens or discrimination."

For the board of Elgin-based U-46, the EI PAC endorses Veronica Noland, Donna Smith, and Melissa Owens.

The EI PAC previously announced its endorsed candidates running for the Palatine-based Township High School District 211 board, Anna Klimkowicz, Robert LeFevre, and Edward Yung.

In Berwyn, the EI PAC is endorsing Deanna Durica and Julia McAleer-Forte for the Berwyn South School District 100 board and Brian Brock for the Berwyn Park District board.

The EI PAC has also endorsed Mark Tendam for Mayor of Evanston. Tendam, who is currently an alderman and is LGBTQ-identified, advanced from the primary to the runoff election.

Based in Elgin, U-46 is the second largest school district in the State of Illinois, serving nearly 40,000 students. Recently, after President Trump rescinded the federal education guidance, some members of the U-46 board attempted to strike the district's policy that affirms transgender students. However, a majority of the U-46 board upheld the current policy.

There are five candidates running for three seats in Elgin: incumbents Veronica Noland, Donna Smith, and Cody Holt and challengers Melissa Owens and Enoch Essendrop. EI PAC-endorsed candidates Noland, Smith, and Owens support the current trans-affirming policy. According to news reports, Holt and Essendrop are opposed to policies that affirm transgender students. In fact, Essendrop recently referred to transgender students as "troubled" and an "illegitimate minority group."

In Palatine-based Township High School District 211 board, EI PAC-endorsed candidates Anna Klimkowicz, Robert LeFevre, and Edward Yung are being challenged by a slate of candidates backed by Parents for Privacy, which seeks to repeal a district policy that affirms transgender students. Parents for Privacy is allied with the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based legal advocacy organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center recently called an anti-LGBTQ extremist organization.

In Berwyn, Deanna Durica is a current member of the BSSD 100 board. She supports the district's existing policy affirming the rights of transgender students and visited other school boards to advocate for them to adopt affirming policies. For its policy, BSSD 100 was named Ally of the Year by the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance in 2015.

Julia McAleer-Forte and Brian Brock identify as LGBTQ. In fact, if Brock and McAleer-Forte win their races next Tuesday, Berwyn will be represented by six LGBTQ-identified elected officials. LGBTQ-identified city clerk candidate Marge Paul and aldermanic candidates Scott Lennon, Jose Ramirez, and Jeanine Reardon were endorsed by the EI PAC when they won their primary elections on February 28. They are unopposed on April 4.

In Evanston, mayoral candidate Mark Tendam's leadership positions have allowed him to better advocate for marginalized groups and issues, including HIV/AIDS, spousal benefits for same-sex couples and an expansion of gender neutral restrooms,

"We know that representation is critical to both sharing our stories as LGBTQ people and to advancing initiatives that promote fairness and justice throughout our neighborhoods," said Brian C. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Equality Illinois. "Yet, of the thousands of elected offices in Illinois, less than 50 are held by LGBTQ-identified individuals. These candidates share our core values of fairness, equality, and inclusion. As we support and elect more LGBTQ people to public office in Illinois, we will make greater strides in building a better Illinois."

The EI PAC is the only statewide political entity dedicated to defending and securing the rights of LGBTQ Illinoisans through engagement in the electoral process. Endorsements are based on a candidate's record in office and responses submitted on the EI PAC's 2017 candidate survey. Read more about the EI PAC at eqilpac.org .

EQUALITY ILLINOIS 2017 LOCAL ELECTION ENDORSED CANDIDATES

For Berwyn Park District Board: Brian Brock

For Berwyn South School District 100: Deanna Durica and Julia McAleer-Forte

For Elgin-based U-46 School District: Veronica Noland, Melissa Owens, and Donna Smith

For Palatine-based Township High School District 211: Anna Klimkowicz, Robert LeFevre, and Edward Yung

For Evanston Mayor: Mark Tendam


This article shared 484 times since Wed Mar 29, 2017
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course 2024-03-18
- Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15
- In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood 2024-03-13
- LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77 2024-03-12
- On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner 2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit 2024-03-11
- On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 Precious Brady-Davis says climate change is top issue as she runs to finish appointed MWRD term 2024-03-08
- Precious Brady-Davis, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Brady-Davis was appointed to the role last summer ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 MWRD's Marcelino Garcia discusses flooding, land use and LGBTQ+ inclusion 2024-03-08
- Marcelina Garcia, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates in the running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Garcia, who chair's the MWRD's Finance ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle 2024-03-08
- Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries 2024-03-06
- From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...


Gay News

Illinois's first openly gay elected official voices support for Cunningham 2024-03-05
- Judge Thomas Chiola, who served in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1994-2009, has officially endorsed Justice Joy Cunningham for reelection to the Illinois Supreme Court. Chiola is the first gay man to be ...


Gay News

Sinema retiring from the U.S. Senate 2024-03-05
- Kyrsten Sinema—the bisexual U.S. senator from Arizona who recently switched from being a Democrat to an independent—announced that she will not run for re-election this year, ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy' 2024-03-01
- Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill 2024-02-29
- On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican McConnell to step down from leading U.S. Senate 2024-02-29
- U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will step down from Senate leadership in November, having served in that capacity longer than any senator in history, The Advocate noted. McConnell has been a senator since 1985 and has ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.