Illinois state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson was the recipient of the Chicago House Spirit Award and an impassioned standing ovation from guests at the sold-out 27th Annual Vivid 2014 Spring Brunch and Fashion Show fundraiser for the Chicago House held at Harold Washington Library's Winter Garden ballroom on May 4.
Honored for her work and such heartfelt support of the marriage-equality bill ( she left the Champaign hospice bedside of her late son in order to travel to Springfield to cast the deciding vote ), Jakobsson's award was presented by state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz. "I'd been waiting for decades to be able to press the green button on voting for marriage for my colleagues, my neighbors, my friends and everyone in this room," Feigenholtz said. "But the vote was very close. Naomi made a courageous and very difficult decision with her husband because they believed that what's important in life is not just what's going on at home, but the future."
"I'm truly honored and humbled," Jakobsson said. "It feels good to be able to say this, but for the very first time at the Chicago House Spring Brunch and Fashion Show, we can all celebrate and get ready for wedding season!"
Former Oprah Winfrey Show producer Sally Lou Loveman introduced fashion lines that included presentations by students of Columbia College Chicago's Fashion Studies program, Mira Couture, Monarch, Roam and Cram.
"This is a historic year for us," Chicago House CEO Stan J. Sloan told Windy City Times. "HIV may be getting more manageable, but LGBTQ poverty and economic disparity is on the rise. We are still focused on HIV but we are also about helping to bridge the LGBTQ economic gap."
Sloan added that Chicago House will be addressing LGBTQ poverty and homelessness across the board in the coming years. "If you're LGBTQ, you're almost twice as likely to live in poverty," Sloan said. "Thirty percent of LGBTQ people need food assistance on a monthly basis and that's just not OK. We can do a better job of taking care of each other and we're going to be focusing on that."
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