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March 11-17, 2010

PROMOTER FILES LAWSUIT
AGAINST SPIN OWNER AND MANAGER

Written by Amy Wooten

CHICAGO – A&C Productions, the party promoting company that started the recent boycott against Spin Nightclub, is suing the bar for breach of contract.

A&C Productions’ Andrea Cruzatti and Maria Christina Wiesmore filed a lawsuit against Spin owner David Gassman and general manager Robert Hoffman. The case was filed in Cook County Circuit Court March 5.

The dispute began after a Feb. 20 Kid Sister event held at Spin and organized by A&C Productions. Cruzatti and Wiesmore, backed by a few other local party promoters, began a boycott of the bar after the fallout. A “BOYCOTT SPIN!!!” Facebook page now boasts close to 550 members.

While comments made on the Facebook page and to various blogs indicated that A&C Productions started the boycott because they felt Spin management is allegedly sexist and racist, the lawsuit does not mention these concerns.

According to the lawsuit, Spin’s management allegedly breached their contract with A&C Productions by supposedly refusing to pay Wiesmore and Cruzatti the amount they were owed and allegedly lowering the door cover charge for two hours during the Kid Sister event. Cruzatti and Wiesmore also claim that their reputations were damaged by other breaches of the contract, specifically in regards to the agreement’s advertisement and “meet and greet” terms.

A&C Productions seeks damages for breaching the contract, damage to their reputations and attorney’s fees.

The two women are being represented by attorney Nicole Basher of McCracken & Frank LLP.

Editor’s Note: Here is a copy of the 40-page complaint filed with the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Manhunt billboard
comes down in wrigleyville

Written by Gary Barlow

CHICAGO – A billboard advertising a popular gay Internet personals and chat site, Manhunt.net, was taken down March 5 after complaints from neighbors in Wrigleyville.

The billboard was on the side of a building in the 3600 block of North Clark Street, just across the street from Wrigley Field. It featured a male model in briefs.

Bennett Lawson, deputy alderman in Ald. Tom Tunney’s (44th) office, said the ad provoked a handful of complaints.

“We did get some calls from some people,” Lawson said, describing the billboard as “maybe a little racy for some people.”

“It wasn’t too big a deal,” Lawson added.

An executive with Van Wagner, the outdoor advertising company that sells ads for the billboard space, wouldn’t confirm getting complaints about the ad, saying the ad was taken down because the contract for it ended.

He also wouldn’t discuss whether or not the billboard would be placed anywhere else in Chicago.

Officials with Manhunt, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., did not return calls seeking comment. It’s not the first time, though, that the company has used billboards in Chicago. A large Manhunt billboard ran for a time several years ago on top of a building at Broadway and Sheridan Road, just a block north of the intersection of Broadway and Halsted.

A posting on the company’s website also mentions that a recent Manhunt billboard in Los Angeles provoked a few complaints. On Dec. 3, a company official responded to those complaints, stating, “For the record, we worked within strict guidelines to keep the billboard’s design PG-rated.”

He added, “Be sure to look out for our next billboard design, which will soon be unveiled in Chicago!”

CHicago History museum
features latino arts & activism

Written by Amy Wooten

CHICAGO – Those working to highlight the contributions Latinos have made to Chicago’s GLBT community say there is a long way to go before this segment of the community is fully accepted and recognized.

Chicago History Museum’s March 4 OUT at CHM presentation, “Queer Latinos: Art and Change,” explored the contributions made by local Latino activists and artists, from the organizing done by Amigas Latinas to the work created by local authors and podcasters.

Several participants in the evening’s program highlighted the need for the OUT at CHM event. After all, the contributions of queer Latinos are often overlooked. Moderator and Northwestern professor Ramon Rivera-Servera said that the accounts of GLBT history “hardly ever” recognize Latino activism, especially work done in the Midwest.

Presenters Lourdes Torres and Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes are at the forefront of documenting Latino GLBT activists and artists.

Torres, a DePaul professor and author, presented her research of two Chicago Latina lesbian organizations, Llena and Amigas Latinas. Torres said her work with Amigas Latinas over the past 10 years inspired her to document that history, especially because many accounts of Chicago’s GLBT history – even recent ones – overlook the work done by Latina lesbians.

Torres explored the history of the now defunct Llena, as well as Amigas Latinas, to discover their work and identify these organizations as an important part of queer history.

During her presentation, Torres explained the organization’s successes and the barriers they faced. For example, Llena, which started in 1988 and disbanded in 1992, started in the ‘80s, when there were no welcoming spaces for Latina lesbians. The group first met at Horizons, now known as Center on Halsted. After some time, the group found a space in their own neighborhood, because “members started to feel uncomfortable at Horizons,” Torres explained. If members showed up early, white, male Horizon employees would force them to wait outside in the cold and were rude to them, she added. Later, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center welcomed Llena. This was an early push for a lesbian presence in a largely heterosexual space. Later efforts included the creation of an annual, inclusive women’s dance.

While Llena eventually disbanded, Amigas Latinas, which began in 1995, built upon Llena’s expansive vision. “It clearly made its mark and paved the way for Amigas Latinas in the mid-‘90s,” Torres said.

With the ’90s came a more welcoming climate. The ’90s saw the birth of several organizations for women of color, such as Affinity and Women of All Colors/Cultures Together (WACT). But while many groups began during this time period, Amigas Latinas is one of the few Latina organizations in the U.S. to sustain itself over a decade. This success, Torres explained, in part because the organization is willing to meet the changing needs of the community it serves. For example, despite some opposition, Amigas Latinas created transgender programming and events.

They developed into a non-profit by “responding to a changing reality and needs of the community,” Torres added.

Like Torres, Fountain-Stokes’ work revolves around the important contributions made by queer Latinos. His research focuses on the roles played by GLBT Latino artists, such as author Achy Obejas, film director Rose Troche and Feast of Fun podcaster Fausto Fernos.

While there are many individuals who have made artistic contributions to the GLBT community, not all of their efforts are recognized, Fountain-Stokes explained. For example, Troche directed the 1994 independent lesbian film “Go Fish.” The movie was a wild success, but the recognition Troche received by the mainstream gay community came at a price. Fountain-Stokes explained that in discussions of the film and interviews with Troche, her Puerto Rican heritage was often overlooked.

“Rose Troche’s Puerto Rican-ness is often not acknowledged,” Fountain-Stokes said. Some of this is partially because people are unaware that one of the film’s main characters is Puerto Rican or that the Chicago neighborhood the film is set in—Wicker Park—was home to a multicultural lesbian community in the mid-‘90s. However, while the film isn’t easily seen as Latina, it is still important to document, he said.

During a Q&A segment, one participant asked if visibility is still a large barrier for Latino organizations. According to both Torres and Fountain-Stokes, unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to do in this area.

“We still have to make more of a presence and insist on our acceptance in the community,” Torres said.

DILLARD CONCEDES TO
BRADY IN GOP GOVERNOR’S RACE

Written and compiled by Gary Barlow

CHICAGO – State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) conceded the Republican nomination for governor to state Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) March 5 after the Illinois State Board of Elections declared that Brady beat Dillard by a scant 193 votes in the Feb. 2 primary election.

“It was a hard-fought race, and it was close, less than .0002 of a percent,” Dillard said. “I will help Sen. Brady in any way I can to ensure the Republican Party wins back the governor’s office in November.”

Brady moves on to face Gov. Pat Quinn (D) in the November general election.

The Board of Elections and county election officials spent a month counting provisional and absentee ballots to get to a final count. That count cut Brady’s election night lead by more than half, but Dillard had said he wouldn’t seek a recount unless the final tally left him within 100 votes or less. A recount would have cost Dillard about $1 million.

The final count was 155,527 votes for Brady and 155,334 for Dillard, who noted that was “a little less than two votes per county.”

Brady is a staunch conservative on social issues and has been a strong opponent of abortion rights and LGBT rights in the Illinois Legislature.

Earlier this year, he sponsored a bill proposing to amend the Illinois Constitution to ban marriage and civil unions for gays and lesbians, as well as a measure that would allow many employers to refuse to hire LGBTs, exempting them from the Illinois Human Rights Act.

WINE TASTING AND BOOK
SALE BENEFITS GERBER/HART

CHICAGO – Gerber/Hart Library will celebrate the coming of spring with a “Welcome Spring” wine tasting on Saturday, March 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. at KAFKA Wine Co., 3325 N. Halsted. Tickets are $20, and are available through PayPal on the Gerber/Hart web site, www.gerberhart.org, by calling Gerber/Hart at 773-381-8030 or by stopping by the library at 1127 W. Granville. Gerber/Hart Library will also hold its “March Madness” book sale The sale will take place from Friday, March 19 through Sunday, March 28. New donations of books, both LGBT and non-LGBT, CDs, DVDs, videotapes, audiocassettes and records will be accepted throughout the sale. Gerber/Hart is also looking for people to help set up the sale. For more information, call Gerber/Hart at 773-381-8030 or visit www.gerberhart.org.

BEHIV PARTNERS WITH CDPH
FOR CAREVAN EVENT

CHICAGO – Better Existence with HIV (BEHIV) joins forces with the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) for a CareVan event at BEHIV’s office, 1244 W. Thorndale. The van will be at BEHIV from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. on Monday, March 22. The Chicago CareVan program, a joint public/private partnership of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois and CDPH, provides free immunizations to people at health fares, senior citizen centers, churches and social service organizations. The CareVan program focuses on immunizations for illnesses such as influenza (including H1N1), diphtheria/tetanus, polio, bacterial meningitis, measles/mumps/rubella and hepatitis B. For more information, contact Eric Nelson at 773-293-4740, ext. 35.