Gay Chicago Rewind received an email from Marge Summitt, who used to own Ms. and also His ‘n' Hers bar. Marge asked if anyone remembers a lesbian bar called Lill's at 99th and Southwest Hwy. back in the 1950s. The front of the bar was straight and there was a side entrance where the lesbians hung out. Marge said Lil was a big dyke who passed the lesbians off as her baseball team. "Only we couldn't dance," writes Marge, "This goes back to the early ‘50's."

Gay life in Chicago this week, back in...

1985

After deciding to run for reelection, former Mayor Jane Byrne holds a benefit for her campaign at gay bar, Teddies, 3160 N. Clark St. Also this week, Byrne makes another gay bar appearance at Paradise, 2848 N. Broadway, drawing the winning raffle ticket at a benefit for Howard Brown Memorial Clinic's Strike Against AIDS.

(Image: A Midsummer Nights Dream – Gay Life August 29, 1975)

Mayor Harold Washington appears at an awards dinner at Ann Sather's sponsored by the Independent Voters of Illinois/Independent Precinct Organization (IVI/IPO) gay and lesbian caucus. The first annual Glynn O. Sudbery Awards honors Illinois Gay and Lesbian Task Force co-chair Al Wardell, former State Rep. Susan Catania, and Unabridged Bookstore owners Tom Norton and Ed Devereaux.

Lesbian feminist author Audre Lorde and Barbara Smith, co-founder of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, read their work at a benefit for the National Coalition of Black Gays, held at Women and Children First bookstore, 1967 N. Halsted.

This week sees the Grand Opening of a new gay bar, the Showcase One, 959 W. Belmont. The manager in the piano lounge is Todd Dayton, and the general manager in the dance bar is Scott Resch.

1988

A Gray Pride Workshop entitled "Retrospective on Gay and Lesbian History" takes place at the White Crane Senior Center, 906 W. Belmont, lead by George Buse and Angela Van Patten.

The Top Five Bestsellers at Unabridged Bookstore, 3251 N. Broadway, are:

Fiction: 1) "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" by Michael Chabon; 2) "The Beautiful Room Is Empty" by Edmund White; 3) "The Darker Proof" by Adam Mars-Jones and Edmund White; 4) "The Closet Hanging" by Tony Fennelly; 5) "Golden Boy" by Michael Nava.

Non-Fiction: "Capote: A Biography" by Gerald Clarke; 2) "The Orton Diaries" edited by John Lahr; 3) "Gay Spirit" by Mark Sampson; 4) "The David Kopay Story" by David Kopay and Perry Deane Young; 5) "Someone Was Here" by George Whitmore.

(Image: The North End – Gay Chicago December 3, 1987)

In the clubs and bars this week, Roscoe's, 3354-56 N. Halsted, celebrates their one-year anniversary weekend with Watney's pints and Margarita Mugs; the Weather Girls – "Get the Feeling" and "It's Raining Men" – perform at Carol's Speakeasy, 1355 N. Wells; there's a Wet Jockey Shorts Contest at Cheeks, 2730 N. Clark St.; and another special BENT event at Limelight, 632 N. Dearborn, is the ProAthlon male swimsuit fashion show;

The Kupona Network, a Black AIDS organization, holds a dinner and fashion show fundraiser to benefit People With AIDS/ARC at 1510 W. 95th Street.

Ann Sather's restaurant helps "Bring the Quilt to Life" with an evening of community involvement and entertainment. Event benefits the NAMES Project, Chicago Chapter.

Dignity/Chicago celebrates its 16th anniversary with a dinner at Ann Sather's, 929 W. Belmont. Tickets are $15 for members, $18 for non-members.

A benefit for Stop AIDS Chicago takes place at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in the Blackstone Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave. The show is hosted by Dick Buckley, Chicago's jazz anchor on WBEZm and presents contemporary jazz talents of Howard Levy, Continuum, and the Kelly Brand Quintet featuring Ron Dewar and Suzanne Palmer.

2000

"Images of IML" an exhibit of photographs by Rick Aguilar, opens at Buddies, 3301 N. Clark St.

CORPS: Coalition of Rainbow Pagans holds a Full Moon Ritual at 2nd Unitarian, 656 W. Barry.

Some of the DJs and VJs around town include DJ Lulu and DJ Pablo at Circuit, 3641 N. Halsted; DJ Jim Lewis at Hunters, 1932 E. Higgins Rd., Elk Grove; VJ Diane DeVille at Inn Exile, 5758 W. 65th; DJ Xaavier at Manhole, 3458 N. Halsted; DJ/VJ Ozz-E at Mashed Potato Club (Address unknown); VJ Bobby, DJ Kevy-B and DJ jungle Jorge at Roscoe's, 3354-56 N. Halsted; DJ Freddie Bain and VJ Steve Warren at Spin, Belmont and Halsted; DJ Michael Serafini at Berlin, 954 W. Belmont; and DJ Anthony Christian at Madrigals, 5316 N. Clark.

(Image: Madrigals – Gay Chicago July 17, 1998)

ACLU of Illinois Gay and Lesbian Rights Project's annual John R. Hammell Awards Brunch honors Rev. Gregory Dell (suspended from Broadway United Methodist Church for performing a same-sex union ceremony), Terri Hemmert of WXRT, and Women and Children First Bookstore. The event is held at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson and includes a silent auction.

The AIDS Pastoral Care Network holds "Honoring and Remembering: An Interfaith Assembly" at the lakefront totem pole at Addison and Lake Shore Drive. The event coincides with the 17th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial.

Stephen Rader brings his new show "Weird, Sexy & Dangerous" to Davenports piano bar and cabaret, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Thanks go to publishers Michael Bergeron for Chicago Gay Crusader, Ralph Gernhardt for Gay Chicago, Grant Ford and Chuck Renslow for Gay Life and Tracy Baim for all the publications at the Windy City Media Group, which aided the above research. St. Sukie de la Croix is an internationally published reporter, playwright, photographer and historian. He is also the author of the upcoming book Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall published by the University of Wisconsin Press.

Homework

Does anyone know the address of the Mashed Potato Club?

Did anyone ever go to Showcase One?

I heard the demise of Buddies was controversial. Dish the dirt.