November 3-9, 2016

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

1982

An article in the Chicago Tribune reads:

"A 24-year-old street gang member has been charged with fatally shooting one man and wounding another on Oct. 24 after he became angered when he saw two men walking out of a tavern that caters to homosexuals. Charged with murder and aggravated battery is Jose 'Insane' Perez, who told police he 'hates' homosexuals because his two younger brothers are gay. He also explained that he was angered because the tavern, where he first saw the victims, had been painted black and gray, the colors of his gang. Police arrested Perez Saturday in the playground of the Le Moyne Elementary School, 835 W. Waveland Ave."

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IMAGE: Dancing Queen at Neo – Gay Chicago October 31, 1991

Activist, lesbian literary researcher, Marie Kuda, presents a slide show and lecture, "From Boston Marriage to the Tell-All Seventies–100 Years of the Lesbian in Biography and Autobiography" at Booklovers & Co. Bookstore, 8 Burlington Ave., in Westmont, Illinois.

1992

In the bars and clubs, the Human Bar Fly-Velcro Wall Jumping Competition with $100 in cash prizes!!! is at Vortex, 3631 N. Halsted;

Fast Track Drag welcomes newcomers and pros to L.A. Connection, 3700 N. Halsted; it's Two Steppin' every Friday at Berlin, 954 W. Belmont. Dance lessons 7 p.m. sharp. Open country dancing 8-11 p.m.; Morrison/Muzzillo perform at Gentry, 712 N. Rush St.; see the new Liza Minnelli video and hear the new album at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted; a Golden Anniversary, it's Sophie's 50^th Birthday Celebration at the Lucky Horseshoe Lounge, 3169 N. Halsted St.; it's the Grand Opening of Bugle Boy, a cabaret at 3320 N. Halsted. Suzi Petri, the mental dish herself, with Fred Marlman at the keyboard will perform Friday and Saturday, November 6^th and 7^th from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Singing European and American cabaret at its best. Tunes by the likes of Edith Piaf, Patsy Cline, Marlene Dietrich and James Brown.

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Armistead Maupin, author of the "Tales of the City" series appears at Unabridged Bookstore to promote his non-Tales book, "Maybe the Moon."

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Obituary in Gay Chicago begins:

"Dale Wray Eaton, 32, died peacefully on Monday, September 28, of complications due to AIDS.

"Mr. Eaton was born in Joliet, Illinois, on May 8, 1960, and was a resident of Chicago for the past 10 years.

"He was active as an actor/director at Loyola University where he earned a B.A. in 1985.

"Mr. Eaton was also a member of the Chicago theatre community participating in every aspect of theatre, from choreography to set design.

"He is well known and respected member of the gay community, where he participated on the MSA bowling league, as well as working at Bistro Too and His 'n' Hers. He worked hard and played hard!"

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IMAGE: Meet Me at Bulldog Road – Gay Chicago June 26, 1986

An article in Gay Chicago begins:

"After years of waiting for a hearing before a Military Corrections Board, Todd Sears, Private First Class (PFC) of Illinois, will have his case heard before that board. He will go to Washington DC in late December to have his case heard before the Military Corrections Board. Todd Sears filed a petition with the Military Corrections Board asking to be reinstated into the Illinois National Guard. Todd Sears was discharged in May of 1990 after undergoing army medical evaluations. After undergoing army medical evaluation and being found fit for duty by the National Guard Bureau in Washington DC, he alleges that he was discharged improperly for his HIV status. Under military policy, Todd Sears should have been reinstated in a non-deployable position."

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"PG 13 III Not Suitable for Younger or More Sensitive Viewers," a benefit for the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus, takes place at the Vic Theatre, Sheffield and Belmont.

1995

Chuck Renslow cuts the ribbon and opens the Leather Archives and Museum, 5007 N. Clark St., with the help of Tony DeBlase, creator of the leather pride flag.

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IMAGE: Gold Coast – Windy City Times July 31, 1986

An article by David Olsen in Windy City Times reads, in part:

"An uptown man has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for murdering a date after discovering that the date was biologically a man, and not a woman, as he had at first thought.

"Cook County Criminal Court Judge Richard Neville sentenced David Feikema, 54, of 809 W. Lakeside Place after convicting him of first-degree murder in a bench trial. ...Feikema met his victim, Larry Venzant, 20, on the street near the corner of Wilson Avenue and Broadway on December 19, 1993, according to Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Catherine Sanders. Venzant was wearing clothing traditionally worn by women. The two then arranged to have sex and went to Feikema's apartment, Sanders said.

"When Feikema discovered that Venzant was biologically a man, he stabbed him repeatedly and castrated him, she said. Feikema then placed Venzant's penis in Venzant's mouth, shoved him in a closet, and called the police."

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Groups meeting regularly include: Aqua Buddies meet for swimming at Welles Park Pool, 2335 W. Sunnyside, every Monday evening and Saturday afternoons at the Jane Addams Pool, 3212 N. Broadway; Chi-Town Squares, the gay square-dancing group, meets every Tuesday and Thursday at Ebenezer Church, 1650 W. Foster; the Euchre Club, a mostly gay not-for-profit card-playing group, meets every Wednesday at Big Chicks, 5024 N. Sheridan, the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at a Wicker Park social center and every Sunday at Hunters, 1932 Higgins in Elk Grove; Front Runners/Front Walkers, meets Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. at the Totem Pole (Lake Shore and Addison); the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Allies League meets every Friday at the Perfect Blend Coffee House, 56 E. Galena in Aurora.

Homework

Is the Lesbian and Bisexual Allies League still around?

What happened to Todd Sears?

Who is/was Suzi Petri?

Gay Chicago Photo Rewind

Israel Wright photographs leather guys for Nightlines May 30, 2001

LAN II photographs a fundraiser for Chicago House for Windy City Times December 5, 1985

Photo by Bob Bearden for Windy City Times December 5, 1985

Brian Kelly photographs newly-elected officers of the Lesbian and Gay Progressive Democrats Organization in Windy City Times November 26, 1987

Thanks go to publishers Michael Bergeron for Chicago Gay Crusader, Ralph and Craig Gernhardt for Gay Chicago, Grant Ford and Chuck Renslow for Gay Life, Malone Sizelove for Babble/Gab, David Costanza and others for Chicago Free Press, Jeff McCourt for Windy City Times, Stacy Bridges and Mark Nagel for GRAB, 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 Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall published by the University of Wisconsin Press.