Sun. January 31, 2010
Chicago, IL -
For the first time in its 33 years of publishing, Gay Chicago Magazine has offered political endorsements as the gay entertainment weekly expands coverage of local LGBT news.
When gay weekly Chicago Free Press lost its core editorial board in December, Gay Chicago publisher Craig Gernhardt recognized a need for LGBT endorsements in this active primary. Gernhardt contacted former CFP employees Gary Barlow, Amy Wooten, Matt Simonette to form the Gay Chicago Magazine Editorial Board. They were joined by community activist Blaine Roberts. GCM Editor Jonathan Lewis oversaw the process.
The board interviews all candidates except Governor Pat Quinn and Democratic Senate candidate Cheryle Jackson.
The following Gay Chicago Magazine candidate endorsements were published in the January 21 issue of Gay Chicago, still available in locations throughout Chicago.
Illinois Senate, 7th District
Jim Madigan
"Our expectations need to be higher," Madigan says, and we agree. That's why we wholeheartedly endorse Jim Madigan and urge voters in the 7th district to elect him to the Illinois Senate.
Illinois House of Representatives, 5th District
David Schroeder
We strongly endorse David Schroeder for state representative and hope, for Illinois' sake, that voters in the 5th district agree.
Illinois House of Representatives, 11th District
Ed Mullen
We are proud to endorse Ed Mullen for Illinois state representative and urge the voters of the 11th district to do the same.
Illinois House of Representatives, 40th District
Deb Mell
We're proud to endorse Deb Mell for another term as state representative and urge voters of the 40th district to give her that opportunity.
United States Senate
Alexi Giannoulias
Giannoulias would be one of the Senate's strongest supporters of GLBT equality, as he has been throughout his career. We are proud to endorse Alexia Giannoulias for the United States Senate and urge our readers to give him their support.
Governor
Dan Hynes
Hynes has also been a consistent supporter of LGBT equality throughout his political career and is a solid and vocal backer of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbian couples. We believe LGBT voters have a clear choice in this race. That choice is Dan Hynes, and we wholeheartedly endorse him for governor of Illinois.
Cook County Board President
Terrence O'Brien
In short, we think Terrence O'Brien offers the executive experience and commonsense solutions Cook County government needs to get through these tough times. That's why we endorse O'Brien for Cook County Board President and urge voters to elect him to that office.
Illinois House of Representatives
Sara Geigenholtz
Greg Harris
Harry Osterman
These endorsements were made by the Gay Chicago Magazine Editorial Board and were published in the January 21 issue of Gay Chicago, still available at locations throughout Chicago and available online at www.gaychicagomag.com.
ChicagoPride.com does not endorse political candidates, but we hope these interviews with Alexis Giannoulias, Jacob Meister and Robert Marshall are informative.
The Windy City Times, which does not make political endorsements, has also prepared an excellent chart indicating candidate positions and endorsements from various gay groups to help you make an informed decision when voting.
The Illinois primary is Tuesday, Feb. 2.
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