Ed Negron, late bisexual activist, gets honorary street name in Rogers Park-Edgewater

Friends and family of the late Ed Negron, a bisexual activist known for his LGBTQ advocacy and substance abuse counseling, was honored by the City of Chicago with an honorary street name. The stretch of Clark Street along the border of Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods memorializes Negron, who died on July 23, 2021.

Osnaida Rodriguez, Negron's mother, had the honor of pulling the covers off the brown street sign bearing the name "Ed Negron Way" at the intersection of N. Clark St. and W. Devon Ave.


The event took place on Memorial Day in front Leather 64Ten, a leather and fetish shoppe at 6410 N. Clark St., where Negron was an employee. It was the same location of a candle light memorial held last year after Negron's surprising death of natural causes.

Among those at the street naming ceremony were Illinois state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), Ald. Andre Vasquez (47th), members of the Bisexual Queer Alliance Chicago (BQAC) which Negron co-founded with Mikey Oboza, as well as Negron's family members.

"As we look at Ed Negron Way, we remember him, his way of life, [and for us to carry] on Negron's work," Ald. Vasquez said.

Rep. Harris, an LGBTQ trailblazer in the Illinois legislator, shared that Negron's work as a substance abuse counselor helped him on the road to recovery. He noted that Negron is the reason he still remains "on this planet."

As part of the ceremony, Rep. Harris presented Negron's family with a House Resolution honoring Negron and the legacy he leaves behind in the LGBTQ community, especially among bisexual persons; in the Latinx community, especially among Chicago boricuas; and in counseling circles.

Brother Leo Rodriguez held tightly to the commemorative State document, expressing in words and in tears, how much he misses Negron. He shared how he dreams at night of his late brother.

Sister Monica Rodriguez had worked with the State of Illinois, City of Chicago, and Leather 64Ten owner Eric Kugelman, for the commemoration.

Auggie Rodriguez, of no relation to Negron, is the current president of BQAC. A professional filmmaker, he documented the ceremony on camera to add to a memorial film already produced and screened shortly after Negron's death.

Memorial Day was significant to the family who says Negron was proud of his military service because of the doors it opened for him afterward, and used its lessons in advocacy and counseling.

Negron was previously honored as an inductee of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.