May Day rally and march draws small crowd, but draws large GLBT contingency

Only about 2,000 people, including a large GLBT contingency, marched down the streets of Chicago May 1, International Workers’ Day, for the annual May Day immigration reform march... Full Story / Comment

Opinion

100 days later…

By the end of Barack Obama’s first 100 days, it became clear: gays and lesbians are not this president’s priority. He stopped mentioning us, except for two notable cases: the brouhaha surrounding the invitation of Rev. Rick... Full Story / Comment

Editorial

They can’t deny it any longer

A North Carolina Congresswoman had to take back her choice of words last week, after referring to Matthew Shepard’s murder as a hoax during debate on the hate crimes legislation that ultimately passed the House... Full Story / Comment

Letters to the editor

During these tight fiscal times of the recession, Governor Pat Quinn has proposed in his budget a funding increase of $1 million in new funding proposed for abstinence-only sex education programs... Full Story / Comment

Freestyle

Force defeat KC Tribe 28-6, Remain Undefeated and take Division lead

Chicago, IL. The sun was shining brightly as the two undefeated divisional foes squared off at North Park University vying for the lead in the Midwest Division. The mood at Holmgren Field was one of anticipation - it was expected to be a high scoring contest between two fast and powerful spread offenses. Instead, the first half revealed... Full Story

Forever Faithfull: an interview with Marianne Faithfull

Music icon Marianne Faithfull has returned with “Easy Come Easy Go” (Decca) on which she interprets songs by Neko Case, Dolly Parton, The Decemberists, Morrissey, Merle Haggard, Smokey Robinson and Duke... Full Story / Comment

Reel advice: movie reviews, calendar and DVDiva

“Little Ashes” (Regent)—A breeze was blowing through Spain in 1922, signaling the socio-political changes to come. At the student residence in Madrid, poet Federico Garcia Lorca (Javier Beltrán) and future filmmaker Luis... Full Story / Comment

Spring dining—Indoors and out

Chicago really only has two seasons, summer and winter. Spring is sort of a shortened first course, more of an appetizer, really. After months of hibernating, folks are raring to go out and explore the city again and restaurateurs are anxious to get their business, especially in this slow economy... Full Story / Comment

Theater

CFP reviews 'The Grapes of Wrath', 'Hedda Gabler', 'The History Boys' & 'The Rivals'... Full Story / Comment

Taking to the streets…and the Web

No doubt by now you’ve seen the fraudulent ad from the National Organization for Marriage, though you may not have seen the whole, paid version, which as of last week was set to run eight times a day in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island... Full Story / Comment

Live Performance

Openly gay singer and Midwest native Kevin Thornton performs “Sex, Dreams, & Self Control!,” a fusion of music, spoken word, and standup at the Boho Theater at Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood, tonight through Saturday night at 1... Full Story / Comment

News

Maine becomes 5th state to allow same-sex marriage

AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine's governor signed a freshly passed bill Wednesday approving gay marriage, making it the fifth state to approve the practice and moving New England closer to allowing it throughout the region... Full Story / Comment

NH gov. promises 'best decision' on gay marriage

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The legalization of gay marriage in New Hampshire hinges on the next move of Gov. John Lynch, who remains uncommitted but has said he believes the word “marriage” should be reserved for the union of a man and a woman... Full Story / Comment

Local Briefs

Gerber/Hart Library and Lambda Literary Foundation will co-cost a May 14 event highlighting the work of several local Lambda Literary Award finalists... Full Story / Comment

House passes hate crimes bill backed by Quigley

The U.S. House passed an inclusive hate crimes bill 249-175 April 29, and the legislation had the strong backing of a Chicago ally new to Congress... Full Story / Comment

Gay anti-war activist found not guilty of police battery

Longtime anti-war and GLBT activist Andy Thayer, co-founder of Gay Liberation Network, was found not guilty of two felony counts of aggravated battery against a police officer May 5... Full Story / Comment

GLBT youth among those lobbying for civil unions

About 150 civil unions supporters—from Carbondale and Chicago to Palatine and Peoria—traveled to Springfield April 29 to lobby state lawmakers for the passage of civil unions legislation... Full Story / Comment

Nation Report

WATERLOO, Iowa—A Plainfield man who was charged with knowingly transmitting HIV was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday. Nick Rhoades had pleaded guilty to failing to disclose his HIV... Full Story / Comment

Dems: Opportunity as gay marriage acceptance grows

Gay marriage legalization in several states and the public’s growing acceptance of same-sex unions have Democrats sensing political opportunity and some Republicans re-evaluating their party’s hard-line opposition to an issue that long... Full Story / Comment

Hundreds march in national gay rights rally

PHILADELPHIA—Hundreds of gay rights demonstrators marched through the streets of the city’s historic center on Sunday carrying rainbow-colored flags and signs calling for equal rights in marriage, in the workplace and in health care... Full Story / Comment

Maine to recognize same-sex marriages

AUGUSTA, Maine—After a three-hour debate, the Maine House gave final approval to a same-sex marriage bill and sent it back to the Senate, where it was approved Tuesday 21-14. Gov. John Baldacci signed the legislation... Full Story / Comment

Freetime

Midlife crisis #261: A Catholic Taste

This latest spat between differing factions within the Roman Catholic Church may prove to be the beginning of the end for this bizarre Mediterranean Christian cult lead by men... Full Story / Comment

Horoscopes

ARIES: Not having a plan has become an issue. I’m here to tell you it doesn’t matter. If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans! At this point the universe is teaching you how to trust life and go with the flow... Full Story / Comment

Marketplace

Designer Charlotte Moss Headlines 2009 Lake Forest Showhouse

Speaking under an enormous white tent pitched on a historic 22-acre Lake Forest estate known as Lansdowne, acclaimed Upper East Side/New York designer Charlotte Moss recently told a packed crowd of designers, ladies-who-lunch and a few men-who-lunch... Full Story / Comment

3 tips to save on fuel costs with your next car

NEW YORK—There’s one rule that all car owners learn, usually the hard way: Cheap gas doesn’t stay cheap. As gas prices creep up from their winter lows, that rule is proving itself true... Full Story / Comment