Latest news with #NorthwestIndianaPridefest
Chicago Tribune
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Daywatch: A more defensive Pride
Good morning, Chicago. Christopher Colwell of Valparaiso, Indiana, teared up a bit as his grandmother sang with her church choir during Northwest Indiana Pridefest earlier this month, calling the moment a haven of acceptance in a state and nation that's become increasingly hostile to queer men like him. The grandson and grandma briefly embraced after her performance on a stage adorned with rainbow-colored balloons and a giant Pride flag. 'I can't stand the current climate in this state. It don't represent its people anymore,' said Colwell, 25, at the June 8 event at Riverview Park in Lake Station. 'I have a really poor outlook on the country as a whole.' While Pride events in the past were largely celebrations of the rights the LGBTQ community has secured — as well as promotions for greater representation and acceptance — many activists say the focus this year has been on girding protections and freedoms that are being actively rolled back on the federal level as well as in many Republican-led states such as Indiana. Read the full story from the Tribune's Angie Leventis Lourgos. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including CPS eliminating more than 200 positions, violent crime dropping to levels not seen in a decade in Chicago and which restaurant Tribune food critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu says is one of the best in the city right now. Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Dozens of Bikes and Mics motorcyclists revved their engines, leaning forward on their handlebars as the crowd cheered. After a final countdown from parade organizers, they rolled down North Halsted Street, heralding Chicago's 54th annual Pride Parade forward. This year's theme was 'United in Pride,' as the Pride Chicago organization emphasizes community solidarity in an uncertain political time for the LGBTQ+ population in America and celebrates 10 years of legalized same-sex marriage. Across Illinois, millions of people are anxiously awaiting the next move on a bill that would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid across the country. The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' would slash the program, which provides health care coverage to people with low incomes, in order to help pay for tax cuts and border and national security. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans say the bill would cut waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid, providing coverage only to those who truly need it. In a cost-cutting move to plug a $734 million shortfall, Chicago Public Schools officials on Friday said they laid off dozens of workers in the district's central office and citywide staff. In all, CPS laid off 161 employees, according to district officials. Throughout 2019, Chicago police officers made nearly 80,000 arrests before scaling them back significantly during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the following spring. Now five years later, that drop appears not to be just a COVID-era blip: In recent years, arrests have rebounded slightly, but annually police still are recording tens of thousands of fewer arrests than they did in 2019. Major cities across the country, including New York and Los Angeles, have seen significant dips in violent crime since the unrest of 2020, when protests, riots and looting followed the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis and the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold. Now Chicago finds itself firmly in that group. A $24 million lead paint lawsuit payout. Dissatisfied residents. Staff members who have seen the vast majority of executive leaders turn over in the last 10 months. The Trump administration's priorities to slash the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's programs and staff. These are just some of the issues the next CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority, the third largest public housing authority in the country, will face coming into the role. Record high nighttime temperatures, a dangerously high heat index and intense humidity swept through Chicago from June 21 to 23, marking the city's first major heat wave of the summer. Ahead of the heat wave, Mayor Brandon Johnson told residents at a June 20 news conference that the city was 'prepared to demonstrate the full force of government' by offering city-run cooling centers. The city's website promotes 288 cooling center locations across the city, which are intended to 'offer residents air-conditioned refuge' during extreme heat advisories. Of those, 110 are outdoor 'splash pads' — water features operated by the Chicago Park District that don't offer any indoor cooling space. In addition, only two-thirds of the indoor cooling centers were open at least part of the day every day during the three-day heat wave. It was a hot start to summer in Chicago for our legacy sports teams, writes Paul Sullivan. Up was down, down was up and our downtown streets buckled just in time for the Chicago Street Race. A unique comedy game show is coming to Chicago, and while anyone can watch, the show's contestants share one commonality: Divorce. 'The Big D' (you can guess what the 'D' stands for here) is a matchmaking show that allows divorced singles in the 40-60 age range to meet people in the real world and, hopefully, spark a connection. While the Italian American restaurant Void does whimsy well, most evident with its Spaghetti Uh-O's and No-Lört, it's become one of the best restaurants in Chicago right now, writes Tribune food critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu. The Route 66 road trip ended at the beginning, at East Jackson Boulevard and South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where a brown sign hanging 12 feet high on a light post tells people they've reached the venerable road's threshold. While the route often conjures images of quaint small towns, its foundation, said historian and author Jim Hinckley, has always been rooted in Chicago. The existing roads and trails that would eventually become Route 66 nearly 100 years ago largely followed the railroad, with Chicago as its hub. Read the series:
Chicago Tribune
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Daywatch: Pride under attack
Good morning, Chicago. Christopher Colwell of Valparaiso, Indiana, teared up a bit as his grandmother sang with her church choir during Northwest Indiana Pridefest earlier this month, calling the moment a haven of acceptance in a state and nation that's become increasingly hostile to queer men like him. The grandson and grandma briefly embraced after her performance on a stage adorned with rainbow-colored balloons and a giant Pride flag. 'I can't stand the current climate in this state. It don't represent its people anymore,' said Colwell, 25, at the June 8 event at Riverview Park in Lake Station. 'I have a really poor outlook on the country as a whole.' While Pride events in the past were largely celebrations of the rights the LGBTQ community has secured — as well as promotions for greater representation and acceptance — many activists say the focus this year has been on girding protections and freedoms that are being actively rolled back on the federal level as well as in many Republican-led states such as Indiana. Read the full story from the Tribune's Angie Leventis Lourgos. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including CPS eliminating more than 200 positions, violent crime dropping to levels not seen in a decade in Chicago and which restaurant Tribune food critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu says is one of the best in the city right now. Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Dozens of Bikes and Mics motorcyclists revved their engines, leaning forward on their handlebars as the crowd cheered. After a final countdown from parade organizers, they rolled down North Halsted Street, heralding Chicago's 54th annual Pride Parade forward. This year's theme was 'United in Pride,' as the Pride Chicago organization emphasizes community solidarity in an uncertain political time for the LGBTQ+ population in America and celebrates 10 years of legalized same-sex marriage. Across Illinois, millions of people are anxiously awaiting the next move on a bill that would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid across the country. The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' would slash the program, which provides health care coverage to people with low incomes, in order to help pay for tax cuts and border and national security. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans say the bill would cut waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid, providing coverage only to those who truly need it. In a cost-cutting move to plug a $734 million shortfall, Chicago Public Schools officials on Friday said they laid off dozens of workers in the district's central office and citywide staff. In all, CPS laid off 161 employees, according to district officials. Throughout 2019, Chicago police officers made nearly 80,000 arrests before scaling them back significantly during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the following spring. Now five years later, that drop appears not to be just a COVID-era blip: In recent years, arrests have rebounded slightly, but annually police still are recording tens of thousands of fewer arrests than they did in 2019. Major cities across the country, including New York and Los Angeles, have seen significant dips in violent crime since the unrest of 2020, when protests, riots and looting followed the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis and the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold. Now Chicago finds itself firmly in that group. A $24 million lead paint lawsuit payout. Dissatisfied residents. Staff members who have seen the vast majority of executive leaders turn over in the last 10 months. The Trump administration's priorities to slash the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's programs and staff. These are just some of the issues the next CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority, the third largest public housing authority in the country, will face coming into the role. Record high nighttime temperatures, a dangerously high heat index and intense humidity swept through Chicago from June 21 to 23, marking the city's first major heat wave of the summer. Ahead of the heat wave, Mayor Brandon Johnson told residents at a June 20 news conference that the city was 'prepared to demonstrate the full force of government' by offering city-run cooling centers. The city's website promotes 288 cooling center locations across the city, which are intended to 'offer residents air-conditioned refuge' during extreme heat advisories. Of those, 110 are outdoor 'splash pads' — water features operated by the Chicago Park District that don't offer any indoor cooling space. In addition, only two-thirds of the indoor cooling centers were open at least part of the day every day during the three-day heat wave. It was a hot start to summer in Chicago for our legacy sports teams, writes Paul Sullivan. Up was down, down was up and our downtown streets buckled just in time for the Chicago Street Race. A unique comedy game show is coming to Chicago, and while anyone can watch, the show's contestants share one commonality: Divorce. 'The Big D' (you can guess what the 'D' stands for here) is a matchmaking show that allows divorced singles in the 40-60 age range to meet people in the real world and, hopefully, spark a connection. While the Italian American restaurant Void does whimsy well, most evident with its Spaghetti Uh-O's and No-Lört, it's become one of the best restaurants in Chicago right now, writes Tribune food critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu. The Route 66 road trip ended at the beginning, at East Jackson Boulevard and South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, where a brown sign hanging 12 feet high on a light post tells people they've reached the venerable road's threshold. While the route often conjures images of quaint small towns, its foundation, said historian and author Jim Hinckley, has always been rooted in Chicago. The existing roads and trails that would eventually become Route 66 nearly 100 years ago largely followed the railroad, with Chicago as its hub. Read the series:
Chicago Tribune
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Pride under attack: Activists say celebrations are more critical as US, conservative states such as Indiana rescind LGBTQ protections
Christopher Colwell of Valparaiso, Indiana, teared up a bit as his grandmother sang with her church choir during Northwest Indiana Pridefest earlier this month, calling the moment a haven of acceptance in a state and nation that's become increasingly hostile to queer men like him. The grandson and grandma briefly embraced after her performance on a stage adorned with rainbow-colored balloons and a giant Pride flag. 'I can't stand the current climate in this state. It don't represent its people anymore,' said Colwell, 25, at the June 8 event at Riverview Park in Lake Station. 'I have a really poor outlook on the country as a whole.' While Pride events in the past were largely celebrations of the rights the LGBTQ community has secured — as well as promotions for greater representation and acceptance — many activists say the focus this year has been on girding protections and freedoms that are being actively rolled back on the federal level as well as in many Republican-led states such as Indiana. 'For the LGBTQ community, there's a lot of anxiety about the rights that we have and are they going to stick around much longer?' said the Rev. Leah Peksenak, president of NWI Pridefest Inc. and pastor of two northwest Indiana churches. 'It's less about let's celebrate what we have and try to push for more. Now it's like, we might have to really dig in our heels and refuse to relinquish what we've already won. Because we're not going backward.' This is in stark contrast to more liberal states such as Illinois, which have been strengthening LGBTQ rights and protections in the face of a national movement to rescind many of them. Attorney General Kwame Raoul earlier this month filed an amicus brief, along with 20 other states, defending a Michigan law that bars health officials from practicing so-called conversion therapy on LGBTQ children. He's also spoken out against a Trump administration attempt to ban transgender military service and change to the passport application process, arguing they harm transgender and nonbinary Americans. Gov. JB Pritzker has publicly pledged to protect the community's rights, as well. 'I've been marching for LGBTQ+ rights since Pride was considered a protest,' Pritzker posted on Facebook earlier this month, kicking off a series of Pride events statewide that culminated with the iconic Chicago Pride Parade in the Northalsted neighborhood Sunday. 'And I'll continue to march under this administration as a recommitment to the fight for equality today. No matter who you are or who you love, you have a home here in Illinois.' Although Indiana has always been more conservative in terms of LGBTQ protections, Peksenak has seen more brazenness in the language and policymaking of elected officials in recent months. A few days before the northwest Indiana Pride event, Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith posted a 'Pride month alert' on the social media site X, warning parents that 'the rainbow beast is coming for your kids!' 'Corporate America and government institutions are launching their annual siege on childhood innocence — and this year's Pride Month agenda is more aggressive than ever,' the message said. Many LGBTQ groups were outraged a few months ago, when Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made an April Fools' Day post joking that 'The Left wins. … They have finally brainwashed me,' while standing beside a Pride flag. In March, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a pair of executive orders targeting 'extreme gender ideology.' One barred transgender women and girls from participating in women and girls sports in Indiana schools; the other declared that there are only two genders. Both mirrored similar executive orders signed by President Donald Trump. Out Leadership's annual State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index released this month found Illinois to have among the strongest protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other queer residents, while Indiana was one of the lowest-ranked states in the nation. The global LGBTQ rights organization's state-by-state report showed great disparity across the country, with the nation as a whole growing more discriminatory — and divided — when it comes to LGBTQ rights and safeguards compared to previous years. 'Political polarization is widening, and following the 2024 elections, a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws is sweeping the nation,' the report stated. Logan Casey, director of policy research for the national nonprofit think tank Movement Advancement Project, said the result is often vastly different freedoms and levels of safety for LGBTQ folks, depending on the part of the country where they live, work or visit. 'There is a very dramatic and clear difference from one state to the next when it comes to LGBTQ policies and protections — so a real patchwork,' he said. 'In a sense, there are two different Americas for LGBTQ people.' 'Freedom isn't linear' Colwell's grandmother, 70-year-old Maggie Reister, said she was proud to perform at the local Pridefest with fellow worshippers from her Unitarian church, particularly amid such a tumultuous time in history for many LGBTQ folks. 'I know my grandson and his friends are afraid. They're more afraid now,' she said. 'I know bad things happen, they've always happened, but I think they're more afraid.' Years ago, Reister attended rallies and protests demanding that governments legalize gay marriage. Then in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states couldn't deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a decision that seemed to mark a turning point for the nation, she recalled. Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the landmark decision. Yet now, Reister fears the hard-earned rights and protections for the LGBTQ community are slowly slipping away in large swaths of the country. 'I think the conservative faction is more emboldened,' she added. Anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric by politicians have a trickle-down effect, which can encourage broader discrimination by the public and discourage allies from showing support, said Peksenak, who is affectionately nicknamed 'the Rainbow Rev.' The pastor said Pridefest organizers in northwest Indiana last year received one violent threat, which was frightening but the lone incident. This year, organizers received several similar messages in the run-up to the event, Peksenak said. 'Because of politics on a national scale, there just seems to be more and more permission for actual people to be loudly hateful, even just between last year and this year,' Peksenak said. 'So there seems to be more vitriol.' Like many other Pride events nationwide, the northwest Indiana festival faced a recent financial crisis when corporate sponsors who had pledged funding dropped out following Trump's election in November. 'After the election results, they pulled out. Overnight,' Peksenak said. 'They all closed ranks. And they didn't say it was because of the election. They didn't say it was because of blowback. They said things like 'Oh, it's just not in the budget this year.' But we're not stupid.' Going into June, San Francisco Pride had faced a $200,000 budget gap after corporate sponsors withdrew their support; KC Pride in Kansas City, Missouri, lost about $200,000, which was about half its annual budget, according to The Associated Press. Anheuser-Busch dropped its sponsorship of PrideFest in St. Louis after 30 years of support, leaving organizers with a $150,000 budget shortfall. Several events nationwide had to scale back their celebrations because of a loss of funding; in some cases, organizers said corporate sponsors asked to remain anonymous. 'If you come to Pride this year, that's a revolutionary act,' said Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride. 'You are sending a message to those in Washington that, here in San Francisco, we still have the same values that we've always had — you can love who you love here. We're not going to retreat from that.' In northwest Indiana, organizers had to scramble to find new sponsors: An interfaith coalition of local churches and synagogues teamed up to raise events funds, each committing about $1,000 to $2,500, along with several steadfast local businesses, Peksenak said. 'Since November has been a really rude awakening,' the pastor added. 'There is a general sense across the whole community that, oh wait, freedom isn't linear. We can lose ground. And we actually have to work and engage to make sure that doesn't happen.' To stay or leave? Colwell said he has no plans to leave Indiana, despite the rhetoric and policies of many of its officials. He cited his supportive local family and friends as part of his reason for staying. Reister added that she loves her northwest Indiana church and much of the greater community, which share her commitment to LGBTQ freedoms and safety. While state laws can differ vastly, Casey of the Movement Advancement Project noted that the lived experience of individual LGBTQ folks and their loved ones can often vary by community, neighborhood or sections of a state. Prejudice still exists in states with pro-LGBTQ policies; states with fewer protections might have cities or municipalities with thriving LGBTQ resources and legal safeguards, he added. 'There is absolutely a polarization in the policy environment for LGBTQ people right now,' said Elana Redfield, federal policy director at the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. 'But I would be hesitant to characterize any state as clearly pro-LGBTQ or anti-LGBTQ. Because on the one hand, many states have really strong policy elements but still have local or regional elements that might not be quite so supportive.' The opposite can also be true: Redfield recalled recently speaking at an event in Indianapolis, where she noticed that even the roadside billboards grew more progressive as she left rural areas of Indiana and headed into the more liberal-leaning capital. There, she received a warm reception with engaging conversation about LGBTQ issues. But discriminatory language by politicians and anti-LGBTQ policies can translate to real harm for individuals, including affecting their mental health, she said. 'Right now, we have this exacerbation of official language that is dismissive … of LGBTQ experiences and in some cases outright exclusionary,' she said. 'Our research does show that anti-LGBTQ policy debates can have a real, measurable negative impact on mental health.' There can be an enormous emotional cost 'that comes from having your right to marry being debated or whether you have a right to exist or not being debated — or whether you can play sports or whether you can access a bathroom,' she added. A Williams Institute survey of roughly 300 transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse American adults released in May found that nearly half have already moved or wanted to move to 'more affirming places' within the United States, while 45% of those polled desired to leave the country. Most of the respondents cited anti-LGBTQ policies as the reason for wanting to move. This is a troubling trend to Casey. 'It's easy for a lot of people to think, 'Well you should move somewhere else where the laws are better,'' he said. 'While that obviously makes sense in a way, the larger point is that people shouldn't be forced to choose between the place that they call home and their rights or protections.' But he says that's the quandary facing many LGBTQ folks and their loved ones nationwide, particularly in much of the South and Midwest. 'Those are choices that our politicians are making to force those sorts of really impossible life decisions for so many people,' he said.
