Kate Puhala

Chicago loves its one-of-a-kinds. For instance, Chicago's knife-and-fork-required, deep-dish pizza and its North Side/South Side baseball rivalry are a few of the city's famous one-and-onlys. But the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame is another uniquely Chicago creation. According to co-chair of fifteen years, Gary Chichester, Chicago is the only municipality he knows of in the world that honors "the pride of the community" with a Hall of Fame induction and title.

Since 1991, the independent organization has recognized the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community members, organizations and friends of the community for outstanding service and achievements in raising awareness in the gay community and the City of Chicago. Past inductees include Chicago House and Social Service Agency in 1994, Bailiwick Repertory's Pride Series in 1996, slam poet C.C. Carter in 2002, and Episcopal priest Rev. Juan Reed in 2005.

"It feels good every once and a while to be told `nice job,'" Chichester says. "The Hall of Fame allows for people to feel self-pride. Some people hate themselves [when they first come out]; they think it's bad to be gay. But if they see role models being saluted by the city, they can start to feel an inner warmth of pride. They can see there are gays and lesbians living very worthwhile lives."

Partly fashioned after honors that used to be awarded by the Chicago Women's Council and Gay Chicago Magazine's Windy City awards, the annual ceremony has inducted more than 200 people and organizations into the Hall of Fame.

"Chicago has a solid gay and lesbian community," Chichester says, himself a two-time recipient of the Windy City awards. "We have lots of support in politics--Mayor Daley's input [in honoring] the LGBT community really means something. And [Chicago's] supportive social life [makes it] an easy city to come out in."

Bill Greaves, the City's liaison to the LGBT community, agrees that Chicago's prominent gay and lesbian presence allowed for the Hall of Fame's creation.

"Our community has a strong sense of history in connection to the city, especially in the identities of Henry Gerber and Pearl Hart [two Chicago social activists in the early twentieth century]," Greaves says. "The City has a sense of community in its culture and neighborhoods, and that is definitely reflected in the [gay] community's strong sense of self. So it's logical that the gay community would want to honor our LGBT."

Nominations can be made by anyone, for anyone, according to Greaves, as long as they have made a significant contribution to Chicago through the LGBT community or city efforts. Those nominations then are reviewed by a selection committee composed of former Hall of Fame inductees. Of that list, ten to twelve new inductees are honored each year in a swanky ceremony (complete with a plaque), usually in late October--National Gay and Lesbian History Month.

"The ceremony is highly emotional and it's always packed with [a diverse] gathering," Greaves says. "The fact that Mayor Daley bestows the honor to the inductees is moving and affirming, the most affirming of LGBT accomplishments."

Though the Hall of Fame has been perpetually fundraising for a permanent display in addition to its Web site, glhalloffame.org, it has no physical space of its own to showcase its inductees. Past displays have been shown at the Cultural Center in Chicago and the State Library in Springfield, and the latest exhibit will be presented at the James R. Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, from June 26-30.

Chichester says that awareness and education are central to the Hall of Fame. "I've been out for almost forty years, since the mid-1960s," Chichester says. "It was hard to find support back then, but I had a loving family and friends. Many others didn't have that then and some kids don't have that now...Teenage suicide rates are high among the gay community, and it's time it all ends. [Being gay is] not a scary thing; [the Hall of Fame's] educational value helps great people gain pride in themselves."

The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2006 Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame Inductions is July 31. Visit glhalloffame.org for the nomination form.

"We want to claim our place in culture because we've been invisible for so long," Greaves says of the LGBT community. "We were driven into the closet for so many years that now we bonded together as a culture, as a whole."

(2006-06-21)

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