Chicago Gender Society Mardi Gras Fundraiser – March 27, 2010
The Chicago Gender Society Mardi Gras party is coming up on March 27, 2010. Join us at Bogies Ale House, 303 E. Kensington Rd in Mt. Prospect.Â
The party will be from 6:30 pm to 1:00 am and includes appetizers and a two hour buffet. A cash bar will also be available. Tickets for this festive event are $35.00 per person. Additional information is available at www.chicagogender.com.
March 9, 2010
Tags: bisexual, gay, GLBT, lesbian, transgender Posted in: GLBT News & Events 
No Comments
PFLAG Palatine Meeting – March 15, 2010
Join our next meeting on Monday, March 15th at 7pm to hear Katie Roeck from Lincoln Park High School GSA (Gay/Straight Alliance) share the work the GSA is doing.
GSA is a student-run club in a high school or middle school that brings together LGBTQ and straight students to support each other and create an platform for activism to fight homophobia and transphobia. GSA empowers students to: advocate for safe school policies; mobilize their peers to stand up for safety and equality; and train teachers to stop bullying.
We look forward to seeing you March 15th!
Chapter meetings held the third Monday at 7 p.m. Countryside Unitarian Church 1025 N. Smith Rd. Palatine, IL 60067
March 9, 2010
Tags: bisexual, gay, GLBT, lesbian, Palatine, parents, PFLAG, support, transgender Posted in: PFLAG Palatine No Comments
Meet Rev. Stinger – 10:30 am March 21, 2010
The Unitarian Church of Evanston’s Rainbow Alliance invites you to hear the Rev Mark Stringer preach on March 21st at 10:30 am for Marriage Equality. His sermon is “Standing in a River of Love.â€
In the summer of 2007, in the front yard of his home, Rev Stringer had the honor of officiating at Iowa’s first legally recognized same-sex wedding. It was another 18 months before any more same sex marriages could be legally performed. His sermon shares the stories of the dozens of legal same sex marriages he has performed, and how his life has grown from the opportunity to officiate at these ceremonies.
Unitarian Church of Evanston 1330 Ridge Ave (1 block north of Dempster) Evanston, IL Church service starts at 10:30 amÂ
Please join the Rainbow Alliance for cake after the service.
March 8, 2010
Posted in: GLBT News & Events No Comments
Fish Out of Water Screening – Thursday, March 11, 2010
Join us for a screening of the documentary Fish Out of Water (www.fishoutofwaterfilm.com). Â The hour long film will be followed by a panel discussion by four local pastors from affirming churches in Crystal Lake and Woodstock, each one explaining the way their particular denomination understands the biblical word.
Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 7:30 pm McHenry County College Conference Center 8900 W. Highway 14 Crystal Lake
March 8, 2010
Posted in: GLBT News & Events, PFLAG Woodstock/McHenry County No Comments
Prevent School Violence Illinois is looking for your stories
PFLAG Members & Friends:
Hi, my name is Caitlin Bergh and I am contacting you from Prevent School Violence Illinois. Thank you for being a member of our coalition of individuals and organizations statewide who support SB3266, the Illinois Prevent Schools Violence Act, one of the Illinois State Board of Education’s legislative initiatives for 2010.
I am writing because we are currently trying to collect stories from students, parents, teachers, and friends from across Illinois who have experienced bullying or felt its effects and we need your help. We plan to share these stories on our blog http://www.psvillinois.blogspot.com/ to get the word out about the importance of the Illinois Prevent School Violence Act.
Please help us collect stories by posting the following message to your Facebook wall, sending it to group members or any email listservs that you may have. We really appreciate your help!
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Bergh
——————
Prevent School Violence Illinois is a coalition of individuals and organizations statewide who support SB3266, the Illinois Prevent Schools Violence Act, one of the Illinois State Board of Education’s legislative initiatives for 2010.
We are collecting stories from students, parents, teachers, and friends from across Illinois who have experienced bullying or felt its effects. It is real stories like these that give a voice to this serious problem in our schools.
If you’d like to tell your story, we encourage you to share it with us. There are two ways you can do this:
- You may write your story and email it to sarah@illinoissafeschools.org. Â If you’d like, you may use just your first name and last initial and omit your town or city.
- You may record a video (with your webcam or video camera) and email the video file to us at sarah@illinoissafeschools.org.
With your permission (or your parent’s or guardian’s permission if you are under 18), we will post your story to our blog. We look forward to hearing from you – your story sends a powerful message to our lawmakers about the reality of the problem of bullying.
We also encourage you to join our Facebook Group “Prevent School Violence Illinois” and follow our upcoming blog http://www.psvillinois.blogspot.com/.
Thank you.
March 6, 2010
Posted in: Advocacy No Comments
Equality Illinois Alert – Illinois’ non-discrimination law is in danger and we need your help now!
Illinois’ non-discrimination law is in danger and we need your help now!
The State Senate is considering a bill (SB3447) to roll back some protections of the Illinois Human Rights Act, which currently prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The bill would carve out exceptions to the Act, allowing certain employers and tax-exempt organizations to discriminate against Illinoisans on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.
The bill was authored by State Senator Bill Brady, Republican gubernatorial hopeful, though the chief sponsorship has since changed to State Sen. John O. Jones.
The bill has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee and a hearing on the bill is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2.
 Here’s what you can do NOW to save Illinois Human Rights Act:
 Learn more about the proposed bill and then
- Contact a State Senator on the Judiciary Committee, especially if this is your State Senator.Â
- Help Equality Illinois launch a forceful defense of the Human Rights Act in Springfield, by donating to our advocacy efforts today. We need to have a full advocacy team in Springfield to derail these angry, ill-willed attacks. We cannot do this work without your help.
February 28, 2010
Posted in: Advocacy No Comments
Other Organizations and Resources
PFLAG Council of Northern Illinois has been busy updating the website. Check out additional resources availble on our Other Organizations and Resources page.
We do our best to keep the information updated and add additional organizations and resources when we find them. If you have an organization or GLBT resource you would like listed or update a current link, please submit the organization name and web address using the Leave a Reply box below or send an e-mail to info@pflagillinois.org.Â
Please note:Â Â We do not endorse, warrant or guarantee any of the organizations or resources listed.
February 28, 2010
Posted in: Chapter Information and News, GLBT News & Events No Comments
Unite and Fight: Strategizining for LGBT Equality Conference – March 12-14, 2010
Unite and Fight: Strategizing for LGBT Equality
Unite + Fight EAA Midwest Conference
March 12–14, 2010
Chicago’s Columbia College
On the weekend of March 12–14 activists from across the Midwest will gather to discuss and debate how to achieve full federal equality while forming a strong regional grass roots network. Proposed topics include: Why We Need a National Grassroots Movement, Movement Strategy and Tactics, The ‘T’ is not Silent: Transgender History and Politics, Movement History: ACT UP, Lessons From the Black Civil Rights Struggle, Convincing the Democrats to Take Us Seriously, Taking on the Religious Right, and more.
In addition there will be artists performing and showing their work, music, dancing and lots of time to hang out and socialize with other LGBT activists and allies in the region. Don’t miss the opportunity to build unity and meet new activist friends in Chicago, March 12–14, 2010.
- Shape the strategy for our next steps as a movement.
- Hear from prominent activists on what works and what doesn’t.
- Socialize with other individuals and groups in our region.
- Learn from educational workshops on topics that matter to you.
- Lt. Dan Choi, prominent activist against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
- Staceyann Chin, Jamaican-born lesbian performance artist and poet
- Adam Bouska, photographer and creator of the “NO H8″ campaign
For additional information, check out the Unite and Fight website.
February 28, 2010
Posted in: Advocacy, GLBT News & Events No Comments
PFLAG Hinsdale Meeting Sunday, March 7, 2010
PFLAG Hinsdale Chapter meeting at Unitarian Church of Hinsdale
Sunday, March 7th from 2-4pm
PFLAG Hinsdale is committed to serving the needs of our Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender loved ones. We are open to all persons of any sexual orientation, gender identity, and any racial or ethnic group, their parents, family members and friends, and any person who cares about the LGBT community.  Our primary mission is to support parents, family members and friends who have learned that their child is gay. The chapter and others like it in the Chicago Suburban area are run by mothers, fathers, and their LGBT children. PFLAG is a non-denominational organization.
You always have a home at PFLAG!
In addition, PFLAG promotes education to enlighten an ill-informed public, advocacy to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. PFLAG provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.
The meeting location is at the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale, 17 West Maple Hinsdale, IL 60521-3450. Located at the corner of Maple and Washington, one block north of Chicago Ave.
We hold regular monthly meetings on the first Sunday of each month from 2-4 p.m. Our next meeting is Sunday March 7th: Our speaker for this month is Kate Sosin, the co-founder of Genderqueer Chicago, an inclusive community group for gender-variant people. The group works with people ages 16-70 to provide safe spaces and education about gender issues.
We always hold meetings regardless of holidays. Street parking is available in the church neighborhood.
Refreshments will be served. Our meeting format consists of general announcements about local LGBT events and news, followed by a guest speaker addressing LGBT issues and finishing with small group sessions for people to share their stories and discuss LGBT issues.
For more information contact the PFLAG helpline at 630-415-0622, via e-mail at pflaghinsdale@pflagillinois.org or the web at www.pflagillinois.org.
February 24, 2010
Posted in: Chapter Information and News, GLBT News & Events, PFLAG Hinsdale No Comments
PFLAG National Scholoraships Available – Deadline March 12, 2010
As many of you know, the PFLAG National office gives out thousands of dollars in scholarship money each year to lesbian, gay, bi and transgender students as well as allies. PFLAG is proud to support these articulate, accomplished scholars with great promise for future contribution to our society in general and to the cause of rights and recognition for LGBT people in particular.
PFLAG National scholarships available for 2010:
- $5,000 scholarships
- $2,500 scholarships
- $1,000 scholarships
Send your high school transcript, letter of reference and the release form in one packet to PFLAG National (see address below).
PFLAG National 1726 M St. NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036Â
Submit your application and essay online (if you prefer, you may submit a hard-copy of your application and essay). For online submissions, you will be assigned a reference number; this number needs to appear on the cover of your packet containing the reference, transcripts and release form that you send to PFLAG National.
The deadline to apply for the PFLAG National Scholarship is March 12, 2010.
February 11, 2010
Posted in: Chapter Information and News, GLBT News & Events No Comments