Mayor Proudly Salutes Pride Month
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley stood at the podium in the ornate GAR Hall of the city's Michigan Avenue Cultural Center on Tuesday and told a reception in celebration of Pride Month that he supports "marriage equality."
"It's all about human rights and civil rights," said the mayor to cheers.
The reception was hosted by the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. A staffer estimated the guests at between 600 and 700 people. And they made enough happy noise for a crowd at least twice as big. The mayor received a rousing reception. Commissioner and Chairman Dana Starks thanked the mayor for "...standing up for what is right."
Said the mayor, "I can attest to what this community does for our city; the great influence you have on the city. This community gives back to the city."
Daley opened his remarks by calling for a moment of silence for the late state legislator Larry McKeon and architect Walter Netsch. He also said that Pride Month is important for educating the populace at large.
"We in public life have a responsibility to talk about the (LGBT) community," he said, adding that the LGBT community is "a part of the fabric of our (city) community.
"I want to thank you," the mayor said to the assembled, "with great pride."
Daley's gay-wedding endorsement was cheered by the crowd, and it was noted by the city's community liaison director, William Greaves, that the reception was being held on the first full day of gay weddings in California. In honor of the good vibes all around, the mayor made himself available to a very long line of people for photo ops.
What made the after-work event particularly joyful was its diversity: young and old, svelte and large, corporate and T-shirted, the well-to-do and the do-withouts, black/white/Latino/Asian, high-heeled and flip-flopped, moussed and nerdy, Christian and pierced, veteran and pacifist, M, F & T., from Alderman Tom Tunney to Miss Foozie...The GAR Hall was a tableau vivante of the rich mix that is the Chicago LGBT universe.
Besides the Advisory Council, which shared the stage with the mayor, representatives from Britain, Germany, Japan, Belgium and the Chicago Police Department were on hand to hear the mayor's remarks and take in the spectacle . Everybody, even the mayor, seemed to be having a very good time.
And it wasn't just because the food, offered by Star of Siam restaurant, was very good. There was a lot of Chicago pride in the air.