REACTION VOL 35, NO. 14 APRIL 1, 2020 www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com JILL ROSE QUINN Judicial candidate scores groundbreaking win. Photo by Stephanie Marder Local,TIME national figures respond 11 in the age of COVID-19 FIT BIT STARTING ON PAGE 4 Fitness site accused of anti-TGNC bias. Photo by Carrie Maxwell Gay ASL interpreter Michael Albert 10 SEEING 'ROAD' RULES Venezuelan actress Astrid Ovalles stars in SIGNS coming-of-age PAGE 8 film. Photo courtesy of Michael Albert (left) signing at a recent press Recluse Films conference featuring Gov. JB Pritzker (right). 16 Screen shot @windycitytimes /windycitymediagroup @windycitytimes www.windycitymediagroup.com 2 April 1, 2020 WINDY CITY TIMES BE COUNTED. 2020 CENSUS Your parcipaon matters. Questions about the 2020 Census? We have answers. Text us your questions to 987987. Complete your census form online: my2020Census.gov WINDY CITY TIMES April 1, 2020 3 NEWS LGBTQ Chicagoans weather economic storm 4 AFC president/CEO on coronavirus response 6 Local agencies; Lambda Legal CEO 7 Dear Friends, Gay ASL interpreter on press conferences 8 Orangetheory accused of anti-TGNC bias 10 Trans judicial candidate on 'astrounding' victory 11 As difficult as these times are, please know my LETTERS 12 team and I are here - as always - to help in ENTERTAINMENT/EVENTS any way we can. Looking back at a 25+ year Mourning Terrence McNally 13 career in real estate, I helped my clients Streaming theater reviews 14 navigate their lives through some truly INDEX 'Lesbian of conscience' tells her story 16 IN THE LIFE Yoga instructor Bradshaw Wish 18 frightening and unprecedented times, NIGHTSPOTS 19 including the HIV/AIDS crisis, 9/11, and the DOWNLOAD Classifieds 21 Calendar 22 Great Recession of 2008. THIS ISSUE AND BROWSE THE ARCHIVES AT Although I don’t pretend to have all the www.WindyCityTimes.com answers, I do know that in me you have a proven and trusted counselor who will help REACTION you evaluate your options with candor, insight UPCOMING 2020 into the marketplace, and an unwavering VOL 35, NO. 14 APRIL 1, 2020 www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com JILL ROSE QUINN WINDY CITY TIMES PRINT DATES: commitment to your well-being. It goes Judicial candidate scores groundbreaking win. Photo by Stephanie Marder Local,TIME national figures respond 11 in the age of COVID-19 April 1, 2020 May 27, 2020 July 22, 2020 without saying that your focus should be to FIT BIT STARTING ON PAGE 4 Fitness site accused of anti-TGNC April 15, 2020 June 10, 2020 Aug. 5, 2020 bias. Photo by Carrie Maxwell Gay ASL interpreter Michael Albert stay safe and healthy. And, when it comes to April 29, 2020 June 24, 2020 Aug. 19, 2020 10 SEEING 'ROAD' RULES May 13, 2020 July 8, 2020 Sept. 2, 2020 Venezuelan real estate, I will remain your trusted advisor actress Astrid Ovalles stars in SIGNS coming-of-age PAGE 8 film. Photo courtesy of Michael Albert (left) signing at a recent press Recluse Films conference featuring Gov. JB Pritzker (right). 16 Screen shot ready to help in any way I can. @windycitytimes /windycitymediagroup @windycitytimes www.windycitymediagroup.com All my best, online exclusives at www.WindyCityTimes.com CRITICAL MASS New Ways Ministry Executive Director Francis DeBernardo (left) writes of closed churches and LGBTQ Catholics. Photo courtesy of DeBernardo OUT OF THE 'ORDINARY' BY THE NUMBERS LGBTQ Chicagoans weigh in on the pros and cons of the 2020 Census. THAT’S SHOW BIZ Brad Lippitz Group Find out the latest about Troye Sivan, 'Pose' and Heather Locklear. 773.404.1144 [email protected] Five Worth Finding spotlights such bradlippitz.com items as Jaquira Diaz's eye-opening 3323 N. Broadway plus book Ordinary Girls: A Memoir. reliabledeemed sources compiled from is Information purposes only. informational for intended is applicable Equal herein all Housing Opportunityby presented abides and material All laws. NY York, New principal in office a with broker estate real licensed a is Estate Compass Real butis subject errors,to omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without shall benotice. construedNo statement as legal,is made as tothe accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended tosolicit property already listed. Nothing herein DAILY BREAKING NEWS 4 April 1, 2020 WINDY CITY TIMES COVID-19 been expecting resolution, but then the pandem- ic hit. He received assurances that one firm was waiting for a decision from its corporate home of- LGBT Chicagoans fice, but, given the current crisis, nobody knows when that will arrive. Hickson admitted that, being a man in his fif- weather pandemic’s ties in a field traditionally dominated by females, he felt like somewhat of a “unicorn.” He added, “Now I’ll be competing with how many millions economic storm of people?” “It’s just frightening—I’ve never been out of BY MATT SIMONETTE cial-distancing practices that health officials be- work for more than a month,” Hickson said. lieve will be key to alleviating the impact from Activist Michael O’Connor, who lives in a se- Millions of U.S. residents will face uncertain fi- coronavirus. niors’ building in Bronzeville, said that life has nancial futures as the coronavirus pandemic Nevertheless, the state directive has hit Martin become considerably harder since the shutdown unfolds. Nearly 3.3 million people filed new un- in his wallet. He credited his restaurant’s owners took hold, thanks to both the isolation and mon- employment claims the week of March 23, while with extreme generosity; besides retaining him ey worries. economic activity has ground to a virtual halt in to work their takeout business, they are paying “I feel the pinch emotionally and I feel it fi- many, if not most, business sectors. him a manager’s wage and extended him a loan nancially,” he said, adding that “older people in Thousands of LGBT Chicagoans will be sharing to tide him over. the LGBT are often invisible.” the burden of the financial pain, with circum- “I hated doing that,” Martin said of accepting O’Connor is living with HIV, so maintaining his stances that range from simply having no extra the loan, adding that he’s fearful of how he’ll be self-isolation is especially important; coronavi- income coming in from side gigs to not being able to pay it back; his hours are scaled back. rus is especially harsh for persons with compro- able to pay rent or put food on the table at all. Family and friends kicked in to help with his car mised immunity. He nevertheless looks forward to Chicagoan Jeff Martin has for many years been payment, and provided a gift card for groceries. when his next assistance check arrives next week, a server in a Lincoln Park Italian restaurant. He’d “If it weren’t for them, I don’t know what I’d when he’ll “put on my mask, my latex gloves and recently found a second job—a temporary posi- do,” Martin said. He applied for unemployment, another pair of gloves over that,” to get out of tion he said was just about to be made perma- but he is unlikely to receive any payments for his apartment to pick up his medication at Wal- nent—catering meetings for a large architectural several weeks. greens. firm downtown. There are thousands of other area residents in Although O’Connor worries about accessibil- But then the severity of the pandemic became Martin’s position. The U.S. job market had been Michael O'Connor. ity of services in the weeks ahead, he said that readily apparent in the United States—at least robust in recent years but a large number of jobs Courtesy photo he was “blessed” that a large number of friends to those beyond public-health stakeholders—in were part of the service industry, which came check in on him by phone. Since his building late winter. The architectural firm had no longer with both person-to-person contact, now verbo- “I’m a Cancer and I was raised by Depression- neighbors are older, the halls are silent as every- had meetings that required catering, so Martin ten, and minimal, if any, financial safety nets for era parents,” Hickson said. “I had money saved one self-isolates. He looks forward to obtaining was let go. someone who can’t go in for their job. for this possibility.” a computer to reduce some of his own isolation. “At the restaurant, we’re only now allowed to Yoga therapist per erez began to privately fear He had some promising leads, but those busi- “But I catch up with my reading and I cro- do takeout,” Martin noted. The mandate to close that the pandemic might take its toll on the nesses’ recruiting and hiring processes slowed chet,” O’Connor added. “I figure that every day restaurants to dine-in business was handed down country when he saw reports of medical catas- through the holidays and January. Hickson had that you’re still above the ground is a good day.” by Gov. JB Pritzker in an effort to reinforce so- trophes in China and Italy. “I kind of suspected that this was the direction that this was going to go in,” he said. [clients]. ... Our goal is to stay open as long as erez knew that his business—a large part of Advocates: LGBTQs possible to keep both patients and staff safe.” part of which is close contact with clients who He added that his facility “scaled down” pa- have serious medical issues—would not be sus- face additional tient services, by arranging telemedicine visits, tainable, at least in the short term.