If you are interested, have questions about this project, or have any input, contact the project coordinator, Ben Serrano, at bserrano@eqil.org or 773-477-7173.

Registration for the walk/run is $25 or $20 for students with ID. Registration can be paid either in advance or on the day of the event. Race day registration begins at 7 a.m.

The event is open to everyone, whether you walk or run, or if you would like to help by volunteering your time and energy in other areas. The task force needs people to help with the setup and breakdown of the run, helping with registration and handing out water to the runners and walkers along the route.

If you need more information about donations please call 827-2437 or email the task force at fundraising@mcatf.org.

The alliance (CISSA) is a local group dedicated to helping junior high and high school youth develop to their fullest potential in safe and nurturing schools that respect and honor differences.  We are growing in big ways, but we need your help! CISSA members are committed to helping lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and their allies. To this end, they offer support to local high school gay-straight alliance groups, and also plan and host a variety of social and educational events throughout the year to foster education, understanding and social opportunities for all youth.

To do the work necessary to achieve these goals, CISSA is looking for more people to get involved in this exciting mission. The open house is for all people interested in learning more about the organization or finding ways in which they can help. We need youth and adults to keep this successful organization active in Bloomington and Normal. This Open House will be interactive and fun! Don’t miss it!

Some exciting upcoming events CISSA members are planning include a social and educational event: “A Gay Affair,” in early June for local high school students, as well as a youth panel discussion and forum this fall. We need help from students and adults alike to organize and host these events.

If you’ve been looking for a way to help support and nurture LGBT youth and their allies, please consider coming to the CISSA Open House on May 6^th to get more information. We look forward to seeing you! Please contact Suzie Hutton (huttons@district87.org) or Alyssa Mandula (amandul@ilstu.edu) for more information.

Open Worship Church of Hope, 722 W. Chestnut St., is Bloomington-Normal’s newest GLBTQ-Affirming church and celebrated its first anniversary in January.  We have been blessed in many ways and are grateful to have a place where ALL can worship God just as they are. 

As a way of giving back to the community, especially in these hard times, the church will open a personal hygiene pantry for the GLTBQ community.  This outreach is intended for those on public aid or unable to afford these necessities: soap, shampoo, deodorant, toilet paper, toothbrushes and toothpaste, mouthwash, body wash, laundry detergent, bleach, etc.

Please help us spread the word about this effort.  If you or if you know of someone who may benefit from this outreach, please contact us through our website http://www.owcoh.com or contact Pastor Rob Stamper at 260-519-0125 to setup an appointment.  This service is strictly confidential.

If you would like to support this outreach, we will accept monetary donations (if by check, pay to the church and indicate “hygiene”) and we will accept personal hygiene items dropped off at the church. 

We thank God for the opportunity to do what He has called us to do by giving back to OUR community.

The city of Bloomington has a need for a pool of volunteers that would be interested in assisting with investigation of discrimination related to the city’s public accommodation guidelines which are part of the city’s Human Relations Ordinance (Sec. 6).

As a tester you would visit a public venue which is under investigation (i.e. restaurant, store, etc.)  Training is provided for testers.

If you are interested in volunteering to be part of the pool of testers, please complete a short volunteer form.

Brickman is looking for people who are willing to share their personal stories or thoughts. Even if you don’t personally identify as transgender, she would like to talk with others about how they think about transgender people, their thoughts on how the LGBT community includes them, and where society is compared to issues surrounding gays and lesbians.

For more information please contact Brickman at kapokarn@illinois.edu or 217-244-3011.

Ramona Oswald, professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, hopes to document the quality of life for LGBT people in downstate Illinois with regards to their self-identities, families, health, work environments, and local communities.

Participants should identify as LGBT, be 16 years or older, and currently live in downstate Illinois.

Participation will be kept completely confidential. Participants who complete the survey will have the option to enter into a lottery drawing for a gift certificate worth $25.00.

This survey was originally conducted 10years ago. Results from that study were used to advocate for nondiscrimination laws in Decatur, Peoria, and Springfield.  You can read the community report from the Rainbow Illinois survey that was conducted 10 years ago.

The current survey will allow Oswald to see how downstate Illinois, and the LGBT people living here, have changed over time. Results will be made available to the downstate Illinois LGBT community.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Oswald at roswald@illinois.edu.

The two couples participated in the project that highlights the struggles same-sex couples in Illinois face in the absence of a civil unions law. Civil unions could become a reality yet this year with passage of SB1716.

The videos can be viewed on youtube:

Suzie and Danielle

Elizabeth and Caroline

Please contact your elected officials today and ask them to support SB 1716! A vote could come as early as Tuesday, Nov. 30!

To find contact information for your elected officials go to www.votesmart.org.

1st – Make a call to Senator Elect Mark Kirk and ask for his immediate support of repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  If you’re a veteran please be sure to let the staff at Kirk’s office know that when you place the call.  Please note: you do not have to be a veteran to call, it is just important to mention it if you are.  Senator Elect Mark Kirk’s DC office number: 202.225.4835.

2nd – Once you make the call, please encourage your friends and family to call as well.  You could even post the request on your facebook to widen your reach.  It’s important as many folks as possible call Mark Kirk’s office.

3rd – You can help collect petitions that will be hand delivered to Kirk his first week in office.  I will send those out to you upon your request. 

Feel free to call me and ask me any questions.  Once you make the call, email me so I can keep record of the number of calls being made.  If you can only do one of the above it’s still very important and appreciated.

My Contact info:
Lee Reinhart
ilnavyvet@yahoo.com
773.680.0620 

The General Assembly is back in Springfield for the fall veto session and could take action on the civil unions bill as well as other legislation including the legalization of medical marijuana and expansion of gambling.

Equality Illinois is working statewide to gain support for the civil unions bill (SB 1716), which would permit all committed couples to enter into a civil union. If passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by the Governor, The Act would grant equal access for all committed couples to the state’s nearly 650 spousal benefits and protections. Same-sex couples would be able to enter into a civil union by obtaining a license from the city clerk, having a ceremony witnessed by a secular or willing religious official, and then registering their unions.

Equality Illinois has been working with grassroots organizations such as the Advocacy Council to urge citizens to contact their elected officials and ask them to support SB 1716. Equality Illinois also has spearheaded a petition signed by more than 300 clergy members from 270 congregations and seminaries statewide asking the General Assembly to pass the bill.

Our central Illinois legislators are mostly opposed or uncommitted to the civil unions bill; only state Sen. Dave Koehler and state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson have officially voiced support for the legislation. Still, we must contact our legislators – regardless of their support – and remind them that we and many of their constituents support the bill and want it passed.

Support for the bill can be found by looking at a poll of 1,000 registered, likely voters in Illinois. The poll, initiated by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute indicates 67.5 percent of poll respondents support either civil unions or full marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. Only 26.5 percent are opposed to any legal recognition, and 6 percent didn’t know or had no opinion.

Local surveys conducted by Illinois Wesleyan’s political science department classes also reveal that a growing majority of citizens in the Bloomington area favor civil unions for gay and lesbian couples in Illinois.

Equality Illinois continues to monitor the situation in Springfield and will regularly post updates on its website www.equalityillinois.org.

The fall veto session is scheduled to end Dec. 2 so the window of opportunity is very small. Please contact your representative and senator today and ask them to support SB 1716! Contact information for state legislators can be found at www.ilga.gov.

CISSA is also reaching out to area high school Gay-Straight Alliance sponsors, offering a place for professionals to collaborate and problem solve in the continuous mission to cultivate and help GSAs thrive. GSA sponsors from Bloomington High School, Normal Community High School, Normal Community West High School and University High School have all expressed interest in attending CISSA meetings with GSA student representatives to get more support for their clubs.

Social events are always popular among the younger members of CISSA, and plans are already underway for the upcoming holiday party in December and an Alternative Prom in May.

Acorn Equality Fund provides opportunities for scholarships and grants to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) persons, organizations and allies in Illinois’ downstate counties. Over $20,000 in scholarship money will be awarded at this year’s breakfast.

Tickets to the breakfast are $25. The Advocacy Council is putting together a table so if you are interested in sitting with us please e-mail Dave at davebent62@hotmail.com.

On October 7-10 the Advocacy Council for Human Rights in association with the Normal Theater will host Your Normal LGBT Film Festival. Our mission is to “create a showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender stories and arts to entertain, inspire and grow the number of central Illinois fans and champions.”

A project of this magnitude requires support from our local LGBT and allied communities. With that in mind, we are seeking sponsors to help defray festival costs and ensure that we secure the best LGBT film entertainment possible!

Each sponsorship level is named for the color of one of the stripes in the rainbow flag which has become the symbol of the LGBT Community. The sponsor levels include:

• Red – $25.00
• Orange – $50.00
• Yellow – $100.00
• Green – $250.00
• Blue – $500.00
• Lavender – $1,000.00

Your sponsorship shows support for the local LGBT community and your name will appear in the program booklet where it will be seen by the members of this community and its allies that are expected to attend the festival (sponsors can also donate anonymously).

Your donation to our sponsor program is fully tax-deductible will help us not only this year but as we begin planning for next year’s festival too.

For more information please see the sponsorship form.

Your support of this event is vital and much appreciated.

Debbie addressed the local LGBT community in the fall of 2008 and stated her support for issues that are important to us. She has stayed true to her word:

• She voted for the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act
• She voted for the repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy
• She has signed on as a sponsor of the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA)

Folks, before Debbie we did not had an LGBT-supportive congressman represent us and our interests. Her predecessors – Jerry Weller, Tom Ewing – were vehement opponents of equal rights for LGBT people. Likewise, the congressmen in adjoining districts – Tim Johnson, Aaron Schock – are also on record as opposing equality for the LGBT community.

Debbie’s campaign needs our help. Volunteering for her campaign or donating is vital if we are to keep her LGBT-friendly voice in Congress. To volunteer, contact Jason at Jason.Nippa@ilvictory2010.org. For more information about Debbie go to www.debbiehalvorson.com.

The Me, Myself & I Youth Project is dedicated to educating and empowering Bloomington-Normal’s GLBTQ youth and their straight allies in a safe and diverse environment. By providing support, education and referral services, as well as a place where they can be safe to explore their inner selves, the Me, Myself & I Youth Project helps GLBTQ youth become more comfortable with themselves, their sexuality, and their place in society.

Formed in 2009, Me, Myself & I Youth Project is currently recruiting interested persons who would like to volunteer. Founded by Berry Stevenson and assisted by Edward Sinclair Bruner, both long-time GLBTQ & HIV prevention advocates in Bloomington-Normal & Illinois, MMI Youth Project is especially interested in students & adults that are interested in serving on the Board of Directors.

An informational get-together will be held in August.  For more information or to see how you can help, please contact Berry Stevenson at youthdirector09@yahoo.com.