The Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chicago. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley attended nearly every installation ceremony each year through 2010, his last year as mayor. His successor, Rahm Emanuel, has also attended annually. The Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame is the only officially recognized gay and lesbian hall of fame in the United States. Mayor Daley said that the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame "honors individuals and organizations within the LGBT communities who have demonstrated a commitment to diversity and work to enrich and unify our city." It currently has no physical facility but maintains on online website, which allows anyone to visit the Hall of Fame at any time. The Hall of Fame holds an annual installation ceremony for new members. Posters of previous inductees have also been exhibited at the James R. Thompson Center, which is the principal state government building in Chicago; at the Illinois State Library in Springfield; and at the Gerber/Hart Library, an LGBT institution in Chicago.
Famous quotes containing the words chicago, gay, lesbian, hall and/or fame:
“Must we really see Chicago in order to be educated?”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“...I discovered that I could take a risk and survive. I could march in Philadelphia. I could go out in the street and be gay even in a dress or a skirt without getting shot. Each victory gave me courage for the next one.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)
“When you take a light perspective, it’s easier to step back and relax when your child doesn’t walk until fifteen months, . . . is not interested in playing ball, wants to be a cheerleader, doesn’t want to be a cheerleader, has clothes strewn in the bedroom, has difficulty making friends, hates piano lessons, is awkward and shy, reads books while you are driving through the Grand Canyon, gets caught shoplifting, flunks Spanish, has orange and purple hair, or is lesbian or gay.”
—Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century)
“This is a Senate of equals, of men of individual honor and personal character, and of absolute independence. We know no masters, we acknowledge no dictators. This is a hall for mutual consultation and discussion; not an arena for the exhibition of champions.”
—Daniel Webster (1782–1852)
“Expenditure now attracts fame as conquest once did.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)