We were proud to accept the Community Spirit Award at the Center on Halsted’s Human First Gala on Saturday.

This recognition reflects the collective work of the Windy City Times team—and the community that makes this work possible every day. 💙

85% of Americans believe trans people should have the same rights and protections as everyone else.

That includes: 92% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans, 87% of Independents

CHANGE BEGINS WITH US.

🎧 HRC’s Tori Cooper unpacks HIV advocacy, trans visibility, and how our stories are changing hearts and minds on the @whatthetrans.com podcast: https://whatthetrans.com/ep152/

‘They’re erased’: When trans people are misgendered after death, the consequences extend beyond paper The way people are accounted for and processed after death in regard to sex and gender remains ‘in the Dark Ages’ – often representing a loss of self that weighs heavily on the minds of trans people.

This is one of my articles that I'm most proud of — it's from 2023, so it's a treat to see @thebuckeyeflame.com give it some new life and new readership!

My LGBTQIA+ #townhall with the Center on Halsted is tomorrow at 5:30 pm!

Register here to join: www.eventbrite.com/e/congressma...

Several hundred people marched through downtown Chicago today in support of transgender rights.

The march followed a Rally for Trans Visibility, organized by Trans Up Front Illinois, a nonprofit that’s been on the frontlines of advocacy for trans youth.

Story to come for @windycitytimes.com

Jake Wittich smiles in front of a purple sign reading "Northwestern"

Jake Wittich smiles in front of Northwestern University's journalism building.

I'm teaching LGBTQ+ Journalism this spring at @medillschool.bsky.social at Northwestern University!

I'm SO excited to guide my students through this work that I care so deeply about. I hope you'll all keep an eye out for their stories—and say yes when they reach out for interviews!

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first — and apparently last — chief homelessness officer exits

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first — and apparently last — chief homelessness officer exits

Chicago’s No Kings protest weaves LGBTQ+ voices into a broader movement - Windy City Times Longtime LGBTQ+ activist Gary Chichester has been showing up to protests for more than 50 years. On March 28, he was back in the crowd at Chicago’s No Kings rally, warning that hard-fought rights are ...

Thousands gathered in Grant Park and marched through downtown Chicago for the latest No Kings protest, which featured LGBTQ+ voices at every level—from organizing and emceeing to speaking and showing up in the crowd.

Read more at @windycitytimes.com

Chicago reshuffling how $8M in HIV funding will be directed after grant process mismatch - Windy City Times Chicago health officials are revising how roughly $8 million in federal HIV funding will be allocated after the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) released grant applications before a required...

Chicago opened its HIV grant applications before the council responsible for setting funding priorities had finalized its annual process.

Health officials said they moved early to avoid funding delays—but it created a mismatch between the applications submitted and the approved funding levels.

Illinois primary: LGBTQ+ candidates secure state and local wins, stumble in federal contests - Windy City Times LGBTQ+ candidates in Illinois primary win several state and local races but fall short in key federal contests; multiple incumbents advance.

In Illinois’ Democratic primary, LGBTQ+ candidates found success in state and local races—but struggled to break through in federal contests.

WGN-TV lays off 8 on-air reporters and anchors Monday in massive downsizing The ax is falling at WGN-Ch. 9, cutting a wide swath out of “Chicago’s Very Own” TV newsroom.

Sean Lewis, a nearly two-decade veteran at WGN-TV who has anchored the weekend morning broadcast since 2010, was among several reporters and anchors laid off Monday

From confronting AIDS stigma to building relationships with LGBTQ+ organizers, Jackson’s approach reflected a broader vision of the Rainbow Coalition that included communities often left out of political power.

Read more: windycitytimes.com/2026/02/20/j...

✍️: @jakewittich.bsky.social

Alum Brings Hands-On Community Journalism Seminar to Campus Journalists Jake Wittich ‘17, managing editor of “Windy City Times,” Anna DeShawn, founder of E3 Radio, and guest speakers share their expertise in a six-week program on community journalism at Columb...

@columbiachi.bsky.social laid the foundation for my career by giving me real-life journalism experience and so many industry connections I still lean on today.

It's a full-circle moment to now teach @windycitytimes.com's community journalism cohort back at my alma mater.

Democrat under fire over campaign memo implying LGBTQ+ candidates aren’t electable in key California race Ammar Campa-Najjar’s campaign implied that LGBTQ+ candidates can’t win in a newly drawn congressional district.

SCOOP: Ammar Campa-Najjar’s campaign circulated a memo that Democrats say was a dog whistle against the electability of LGBTQ+ candidates running for Congress in California.
www.advocate.com/politics/amm...

New Chicago LGBTQ+ Director: Antonio King YouTube video by The Gaily Show

@jakewittich.bsky.social on Chicago's new LGBTQ Director: Antonio King.

Watch full interview here: youtube.com/live/fWqw1Q7...
@windycitytimes.com
youtube.com/shorts/N2FSG...

Pikachu sighting 🥹

LGBTQ+ Advisory Council chair Jin-Soo Huh steps down as city ushers in new director - Windy City Times Mayor Brandon Johnson made a surprise appearance Feb. 10 at the Chicago LGBTQ+ Advisory Council’s quarterly meeting to thank outgoing chair Jin-Soo Huh for years of volunteer leadership. “The fact tha...

STORY: windycitytimes.com/2026/02/11/l...

The Pride flag was removed from Stonewall. That matters. - News Is Out When the Pride flag comes down at Stonewall, it sends a message. A journalist reflects on why that loss of visibility matters.

Wrote my first op-ed on a subject that is dear to me. The Pride flag at Stonewall is more than just a symbol. Its removal is an astounding move to erase our history. newsisout.com/2026/02/the-...

Mayor Brandon Johnson surprised the Chicago LGBTQ+ Advisory Council during its quarterly meeting tonight to thank outgoing chair Jin-Soo Huh for his service.

Among Huh's accomplishments as chair is advocating for the city to hire an LGBTQ+ Affairs Director—a promise fulfilled last month with the appointment of Antonio King (pictured here). Tonight was King's first meeting with the advisory council in this new role.

Story to come for @windycitytimes.com.

Mayor Brandon Johnson surprised the Chicago LGBTQ+ Advisory Council during its quarterly meeting tonight to thank outgoing chair Jin-Soo Huh for his service.

Tamara Leigh of @blaqueoutmagazine.bsky.social explains why journalists need to be embedded in the communities they cover.

This convo is part of The Map of Us pod, a series from @newsisout.bsky.social bringing the LGBTQ+ Media Mapping Project to life.

🎧 Listen: newsisout.com/the-map-of-us-podcast

Bad Bunny taps Chicago conductor to lead surprise orchestra in Super Bowl halftime show

Giancarlo Guerrero, artistic director and principal conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival, in what he called a “beautiful surprise,” had nine days notice to join the top-secret musical lineup of the Super Bowl halftime show, which featured powerhouse vocalists Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.

The second that people are getting sick of you, that’s when you have to go 👏 even 👏 harder 👏

Meet the class of Windy City Times’ 2026 community journalism cohort - Windy City Times Six early-career and journalism-curious storytellers will learn the ins and outs of reporting on underserved communities this spring in Windy City Times and E3 Radio’s second-annual Our Stories, Our P...

Let's go!!!! I'm so thrilled to embark on this journey!

We'll teach key community journalism practices, including non-extractive interviewing, building trust and other best-practices when covering underserved communities.

Join me in congratulating this year's cohort members!

I was out sick for a week and a half in January and my email inbox still never recovered 😭

Equality Illinois leader at 2026 gala: Organization “built to face” political challenges - Windy City Times Equality Illinois’s new CEO, Channyn Lynne Parker, gave the keynote at the rights-advocacy’s 2026 annual gala the evening of Jan. 31, where she asserted that the event, which according to estimates ho...

Equality Illinois CEO Channyn Lynne Parker set the tone at the organization’s 2026 gala, calling the night “a sanctuary."

She praised @govpritzker.illinois.gov and @mayorofchicago.bsky.social for affirming that “dignity is not conditional,” and drawing cheers with a forceful call to “abolish ICE.”

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, and we're honoring Black LGBTQ+ history through the Windy City Times archives.

From 1996–2004, BLACKlines was a Black queer community newspaper documenting Chicago’s Black LGBTQ+ life, leadership, and organizing.

At last night’s Equality Illinois Gala, Gov. JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) compared MAGA Republicans’ attacks on trans people, immigrants and people of color to tactics used in Nazi Germany.

“We’ve seen it before in Germany in the early ‘30s, and now they’re invading American cities.”