Ten years after the rainbow pylons went up on North Halsted Street, putting an official gay-friendly stamp on a neighborhood long known as Boystown, Chicago’s gay community is more visible than ever.
Just how big the gay community is, however, is hard to say.
There’s no official tally of gay individuals in Chicago. The Census does not track sexual orientation. Recent studies have suggested that 2 percent to 4 percent of the population is gay, but Bill Greaves, the city’s liaison to the gay community, believes the proportion is higher in Chicago because it’s a gay hub of the Midwest. Greaves, director of the Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues with the city’s Commission on Human Relations, estimates that about 10 percent of the city’s population is gay, or 280,000 people.
In the closest thing it has to an official count of the gay population, the Census tracks the number of same-sex unmarried partners living in the same household — but that does not include gay singles or gay couples that live separately.
As Chicago celebrates Pride Month, and gears up for the 39th annual Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, here’s a snapshot of the city’s gay community.
COUPLES & FAMILY
22,884 Same-sex couples living together in the Chicago metropolitan area in 2006.
8,983 Same-sex couples living together in the city of Chicago in 2006.
64% of couples in Chicago in 2006 were male.
36% of couples in Chicago in 2006 were female.
Other statistics
– 39.7 Average age of household head in lesbian couples in Chicago metro area in 2000.
– 41.5 Average age of household head in male gay couples in Chicago metro area in 2000.
– 47 Average age of household head in heterosexual couples in Chicago metro area in 2000.
Among individuals in same-sex couples in Chicago in 2000 (the most recent breakdown available):
– 62% were white
– 16% were black
– 17% were Hispanic
– 2.6% were Asian/Pacific Islander
– 2.4% were Native American or Other (multiracial)
9 out of 1,000 live-in couples in Chicago are same-sex, making Chicago 18th in the nation for per-capita same-sex couples.
30% of same-sex couples in the Chicago area were raising kids in 2000.
1.8 Average number of kids per family among same-sex couples with children.
1.9 Average number among heterosexual married couples with children.
1,887 Adopted children living with lesbian or gay parents in Illinois, representing 2.6 percent of all adopted children in the state.
[ Source: Gary Gates, Senior Research Fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, using Census data; University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Professor Dan Black, using Census data; Urban Institute/Williams Institute, March 2007 report]$109,761
Average household income of gay male couples in the Chicago area.
$84,043
Average household income of lesbian couples in the Chicago metro area.
$88,937
Average income of heterosexual couples in the area.
Other statistics
– 61.4% of gay male household heads had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
– 47.8% of lesbian household heads had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
– 35.5% of household heads in heterosexual couples had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
[ Source: University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Professor Dan Black, analyzing Census 2000 data ]Domestic partnerships
1,313
Same-sex couples registered with the Cook County Domestic Partnership Registry since its creation on Oct. 1, 2003. The registry allows couples to officially record their relationship in case an employer offers partner benefits, but the registry itself does not provide any rights or benefits.
60640
ZIP code with the most couples on the registry, encompassing parts of Andersonville, Edgewater, Ravenswood and Uptown.
[ Source: Courtney Greve, spokeswoman for the Cook County Clerk’s office ]HIV & AIDS
9,892
People living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago who contracted the virus through men having sex with men.
47%
of total HIV/AIDS cases in Chicago in 2006 that were a result of men having sex with men.
[ Source: Chicago Department of Public Health ]HATE CRIMES & DISCRIMINATION
LGBT-related hate crimes reported in Chicago in 2007, representing more than a third of the
72 hate crimes reported last year.
Sexual orientation-related discrimination complaints filed with the city in 2007, less than 6 percent of the 272 discrimination complaints filed last year.
[ Source: Ken Gunn, First Deputy Commissioner of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations ]Pride on parade
Break out your boa. The 39th annual Chicago Pride Parade steps off at noon Sunday.
450,000
Last year’s parade attendance. This year’s parade is expected to draw the same, organizers said.
100-150
Attendance at Chicago’s first Pride Parade in 1970.
85
Floats scheduled this year.
0
Floats in the parade’s first year.
250
Total entries scheduled this year, including floats, vehicles and walking contingents.
17 blocks
Length of the parade route.
[ Source: Richard Pfeiffer, PRIDEChicago coordinator ]Fun & games
– 74 Nightlife entries on the Chicago Pride Web site that are designated as a “predominantly gay and lesbian business.”
– 2,800 Members registered with Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association, a non-profit gay and lesbian sports organizations that offers recreational and competitive-level leagues including volleyball, softball and kickball.
– 12,000 Athletes who competed in the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago.
[ Source: Marcia Hill, president of CMSA; chicagopride.com; Chicago Games Inc. ]The March of time
A LOOK AT THE PRIDE PARADE — AND SOCIETY’S — EVOLUTION.
1969
STONEWALL
Police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York, leading to a revolt by the mostly gay and lesbian patrons. The Stonewall Riots are considered the catalyst of the modern gay rights movement.
1970
FIRST PARADE
Chicago’s first Gay Pride Parade began with a rally of 100 to 150 gays and lesbians in Washington Square Park (a.k.a. Bughouse Square) in the Gold Coast, with a march down the sidewalks of Michigan Avenue to what is now Daley Plaza for speeches. Circle-dancing around the Picasso sculpture ensued.
1971
A MOVE
The parade became more festive and moved north, to Clark Street and Diversey Parkway, at the time the hub of the gay community.
1972
AND ANOTHER
The parade moved north again, this time to Belmont Avenue, where 1,000 people braved being pelted by eggs and rocks as they marched.
1977
BACKLASH
Christian singer Anita Bryant’s national anti-gay crusade spurred an increase in parade registrants, as well as parade spectators, to more than 3,000.
1981
CITY PROPS
Mayor Jane Byrne designated the day “Gay Pride Parade Day in Chicago” for the first time.
1982
NEO-NAZI PROTEST
A national anti-gay Neo-Nazi group held a protest rally near where the parade ended, resulting in another big attendance boost — including a sizable contingent of straight allies for the first time.
1989
DALEY MARCHES
Mayor Daley became the first sitting mayor to march in the parade.
1990
BIG NUMBERS
Pride Parade attendance swelled to 100,000.
1996
NEW MARCH
The first Chicago Dyke March took place a day before the Pride Parade.
1999
BLACK PRIDE
The first Black Pride Festival took place.
