PRIDE_061026

June 10, 2026

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Drag queen Riley performs at Out in the Burbs Pride celebration in downtown Oak Park on June 7, 2025.

PHOTO BY TODD BANNOR

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June 10, 2026

PRIDE 2026

Left to right: Left to right: Left to right: My Hanh La, Senior Universal Banker My HanhIsbeth La, Senior Universal Banker Saravia, Assistant Branch Manager My Hanh La, Senior Universal Banker DeniseIsbeth Warren, Branch Manager Isbeth Saravia, Assistant Branch Manager Saravia, Assistant Branch Manager Susie Goldschmidt, Market President Denise Warren, Branch Manager Denise Warren, Branch Manager Susie Goldschmidt, Market President Susie Goldschmidt, Market President

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PRIDE 2026

June 10, 2026

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TaskForce launches free LGBTQ+ therapy program on West Side

Bilingual, barrier-free mental health services aim to expand culturally competent care for LGBTQ+ youth, adults, and families

By HECTOR CERVANTES

A

Contributing Reporter

fter hearing repeated requests from LGBTQ+ youth for an onsite therapist they could trust, TaskForce Prevention & Community Services, 9 N. Cicero Ave., has launched a free, bilingual therapy program on Chicago’s West Side, expanding access to mental health care for LGBTQ+ youth, adults, couples and families who often face financial, cultural and systemic barriers to treatment.

Mental health services will be led by Annette N. Sandoval, MA, LPC, CADC, a bilingual English and Spanish speaking therapist with extensive experience supporting LGBTQIA+ individuals and other marginalized communities.

The initiative was inspired by feedback from LGBTQ+ youth and community members served by the TaskForce organization, said Reyna Ortiz, the organization’s program director. Ortiz said participants repeatedly voiced a need for on-site therapy services, prompting the nonprofit to expand access to free mental health care on the West Side.

“The medical system is complicated. We all know that. If someone doesn’t have adequate insurance or the ability to navigate health care and depending on the identity, to be a young trans youth navigating particular spaces, not feeling comfortable within the space, we made sure that once we acquired the partnership that it was going to be a low barrier. Doesn’t matter if they have health insurance or not,” Ortiz said.

When asked why the launch of the LGBTQ+ affirming therapy program is especially meaningful during Pride Month and what message Ortiz hopes it sends to LGBTQ+ youth, young adults and adults on the West Side, Ortiz said Pride Month is about understanding the history of the LGBTQ+ community.

“People like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson — trans women who helped lead the movement against the way society views transgender people, and LGBTQIA+ people

PROVIDED

TaskForce program director Reyna Ortiz, engaging with the students. more broadly, particularly Black, Latina, and Indigenous trans women played a vital role in that history. We wanted to begin Pride Month with a focus not only on celebration but also on healing,” Ortiz said.

“Our youth are still facing a tremendous number of social challenges. Pride is about celebration, but when the festivities are over, we still have to confront the realities that many LGBTQ+ people experience every day,” Ortiz said.

When it comes to receiving the therapy, participants can simply request an appointment and be connected with the therapist based on availability. While staff can assist individuals in obtaining health insurance for their broader medical needs, lack of in-

surance or being underinsured does not prevent anyone from receiving mental health services through the program.

“We heard from our participants that they wanted to build a relationship with their therapist. They wanted to see them around TaskForce and feel that they were part of our agency. We also serve a large population of trans youth, so we were looking for a therapist who is trans-identified. Finding a therapist who is a woman of color, a Latina, a licensed clinician and someone interested in working with our population was important to us,” Ortiz said.

The organization intentionally staffs its programs with Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals, allowing participants to see

themselves reflected in those providing resources and support. Leaders said this community-centered approach ensures that people with lived experience can build meaningful connections with youth and help guide them through the challenges and issues affecting their lives.

“Our youth are dealing with a tremendous amount of challenges. On our end as providers, we’re offering barrier-free therapy led by a trans woman of color. They’re going to have meaningful conversations about how we heal from trauma, how we understand the things that have been attacking us as trans people in society, and how we can learn from those experiences while beginning the healing process,” Ortiz said.

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June 10, 2026

PRIDE 2026

OPALGA+ remakes identity as Out With Purpose branding

Some pushback on name change but new signs of growth, say leaders

By ETHAN TUCKER

T OUT WITH PURPOSE/FACEBOOK

JUNE 11

Contributing Reporter

he Oak Park area’s pioneering local lesbian and gay association, OPALGA+, has sparked conversation within its community as the organization moves in the direction of rebranding. OPALGA+ has long been known for welcoming members of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, hosting monthly potlucks in members’ homes along with its

scholarship program and advocacy efforts.

For decades, the organization existed under names explicitly centered around lesbian and gay community members, giving many people a safe space to gather and connect. But as language, identity and allyship have evolved, some members began asking whether the organization’s name still reflected the broader community they wanted to represent.

The organization is now rebranding into “Out With Purpose,” with the intention of encouraging more people, including those who are not LGBTQ+, to feel welcomed into the community. For many members, the rebrand is not about abandoning history, but widening the circle and ensuring the organization remains welcoming and

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“There has been some pushback from our members,” said Cas Scaman, co-chair of OPALGA. “Change is always going to be a little bit difficult, but we’ve felt a lot of support from a lot of our original and new members.”

Some longtime members had emotional attachments to the original name and expressed concerns about OPALGA turning into something that no longer aligns with the organization’s more than 35 years of identity and history.

“We’ve changed a lot just in the past few years,” said Scaman, “and we’re really trying to make sure that we’re becoming even more inclusive, but we don’t want to become something that’s unrecognizable.”

Leaders of the organization said they are looking to create solidarity across identities, while making people who may have previously felt excluded by the older terminology feel welcomed.

They also noted that some people were unsure whether they would fit directly into the organization’s model. With the changes in openness, OPALGA has already started seeing a positive response and an increase in new members.

“People are becoming members or starting to come to events for the first time because they feel more welcome with the new name,” Scaman said.

Co-chair Lynn Griffith said the rebrand is in-

tended to better reflect the broad spectrum of identities represented within today’s LGBTQ+ community.

“It only becomes a community when you actually know people in real life, when you actually connect with them, care about them and help them through things.” Griffith said.

Alongside its transition into “Out With Purpose,” the organization also plans to maintain its scholarship program. The program started in 2014 and has awarded $348,000 to students. Most recently, the organization voted to award $65,000 in scholarships to 13 students through $5,000 awards. The scholarships support students attending trade schools, two-year colleges, and fouryear universities, and are open to allies as well as LGBTQ+ students.

Leaders said the scholarship program reflects the organization’s broader goal of investing in future generations while maintaining the sense of community that has defined the group for decades. In addition to scholarship recipients, the organization includes members ranging from teenagers to individuals in their 80s and 90s, including some founding members who remain active today.

“Our mission is pretty simple,” Scaman said.

“We want to build connections and community among LGBTQIA+ individuals and their allies.”

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June 10, 2026

PRIDE 2026

Celebrating Pride and amplifying local voices

FP Library Pride Month programming to honor LGBTQ community through books, artwork

By JACKIE PISANO

T

Contributing Reporter

hroughout Chicagoland, LGBTQ Pride Month is widely celebrated with parades and other types of vibrant performances and large community celebrations.

But at the Forest Park Public Library, staff and patrons are looking forward to commemorating the month on a more intimate, literary-focused scale.

All June, the library will feature a special Teen Pride Virtual Art Gallery, a teenfocused digital display in the Young Adult Lounge.

With artwork submitted by locals, the youthcentric exhibition will highlight personal themes of pride, from identity and resilience to healing and serenity.

“We wanted to encourage self-expression and creativity by providing a safe environment for display and give teens an outlet to share their art with other teens,” said Martha Sullivan, Young Adult Services manager at the library. “Teens can submit digital art, short prose or poetry, or digital photos of 3D media.”

Works, which will be both credited and anonymously displayed, will later be collected to create a print zine that teens can browse in the YA Lounge.

And on Saturday, June 14, Forest Park residents will take center stage at BABS Comedy Club (7316 Madison St.) as they participate in the library’s first-ever Pride Book Buzz from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Designed to celebrate the library’s di-

verse print and digital offerings highlighting LGBTQ themes, sensibilities or creators, the event will feature rapid-fire two- to three-minute-long recommendations, or “buzzes.” Adult Services librarian Dennis Raleigh, who describes themselves as a “queer glam clown,” will serve as emcee for the program.

“Forest Park Public Library is proud to help foster a space that embraces the full spectrum of its residents,” Raleigh said.

“Programs like this serve as an important reminder that no one is alone, and that support, understanding and acceptance can always be found.”

All adults are welcome at the Pride Book Buzz, regardless of whether they are Forest Park residents.

According to Skye Lavin, adult services manager, the library’s collaboration with the comedy club stems from owner Emily Ramirez’s continued support since opening her business two years ago.

“BABS Comedy Club has been a funky and wonderful library partner for many improv workshops,” Lavin said. “She was the first to volunteer to ‘buzz’ about her favorite book by David Sedaris (a prominent figure in LGBTQ literature).”

Lavin says the Book Buzz is an event in which guests will revel in the appreciation of all-things pride and experience appreciation for the library’s many offerings in the genre.

“What makes the act of reading so great is the opportunity to encounter and appreciate the manifold sensibilities within the human experience,” she said. “Reading

deeply supports thinking deeply, and connecting deeply with empathy for others and for ourselves. Reading, thinking and caring are needed for a community to truly flourish and carry on sustainably into the future.”

Overall, Lavin highlights the library’s Pride Month programming as an effort to inspire joy and enrich Forest Park’s deeprooted community spirit and support of

Pride traditions.

“Programs create opportunities for neighbors to become new friends, and feel authentically represented, respected and uplifted by the special sense of belonging alive in Forest Park,” Lavin said. “When we celebrate together, whether as part of the LGBTQ community or as an ally, friend or neighbor, we celebrate the beauty of a united and kind Forest Park.”

June 10, 2026

PRIDE 2026

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Proud to serve you in Springfield HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

Assistant Majority Leader Senate President Camille Y. Lilly, 78th District 6937 W. North Ave, Oak Park 708-613-5939 staterepcamilleylilly@gmail.com

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June 10, 2026

PRIDE 2026

Pride Fest sweeps into Forest Park Village celebrated pride June 5

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

Drag queen Britney Taylor performs at Forest Park Pride Fest on June 5.

With Pride colors now refreshed along the medians on Madison Street and Pride banners attached to light poles along the street, Forest Park continues to lean in to celebrating Pride Month in the village.

Friday evening, June 5, the annual celebration returned to Constitution Court on Madison Street. On a lovely early summer evening, locals gathered to watch a variety of joyful drag queens perform, young dancers from Ovation Academy took the stage and local political folks including Mayor Rory Hoskins made remarks. There was he opportunity to make art. And, of course, local vendors provided the food and drink.

PHOTOS BY TODD BANNOR Community members paint signs of LGBTQ support.

Members of Ovation Academy perform a song and dance number.

Mayor Rory Hoskins speaks at the Pride Fest.

A mom and daughter take a selfie.

Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin at the Pride Fest.

PRIDE 2026

Drag queen Angel LeBare speaks at Forest Park Pride Fest.

Drag queen Venezia Sodi performs

Drag queen Fox E. Kim performs

June 10, 2026

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PRIDE 2026

June 10, 2026

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PRIDE 2026