Three-day Chicago Leather Pride kicks off Friday
CHICAGO — The three-day Chicago Leather Pride Weekend kicks off Friday, with an array of workshops, social events and hobby gatherings that also raise money for Chicago’s Leather Archives and Museum (LA&M). The second annual event begins Friday with a Happy Hour at the Barrelman Tavern, 6001 N. Paulina St., from 4 to 6 p.m. From there, it’s a smorgasbord of 16+ social events; workshops; hobbying events like crafts, drawing and cigars; and bar events. The LA&M was formed in 1991 with the mission of “making leather, kink, BDSM, and fetish accessible through research, preservation, education and community engagement.” Last year’s debut CLPW weekend raised $10,000 for the nonprofit. Head to the Chicago Leather Weekend website for a full schedule and to purchase tickets.
"The Luminous Line" by Tesserae this weekend
CARBONDALE — Southern Illinois’ “Queer+ Chorus,” Tesserae, offers its spring concert this weekend, with two chances to hear the group live. ““The Luminous Line: Finding Freedom & Peace,” takes place Saturday and Sunday evenings at Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship. The evening of live choral music features works written by diverse composers, such as Latin American composing duo Diana Saez and Suzzette Ortiz; “new-romantic” composer Elaine Hagenburg, and 19th-century English composter Edward Elgar. Tesserae formed in late 2024 and welcomes LGBTQ+ community members and allies of all experience levels. The concert is free, with donations appreciated here. The concert starts at 6 p.m on both nights at CUF, 105 N. Parrish Lane, Carbondale.
Millionaire tax goes nowhere in Illinois House
SPRINGFIELD — A constitutional amendment to add a three percent tax on income over $1 million a year has failed in the Illinois House, reports Capitol News Illinois. Speaker Chris Welch, D-Westchester, said April 22 the amendment didn’t gain enough support among his fellow Democrats and will not be called for a vote. Constitutional amendments require a 71-vote supermajority in the State House; Democrats hold 78 of 118 seats. Funds from the tax would have gone towards property tax relief and education. Critics said the tax would have hurt small businesses; a study by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute said the tax would allow Illinois to fully fund education or cut property tax by 20 percent. Welch said more work will be done to build support for a millionaire tax in the future. (Caleb Sneeden contributed to this report)
