By Gary Barlow

Staff writer

Mayor Richard M. Daley welcomed three organizations and 13 individuals, including the late Mayor Harold Washington, as new inductees in the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame at a ceremony Oct. 18 at the Chicago Cultural Center.

“This is an example of bringing people together,” Daley said. “I congratulate you. I thank you for making Chicago a better city.”

The event marked the 17th year of inductions into the Hall, which is sponsored by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations’ Advisory Council on LGBT Issues. It is the only known municipally sponsored GLBT hall of fame in the world. Information about its inductees is featured in periodic exhibits at the Illinois Capitol, the Illinois State Library, the James R. Thompson Center and elsewhere.

This year’s inductees were:

Dr. David Blatt, 56, and Dr. David Moore, 57, partners, groundbreaking medical practitioners and advocates in HIV/AIDS care;

Robbin Burr, 53, for her pioneering work in founding corporate marketing campaigns and for her leadership as the executive director of the Center on Halsted;

Tarrina Dikes, 50, for her tireless work on behalf of Howard Brown Health Center, Gay Games VII, POW WOW, the Lesbian Leadership Council and Affinity;

Martin Gapshis, 60, president of Progress Printing, for long-standing service to the city of Chicago, Lakefront Supportive Housing, Chicago International Film Festival, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the NAMES Project and the Center on Halsted;

Jeffrey E. McCourt (1955–2007), founding publisher of Windy City Times, award-winning journalist, businessperson and activist, for helping to win mainstream respect and political victories for Chicago’s GLBT communities;

Dr. Carlos T. Mock, 51, physician, author, and advocate, who has helped found Latino community organizations and has raised crucial funds other organizations;

Chilli Pepper, one of Chicago’s most celebrated entertainers, an early symbol of gender diversity who used her visibility to bring awareness of HIV/AIDS issues to the public;

Karen C. Sendziak, 50, for 20 years of documenting and preserving the history of Chicago’s GLBT communities through her work with Gerber/Hart Library;

Patrick Sheahan, 51, for his record of civic, business, banking, education and GLBT community leadership, including his invaluable efforts in building the Center on Halsted;

Vera Washington, 55, promoter, HIV/AIDS counselor and youth service coordinator, for co-founding Executive Sweet Inc., which provides opportunities for lesbians of color, for her HIV/AIDS awareness efforts and for her work with GLBT youth;

American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), Chicago Chapter, for 15 years serving as a voice for GLBT veterans in the Chicago area and providing moral, financial and social support to GLBT veterans;

Chicago Games, Inc., for hosting Gay Games VII in Chicago, which brought GLBT athletes and cultural participants together from around the world;

A Real Read, an African American GLBT performance ensemble that from 1996 to 2002 performed original poems, prose and plays that gave voice to the often-silenced black gay community;

Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, 60, a prominent supporter of GLBT rights and marriage equality throughout her political career, who was the first U.S. Senator to appoint a GLBT liaison;

Harold Washington (1922–1987), who as mayor of Chicago promoted and facilitated GLBT political participation and empowerment. He appointed the first mayoral liaison to the GLBT communities and established the City’s first official Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues with an openly lesbian staff director.