June 28, 2004

BY JIM RITTER Staff Reporter

Growing up, recalls Carmen Burgos, there was an advantage to having a drag queen for a brother.

"You got to put on the perfect makeup," she said.

Burgos' brother, Luis "Jennifer" Lopez, died of AIDS in 1996, and she still misses him terribly.

"He was like a dad and a mom and a sister all in one," she said.

Burgos wore a T-shirt in her brother's memory during Sunday's Pride Parade on the North Side, which attracted more than 350,000 people. Burgos was among the marchers from Horizon Hospice, one of more than 200 floats that celebrated the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

Elsewhere in the lineup:

Lake County comes out: Many gays and lesbians in Lake County spend a lot of time in Chicago or Milwaukee. "Most of our connections are north or south," said Ted Byers of Waukegan.

But on the second Saturday of the month, some stay closer to home for a "rainbow brunch" in Vernon Hills. And for the first time Sunday, county residents had their own float, which featured a gay marriage theme.

"This is a big first step toward saying, 'We're in Lake County,'" Byers said.

Sign from the Chicago Public Health Department: "If you're sexually active, make syphilis testing part of your routine."

Texas barbecue: Berlin Night Club, a North Side gay bar, roasted President Bush in effigy. A character dressed as the Statue of Liberty periodically poked the presidential dummy with a fork.

Among other things, riders were mad at Bush for opposing gay marriage. "He's a horrible, mean, nasty Republican," said one rider, who declined to give his name because he teaches in a Catholic school.

Police blotter: A clash with anti-gay protesters led police to arrest three people at the parade.

A mother's pride: Twenty-three years ago, Lee Anne Clark's son, Keith, came out of the closet. But only in the last couple of years has Clark herself told friends her son is gay.

Clark recently joined the new Palatine chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Sunday was her time in the march. "It's great. The enthusiasm is wonderful," she said. "I wish I had brought my grandchildren."

Politicians love a parade: Pols who marched or sent representatives included U.S. Senate nominee Barack Obama, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Democratic U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky and Rahm Emanuel and various county commissioners, Chicago aldermen and elected officials. One of the few Republicans was state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, state GOP chair. Also marching was Bob Walsh of Oak Park, "the first openly gay father elected to an Illinois school board."