Report: City Cuts Staff, Financial Support For Gay And Lesbian Hall Of Fame

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A city official declined to comment Monday on reports that the city would no longer provide staff and financial support for the 20-year-old Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.

Reached by phone Monday, city Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues director William Greaves declined to comment on the report, which appeared in Gay Chicago Magazine last week. He said more information would be issued later in the week.

The magazine reported that the city had decided to end sponsorship for the Hall of Fame as part of an effort to cut the city's budget and restructure city government.

The Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame is funded by private donations, but has received staff support from the city's Commission on Human Relations, and members of the Advisory Council on LGBT Issues. The Hall of Fame's Web site says Chicago is the only known city that honors gay and lesbian residents in such a fashion.

The city also assisted the Hall of Fame with postage for mailings and stationery, and allowed the organization to use the Chicago Cultural Center free of charge, the magazine reported. But now, the Hall of Fame is being asked to pay $3,300 to rent the space for its Nov. 9 induction, the magazine reported.

With the change, the Hall of Fame Advisory Committee on the advisory council will be the only link between city government and the Hall of Fame, the magazine reported.

The Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame was founded in 1991, with a mission of making Chicagoans and people around the world aware the contributions of the city's LGBT community. Late newspaper columnist Jon-Henri Damski, pioneering gay businessman Chuck Renslow, the Howard Brown Health Center, and Gay Chicago Magazine itself were among the first inductees.

CBS Chicago Web Producer Adam Harrington contributed to this report.