Ald. Helen Shiller decides to not show up for the GLBT Pride Parade. Readers have told us that they saw several local aldermen in this year's parade, but no Helen. We remember just last year, she was a no-show, but the previous year, just before the election, she proudly marched next to Alderman Tom Tunney. Coincidence? We think not.Update: It appears that it all depends on where you were standing at yesterday's Pride Parade if you caught a glimpse of the Alderman. We have heard of several Helen sightings on Halsted, but none on Broadway.
Update #2: We now have photographic proof that the Alderman was in at least part of the parade. A reader sent us the above photo showing the Alderman sitting on the back of a Sebring convertible at W. Bradley Place and Halsted. Whether or not she ducked out after this photo was taken remains to be seen.
Helen was there, she was booed at, maybe she pulled out. It was at the beginning of the parade, by Whole Foods.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting. Can anyone else confirm seeing Helen in the parade at other points? Maybe she did duck out.
Yea, I didn't see her at Halsted and Addison...
ReplyDeleteI don't know what she looks like, so I'm not sure if I saw her, but she had a delegation, anyway, at Belmont and Halsted.
ReplyDeleteI was at Grace and Broadway/Halsted and saw Helen's "supporters"...2 people holding signs that looked embarassed and waiting for the parade to be over
ReplyDeleteI'm not gay, nor do I live in NY, but, thought this article about Gov. Paterson and NYC's gay pride parade was pretty cool.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/nyregion/30paterson.html?ref=nyregion
His heart is definitely in the right place.
I was at the Whole Foods intersection. There was a string of politicians and their hundreds of gay supporters holding signs. Then there was the lonely car with Helen Shller and her few staff members. The boos were very noticeable. It wouldn't surprise me if she did duck out early.
ReplyDeleteYou've do to hand it to her, though, to have the guts to show her face in front of a community that she has basically flipped the bird to for so many years.
she was there, I saw her, and I booed as did numerous other people.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine who lives in Edgewater just texted that she was sitting in a crowd that was chanting "Go to Hell Shiller". Even though she lives in the 47th ward, she said she joined in enthusiastically.
ReplyDeleteAll the reported booing certainly doesnt reflect well on Shiller, nor the many booers, the majority of whom were certainly gay folk.
ReplyDeleteBut it makes sense that gay "gentrifiers" wouldnt like her, because Helen represents the face of Uptown they would like to replace with trendy restaurants, clubs, and upscale residences. And if they're settling down and having kids, they likely want the area nice for them, too, and Helen represents a roadblock to that.
Don't forget that drinking can make people act obnoxiously, and the annual Pride parade,to me at least, is an excellent (albeit sometimes entertaining) example of unbridled mass public alcohol consumption.
During the closing cermonies for the Gay Games Helen's boos could be heard throughout the stadium. Boos from 500 feet away is one thing but we you are 20 is another.
ReplyDelete"All the reported booing certainly doesnt reflect well on Shiller, nor the many booers"
ReplyDeleteI'd say it reflects worse on her.
Political karma can be a rude bitch, and Helen got an earful (reportedly) of that, yesterday.
You can't blame people for boo'ing a politician they don't feel is properly representing them.
It may not be tactful, but it's highly Constitutional.
Honestly, if you looked like Helen - as seen in that last black and white photo posted on this site recently - would you choose to reveal yourself in a public parade? Add a dash of ward-wide revulsion and the math is easy. It sounds like she gave it a shot at the start of the parade and bolted. What a shock.
ReplyDeleteI had the advantage point of being on a second floor balcony directly overlooking the parade route (near Hydrate) and could see everything very clearly. I saw Tom Tunney, I saw Gene Schulter, then I saw a few floats down a Helen Shiller car with about 6 people walking along side holding Shiller/Pride signs. As we all got ready to boo and show our thumbs down from the balcony, we all laughed that Shiller was not in the car nor any where around it. We booed her 6 sign holders. Whether she joined the parade at a later point, I don't know, but she was definitely not in or near her car at Halsted and Cornelia.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely saw her in the car. I was in front of Cell Block, just north of Waveland. Her car was held up by a slow down of the parade right about in front of the Center, so they sped up in front of Cell Block just to catch up. So I didn't have much chance to boo, but I did as loud as I could. I didn't hear anyone else around me boo, but they didn't cheer either - her car went by fast enough I think she just wasn't recognized by many.
ReplyDeleteAgain bashing her for no reason and something that will not help get her booted out next election.
ReplyDeleteShe was there and she got booed. Which is bs no matter how you feel about her.
Classless!
ps I was across from Charlies on Broadway.
ReplyDeleteI think it's easy to miss people period.
What happened by Whole Foods I heard someone got injured?
I was at Wellington and Broadway, and she was most definitely sitting in the back seat of the convertible. She had a baseball cap and sunglasses on, and was not waving or anything. If you did not know what she looked like, it would be easy to miss her, as all the other politicians were walking/running alongside their vehicels, or at least waving to the crowd! (But after reading this, I can see why she was keeping a low profile at that point in the parade). I of course booed as well, and shouted "Safety First in the 46th ward!" over and over. I was the only person booing that I could tell.
ReplyDeleteThe only other person who got booed more was Todd Stroger. I do not think that it's classless to boo politicians, it's an occupational hazard for them. They want the power, they gotta deal with the booing.
ReplyDeleteIt was classless because people right beside me were booing her and I don't want to be lumped in with those people and put on her bad apples list so she won't take my phone calls. LOL.
ReplyDeleteShe still have a few more years.
"She was there and she got booed. Which is bs no matter how you feel about her."
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Philly, I think its appropriate at parades....and weddings....and drafts
"I think its appropriate at parades....and weddings....and drafts"
ReplyDeleteDon't forget boo'ing Santa.
That's hard core.
Santa is a fraud. His fat jolly ass deserves to be booed.
ReplyDeleteAs does Shiller. As does Stroger.
Hell if I had known those two tax wasters were there I might have gone and booed them myself. While dressed as Santa of course.
How can anyone take this blog seriously when it's obvious that you will go to any lengths to bash Shiller? I can attest that she was at the parade riding in a convertible. Your sloppy vetting makes me question the veracity of all of your posts. Obviously there is no pretext of objectivity here. Your sole purpose apparently is to bash Shiller without any regard for the facts.
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Echo in here?
Too funny she got booed. Are we sure they were not saying loooouuuu? As in looooooser?
At the risk of feeding a troll:
ReplyDeleteThis is a blog, not the New York Times. It's allowed to have a point of view. As far as the veracity of their posts, they update and correct whenever given new information. Like today.
Dan,
ReplyDeletecan you attest that she was in the convertible for the entire parade?
As for the trust-worthiness of this site, notice the second comment in this thread, as well as the two updates (w/pic).
I'll grant you that there are times when UU's initial post isn't 100% on target, but they do a great job in the self-correction department.
This would have been a perfect place to march for Pride and for an end to violence in Uptown.
ReplyDeleteThat picture of Helen in the car was not the scene at Cornelia and Halsted...as I previously posted, we had a large group with prime view...standing on the second floor balcony directly overlooking Halsted right above Caribou Coffee. Shiller's car and 6 people holding Shiller/pride signs were stopped right in front of us. Our balcony gave loud boos, thumbs down and other gestures. One of the sign holders at first waved at us and then she had a shocked look on her face when she realized all of the boos were meant for them.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Shiller was late like she was for the Wilson Mens Hotel hearing and joined the parade later on? Or maybe she was acting like she does at community meetings and simply coming and going as she pleased during the parade. lol. Or maybe she had to pee while her car was at Halsted and Cornelia...
When I saw her (Halsted/Roscoe, 7-11 parking lot) There was a fundamentalist Christian protester carrying a ginormous sign right next to her car. I got the impression that the crowd was booing the protester, not her (although when I booed, I meant it for both!)
ReplyDeleteBooing a fundamentalist Christian protester? Shame on you thats like booing God himself!
ReplyDeleteBooing Helen Shiller? Shame on you thats like booing God herself!
Ok I'm no Shiller fan, BUT as a gay man I'm thankfull that she was there for at least a while, I saw the car with her staff but didn't see her. No matter-
ReplyDeleteLast year on the LOGO channel there was a small report on areas where GLBT's lived that have changed for the better with commuinity action. The story was a year or so old and there was a section about Chicago's Boystown. Both Shiller and Tunney was in the story talking about the changes that were made from the late 1980's through the 1990's. Helen had talked about the problems with some of the Dakota condo residences' complaining about the noise next door at Circuit Nightclub. Thankfully she helped protect the nightclub, and had said- "If it wasn't for places like Circuit, Halsted would not be the type of street that it is today, they helped make this section of the street better." She even had said that she learned a lot with city planning after what had happened due to the problems with the two places. Make your own mind on that last statement, but I was glad to see her in that story.
The parade is only 39 years old and 39 years ago there were NO POLITICIANS local or statewide that would dare to show their faces and stick-up for us! People complain about politicians showing up for parades bitching about "there only there for your votes"....well duh! I'm thankfull that they are there. Even if they did duck-out from all the booing.
edward the 2nd, the irony of your post is so thick its crazy.
ReplyDeleteUptown is one of the areas that is seeing alot of GLBT growth, and its the GLBT community that is pushing for many of the improvements in Uptown. Helen Shiller is in direct opposition to the GLBT community in Uptown because they are doing evil things like buying condos and demanding lower crime rates.
Shiller is there to act like she cares about the GLBT community, but in reality she sees you as the enemy trying to ruin her vision of utopia.
ohhhh, she was there, and if any of you were standing at the turn going on to Broadway you would have heard me. along with many others booing and hissing which made me very very happy and gay...
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting, Tom Tunney and Gene Schulter had an army of folks while she had her few minions. How pathetic. However, I did receive a really nasty look from one of the staffers...and that's when I knew my job had been done for this years parade.
DanRosamilia - when she starts to deliver, then the bashing stops. pretty f'ing simple.
ReplyDeleteAs for the UU - it's not just Shiller bashing, there are plenty of posts announcing community events, trivia, and other things related to Uptown. I find it a great resource as to what's going on. Give it a chance -
Edward2nd,
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, while doing the right thing regarding the Circuit/Dakota controversy, Shiller's lawyer son made a nice buck.
He has also represented at least one other ward liquor licensee with issues before "da city". Isn't that special. I can't wait till Patrick Daley gets outta the Army and starts getting some more city contracts.......ooops. I forgot that is just the Chicago Way.
It is also interesting she claims to have learned something regarding city planning. You could have fooled me.
Halsted could use more density in terms of residents. However, condo owners tend to be older and like things a bit quiet. Or they stay in place and get older and then desire quiet. Halsted is clearly NOT a primarily residential street. What you do is change the zoning to allow larger buildings IF the builders agree in the form of a legally binding covenant to NEVER convert the buildings to condominiums.
You get the best of both worlds. More residents walking and spending their lovely green money in the hood and the party atmosphere that draws people to the hood.
Lord, if it wasn't for my hooker and cheerleader scandals I would run for office myself. I guess I could become a Republican and then rant and rave about all the stuff I did in my sinful past. Then I could bring out my baby's mamas to parade around with my large headed oversized, overfed progeny.
All I was doing was stating the facts of what I saw on that program. I'm no fan of Shiller though Windycityeagle, would you rather NOT see Helen and her "minions" there? And if she didn't show up, would you all complain about that as well?
ReplyDeleteI understand what you're saying but it just seems like she can not do anything with out all the Negative-Nancys bitching about every little thing of what she does or doesn't do. And this is coming from a person that helped get signatures for Cappleman's campaign.
Great read Irishpirate! I did not know that her son was a part of that.
ReplyDeleteThough buying a condo next to a night club that's been there in one form or another for many years, the buyers should have realized what they were getting into. And if they want quite then they should move to the bloody 'burbs.
The answer is obvious and I'm surprised no one figured it out. Remember the weather, intermittent showers? Intermittent sightings of the alderman?
ReplyDeleteHelen's fear of water?
How about a little fire, Scarecrow!
LOL!!!
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