(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new report from GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy group, found that Illinois ranks third on the list of states with the highest number of drag events that were targeted and threatened in 2022.
The report, released in late November, offers what creators called a “comprehensive count and analysis of increased threats, protests, and acts of violence against drag events nationwide.”
They found over 140 cases of anti-LGBTQ incidents targeting drag events, eight of which were in Illinois. Only Texas, with 20, and North Carolina, with 10, had more anti-drag attacks.
In compiling the study, GLAAD reviewed news reports from all 50 states and U.S. military bases. The organization tracked protests that “explicitly targeted drag events,” as well as instances when drag events faced cancellation or rescheduling due to threats or severe criticism.
“Because news reports were used as the sole source of tracking incidents, it is likely that even more incidents occurred that did not receive media coverage,” GLAAD officials wrote in the report.
The report specifically cited the cancellation of a planned drag bingo event at the Downers Grove Public Library in September. Organizers of the event said they had received threats against the library.
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“We tried our best to make Drag Queen Bingo happen,” Library Director Julie Milavec wrote in a statement following the cancellation. “However, due to the severity of the threats made against the library, we have been forced to cancel the event.”
On Dec. 14 — after the report was released — Uprising Bakery and Cafe in the northwest suburbs canceled a holiday-themed drag event following an alert from the Department of Homeland Security.
Instead of the planned drag show, Uprising Bakery held a pride party on the same day.
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