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HIV on TV: Why representation matters

December 6, 2018

By Raven Feagins The U.S. version of the TV show Shameless focuses on a dysfunctional family from Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. The show is filled with cringe-worthy moments, plenty of (often dark) humor and compelling storylines. During seasons six and seven (2016) the show also included a character named Caleb who was living with HIV. Caleb was an attractive firefighter...
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Intimacy on Trial: The Case of Sanjay Johnson

November 19, 2018

By Aaron Talley  An Ill-Fated Hookup  In early October 2015, when Sanjay Johnson, then 22, met up with college freshman James Booth for a hookup after meeting on Jack’d, he had no idea this consensual encounter would lead to Booth accusing him of knowingly transmitting the HIV virus.  I interview Johnson over the phone. It is now three years later, and...
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[VIDEO] Chocolatiers at Four Seasons Chicago prep for World of Chocolate

November 16, 2018

World of Chocolate 2018 is right around the corner, folks! Check out our behind the scenes interviews with our launch party chocolatier, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago , who delighted us last month with their chocolate-filled treats at the World of Chocolate launch party held at the British Consulate General Chicago. Get ready to indulge at our premiere World AIDS Day event on Friday,...
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Midterm elections redirect Illinois’ path forward

November 7, 2018

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, people around Illinois and across the country went to the voting booth to participate in the most basic right and responsibility in our republic: to duly elect those we shall entrust to represent us at all levels of government.  Every two years we as a nation make our voices heard, and in Illinois that voice was a clear and ringing denunciation of the type of politics...
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AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Legal Council for Health Justice Statement on Medicaid Hepatitis C Treatment Restrictions

November 7, 2018

Legal Council for Health Justice and AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) laud the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) announcement today ending the department’s policy of rationing coverage of life-saving drugs to cure hepatitis C (HCV) for Medicaid participants.  As the deadliest infectious disease in the U.S., HCV affects an estimated 3.5 million Americans. ...
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Pride Action Tank: We See You

October 23, 2018

To co-opt the words of old Kanye, “Donald Trump doesn’t care about transgender people.” This president of the United States has put a target on the backs of our trans-kin, and we cannot be silent about it.    According to the New York Times, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable...
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Prevention advocates take unprecedented action to save choices for people at risk of HIV

October 22, 2018

MADRID - A group of advocates and public health professionals challenged the all funders of HIV prevention research in attendance at a global conference on research for HIV prevention (HIVR4P) to explicitly offer support for short-acting, user-controlled methods for HIV prevention via its soon-to-be-funded HIV prevention trial network.  Holding signs that said, “Whose...
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Justice has been served -- AFC lauds the justice received for the murder of Laquan McDonald but more must be done

October 5, 2018

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) lauds the justice received for the murder of 17-year-old, Laquan McDonald. Nearly four years after the fatal shooting was caught on video, Van Dyke was found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder, sixteen counts of aggravated battery, and not guilty on one count of official misconduct. Van Dyke shot 16 bullets at Laquan McDonald for 14 seconds...
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By reclassifying and renaming female condoms, FDA expands possibilities for sexual health

September 28, 2018

The National Female Condom Coalition gratefully welcomes news today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved forward with recommended changes to regulations for the female condom, a sexual health device that protects against STIs including HIV. The FDA’s Sept. 27 release in the Federal Register (Volume 83, Number 188) announces three significant changes to how these devices...
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Immigrant families are under attack! AFC joins the fight against public charge rule changes

September 27, 2018

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) strongly denounces the Trump administration’s latest attempt to destroy the lives and health of immigrants to the U.S. The administration recently announced  an intent to expand the list of criteria that will render someone unable to apply for a green card or change their immigration status. Under the proposed rules, people who do not have...
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