Illinois gay
legislator to retire

Suffering from HIV-related complications and cancer, Democratic Illinois state representative Larry McKeon will retire at the end of his term in January.

The 62-year-old McKeon, who represents the north side of Chicago, has asked the Democratic committee to name Illinois Commission on Human Rights attorney Jim Snyder to replace him on the November ballot.

McKeon was first elected to the general assembly in 1996 and helped add sexual orientation to the list of protected minorities in the Illinois Human Rights Act. Previously, he had served as Mayor Richard Daley's liaison to Chicago's gay and lesbian community. (The Advocate)