Yesterday we reported that a Chicago-area man filed a federal lawsuit against particularly brutal and anti-gay police officers.

Some of you wanted to know what this man looked like and who's representing him. The man, Frankie Brown, can be seen to the right.

As for his legal representation, Brown's hired Jon Loevy and Matt Jenkins of Loevy and Loevy, a firm known for taking on over-aggressive cops.

For more pictures of Brown and his lawyers, check out Chicago Indy Media.

Remember when we praised Miami detective Confesor Gonzalez for keeping a queer cold case hot? Well, now we have to wag a finger at some of his police officer peers. We've just received a press release announcing a lawsuit against Chicago police for allegedly gay bashing, tormenting and stealing from a peaceful gay man.

Read the truly disturbing details after the jump.

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• PlanetOut-owned Men magazine named abdominally-bless Johnny Castle as their "Man of The Year". On a somewhat related note, Matt Damon won People magazine's Sexiest Man top slot. Note that the gays have far more flare - and flesh. [See a NSFW shot of Castle, after the jump. And be sure to check out the magazine's new blog.]

• Iranian Chief Justice halts "gay" execution, calls sentence violation of Islamic teachings:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has learned that the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, has nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen found guilty of multiple counts of anal rape (ighab), allegedly committed when he was 13 years old. The Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.

For the record, no one accused the man of rape.

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Maybe God does hate fags…

Chicago-based Episcopal Reverend Tracy Lind lost her bid to become the Windy City's new Bishop. Instead, the Chicago diocese voted a Washingtonian named Jeffrey D. Lee as their new spiritual leader. NY Times provides more details:

The Rev. Tracey Lind lost her bid Saturday to be the second openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church and the first female bishop of its Chicago diocese.

The Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash., won the election to lead the 40,000-plus member diocese.
…
The outgoing bishop, the Rev. William D. Persell, said the election “should not, in any way, be seen as a vote against a gay or lesbian person.” He said women make up a third of the rectors and vicars in the diocese, and that gays and lesbians are “some of our most creative clergy.”

Oh, yes, we gays can find 1,001 new things to do with a cross!

A big congratulations to absolutely adorable lesbian teens Lupe Silva and Brandy Johnson.

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Turf war! Bird watchers and sex trolls are clashing over Chicago's Montrose Park, thus giving reporter Joel Turner an opportunity to flex his imagination:

Luis Munoz, an avid bird watcher of 12 years, has seen a remarkable range of rare winged creatures this fall migration season, including the Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow and the red knot.

He also has come face to face with one species he hopes never to encounter again but knows he will: the Chicago cruiser.

That's far more flattering than the name we were thinking, which we're sure most of you can imagine.

Russian rabble-rouser Nikolai Alexeyev will be the keynote speaker at Chicago's Matthew Shepard March this Saturday. Alexeyev's made international headlines for his tireless gay activism and the outing of prominent politico Alexander Chuev.

That stunt may earn Alexeyev slander charges.

Of Alexeyev's involvement, Gay Liberation Network's Andy Thayer says "[His work] demonstrates how rights have always been won, regardless of country."

• Brooklyn lesbians calendar proves that New York's the most attractive city in America.

• Chicago's Fire Department calendar proves that New York's the most attractive city in America.

• Episcopal Church votes to "restrain" gay officiation, no official same-sex blessing.

• Senator Ted Kennedy comes out for ENDA hate crime legislation. Senate to vote Thursday.

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Peter Akinola and other anti-gay Anglicans may soon get a new punching bag. The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago included openly gay Rev. Tracey Lind on their shortlist for the Windy City's new bishop.

New Hampshire caused an international - and ongoing - religious incident when they inducted Gene Robinson back in 2003.

Robinson's ascension riled up conservative leaders, such as Nigeria's Akinola, who are urging the international Communion to take a firmer stance on the fagalas.

What a shitty way to start the weekend: a 22-year old Chicago homo asserts a gang of three anti-gay men harassed him this morning. Then, as a bit of icing, one of the thugs punch him in the face.

The man told Chicago police three men confronted him early Friday morning in the 6700-block of North Sheridan Road, used a derogatory anti-gay term and then one of the men punched him in the face before they all ran off.

Yes, FRC, police are treating the incident as a hate crime.

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Hundreds of evangelical Lutherans got a gay shock this morning after eighty-two ministers staged a coming out of Biblical proportions. Protesting the churches ban on gays and gay marriage, God-loving queers lifted the veil and stopped living a lie.

One of the men, Rev. A. Dale Truscott, retired from his Michigan parish early to enjoy more time with his longtime lover, whom he kept hidden during his four year tenure at Saline's Holy Faith Episcopal and Lutheran Church.

I retired a couple of years sooner than I needed to because of this. I have been quiet and tried to keep the peace, and it's very painful. You finally get to the point in your life where you're tired of the pain.

The active, retired and on leave reverends, pastors and seminarians plan on making their voice heard at next week's Lutheran conference in Chicago. During this biennial event, Lutheran leaders will discuss, among other things, the role of gays in the broader church community.

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As gay priest scandals go, this one's pretty juicy.

Chicago Reverend Mark Sorvillo pleaded guilty last Friday of bilking more than $200,000 from his parish, St. Margaret Mary.

While Sorvillo spent some of the money on himself, the majority of the dough went to a married gay-for-pay male stripper, James Sosnicki.

The two men met while Sosnicki, who lives in Louisville, gyrated at a Chicago gay bar. Sorvillo apparently fancied him, because the men became fast "friends". Sosnicki claims the men never slept together, but the details do seem a bit suspect - and not just for the stolen loot…

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Jasmyne Cannick has a war of words on her hands.

Flavaworks' porn producer Phillip Bleicher filed a $250,000 lawsuit against the sappho-journo and other gay bloggers after they wrote about his run in with Chicago's Department of Health, a phony charity and an investigation down Miami way.

According to Cannick, Bleicher packed up his Chicago-based company, which operates Cocoboyz, Thugboy and PapiCock, and moved the crew to Miami after getting busted for unsafe sexual practices. Bleicher says that's bullshit and wants Cannick to pay.

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Plenty of gays love Whole Foods - and now the mega grocery's showing it's love for the gays. The chain will open a 40,000 square foot location to anchor Chicago's new Center on Halsted: a gay epicenter.

While some companies, such as Wal-Mart and the repentant Kroger, eschew the bent boys and girls, Whole Foods looks forward to being a big name - and humble - advocate. Store manager Tom Marciniak says, "It's not that big a deal. We're going to really promote the center. We'll be one of their greatest marketing vehicles." A grocery with fruits on the menu? Now that's fresh.

A Chicago justice sparred spared Nicholas Gutierrez his life. A court found the 23-year old gay guilty of the 2002 rape and murder his female funeral home co-worker, 51-year old Mary Stachowicz.

The peers apparently got along swimmingly, but things took a fatal turn when Gutizerrez came out.

365 Gay provides the gory details:

On the day of the murder she allegedly asked him "Why do you have sex with boys instead of girls?"

He flew into a rage and beat, raped, stabbed and strangled Stachowicz in an apartment above the funeral parlor.

He then wrapped the body in bedsheets, placed the wrapped body into a plastic garbage bag and stuffed it into a crawlspace.

Gutierrez claimed Stachowicz's reaction recalled his mother's abuse, which Gutierrez's lawyers pleaded be considered in his sentencing.

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