OPALGA's Accomplishments
- Succeeded in having the Village of Oak Park's Human Rights Ordinance ammended to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment (by Village and Village contractors), housing and public accommodations.
- Developed and conducted an annual village-wide Cultural Arts Festival that organized concerts, readings and art displays in Scoville Park to share the creative visions of LGBT artists with the wider Oak Park area community.
- Proposed and supported the Village of Oak Park extending Domestic Partnership Benefits to same-sex partners of village employees.
- Proposed and supported the passing of a Domestic Partnership Registry for same-sex couples in Oak Park. This was the fist of its kind in the state of Illinois and became a model for other communities to develop their own.
- Worked with and educated Oak Park River-Forest High School administrators to amend its Human Dignity Policy to protect lesbian, gay and bisexually identified faculty, staff and students.
- As need presented itself, support groups were developed to accommodate the unique requirement of the people who formed them. As a result, Prism offers weekly drop-in for sexual minority youth ages 14-18. Spectrum offers weekly drop-in for sexual minority youth 18-24. RED for sexual minority young women from 16 to 26 years old. Amigos Latinos Apoyando Siempre (ALAS) meets for Latino men who are gay bisexual, transgendered or questioning. And Women Like Me gathers together mature women who may be married and are questioning their sexual orientation. Attendees come from over 35 suburban communities and Chicago.
- OPALGA has interacted with other community organizations such as Sarah's Inn, Oak Park River Forest Cultural Arts Center, Oak Park Convention and Visitor's Bureau, Oak Park Health Department to create diversity sensitive and LGBTQ community supportive programs and events.
- Initiated boycott of Oberweiss Dairy in Oak Park as a result of its board chairman's stated homophobic opposition not only to same sex marriage but also civil unions. Oberweis also made contributions to the campaign to write discrimination in to the State of Illinois' constitution. In addition, Oberweis in his 2004 senate primary campaign his position on immigration bordered on racism against Hispanics.
- Operate on numerous grants and funds awarded from federal, state and local sources.
- 1998 received the Equity Award from the Human Rights Campaign.
- 2005 was presented by State Senator Don Harmon with the original bill and pen that signed into law (by Governor Rod Blagoyavich) prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation in the state of Illinois.
- 2005 received the Community Service Award from Resources Unlimited Foundation.
- 2006 received the Village of Oak Park Fitzsimmons Public Health Award.
- 2006 received the Oak Park Community Relations Human Rights Award.
- 2006 was a Supporting Sponsor of the Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival held in the Chicagoland area and the venues in Oak Park.
