Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - July 9, 2002
Sabrina L. Miller, Tribune staff reporter
The study by the Chicago Department of Public Health also found the AIDS rate among all Chicago women nearly tripled in the last decade, with women of color accounting for 85 percent of all female AIDS cases here. Eight of 10 of those women were black.
The statistics, compiled by the city's Office of HIV/AIDS Surveillance, were reported at a City Council Health Committee hearing called by Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th).
Even before realizing the hearing would coincide with the International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, Ocasio said he wanted to get a handle on the "face of AIDS" in Chicago.
"What we're looking for is basically to find out what is the real state of AIDS in the City of Chicago. It is a big problem in the Hispanic and African-American community," Ocasio said. "It has probably gotten a little bit worse in the City of Chicago than we all realize."
The study also found:
Latinos account for 15 percent of newly diagnosed HIV and AIDS cases.
AIDS disproportionately affects communities on the South and West Sides and some parts of the North Side.
Chicago ranks 5th in the number of people living with AIDS in the U.S.
"There isn't a single area of Chicago that hasn't been impacted by this epidemic," said Christopher Brown, assistant city health commissioner.
AIDS awareness advocates at today's hearing called on aldermen to urge state and federal officials to adequately fund AIDS programs.
Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) said mandatory testing should be considered, given the growing number of people who are unaware they have the disease and may inadvertently be spreading it. She said one of her three sons learned he had AIDS only because of mandatory testing at a drug rehabilitation facility.
"I'm more than an advocate, because my son has AIDS. When it represents the one that you've birthed, it makes a difference in how strongly you feel about it," she said.
Health Committee Chairman Ald. Ed Smith (28th) said he hoped the momentum of today's report and testimony would lead to public hearings throughout the city. Smith said he did not know when such hearings would be scheduled.
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