Kane County Reporter

Randy Shilts was born on August 8, 1951, in Davenport, Iowa. He grew up in Aurora, Illinois, with five brothers in a conservative family. As a child, he showed an early interest in journalism. Shilts studied journalism at the University of Oregon, where he became openly gay and ran for student office with the slogan "Come out for Shilts." After graduation in 1975, he faced challenges finding work due to his sexuality. He began his career at The Advocate and later worked as a national correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle. Shilts became known for his groundbreaking coverage of AIDS and LGBT issues. His first book, The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, was published in 1982 and brought attention to Harvey Milk’s life. His second book, And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, published in 1987, became a seminal work on the AIDS crisis, winning awards and later adapted into an HBO film. Shilts’s final book, Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf, examined military discrimination. Shilts was honored with multiple awards for his work but faced criticism from some within the LGBT community. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1985 and died from AIDS-related complications on February 17, 1994. Shilts’s early years in Aurora were influential in shaping his later achievements and activism in journalism.