CHICAGO — Not all heroes wear capes and not all Mike Pences wear suit pants.
Apparently, at least one wears hot pants.
Friday, Chicago received a visit from both the vice president-elect and Mike Hot-Pence, who has gained fame impersonating the politician to raise funds for communities that feel slighted by Pence.
"The first time I dressed up as Mike Pence was my sexy Mike Pence Halloween costume. That was just to have fun and I wasn’t collecting money," the impersonator, whose real name is Glen Pannell, said.
"Then a few weeks after the election I was feeling a little bit down and powerless and decided I needed to do something, so I pulled my Mike Hot-Pence costume out of the closet, went to Times Square and started collecting money for causes and organizations I believe in," he said.
Pannell, of the Upper West Side in New York City, joined about a hundred protesters in Chicago rallying against Pence, who was visiting town for a GOP fundraiser where couples forked over $10,000 to attend the event and get a photo with him.
Gov. Bruce Rauner was part of the "host committee" for the $2,700-per-ticket fundraising luncheon, which kicked off around noon at the Chicago Club, 81 E. Van Buren, according to the Sun-Times. Rauner himself was not scheduled to attend, the paper reports.
Though Pannell has only been to three or four events like Friday's protest, he's been able to raise about $8,000 for groups like Planned Parenthood, the Trevor Project, International Refugee Assistance Project and Kids in Need of Defense.
His goal is to raise $10,000 by Jan. 1, he said.
"Sadly, it was very easy to choose the organizations and charities I’m raising money for because I just have to look at his record," said the 51-year-old.
"Those are all issues Mike Pence has been hostile to in his 16 years in office. He tried to ban refugees from Indiana just in September. We all see the horrible images coming out of Aleppo so at a time refugees need our assistance, he’s turning his back on them. He tried to defund Planned Parenthood in Indiana when HIV transmission rates were on the rise. He supported the religious freedom bill, he believes in conversion therapy. He’s certainly turned his back on the LGBTQ community," Pannell said.
Mike Hot Pence cares. Protest at Michigan Ave. and Van Buren pic.twitter.com/gl6cjfdkfg
— Josh McGhee (@TheVoiceofJosh) December 30, 2016
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