Aurora considers adding pride parade, permit vote Tuesday
AURORA, Ill. (WLS) --
There's a push to bring another Pride parade to the Chicago area, with a big vote scheduled in Aurora Tuesday.
The Chicago Pride Parade has celebrated the LGBTQ community for nearly 50 years. Tuesday, the city of Aurora might join in, hosting its own parade next June.
"It actually started with me talking with one of our board members who is a member of the LGBT community. And I simply asked, what do they do here? Is there a big celebration of any sort?" said Chuck Adams, founder of Indivisible Aurora.
A committee is scheduled to vote to decide whether to grant a permit to Indivisible Aurora.
Mayor Richard Irvin, who made history in Aurora when he became the first black person to be elected to that office last spring, released a statement Monday citing Dr. Martin Luther King. He said in part, "We are one Aurora and that includes all of us."
"It is the right of the organizers to stage the parade," the statement continued. "Dr. King also said that a right delayed is a right denied. I hope my colleagues will not delay this matter."
"I think that making sure that we are affirming kids, families, same sex, I think that's a positive thing for our city," Adams said.
Indivisible Aurora said the parade would not cost taxpayers a cent. It has already raised thousands of dollars and will reopen fundraising once it obtains a permit for the parade.
ABC7 Eyewitness News reached out to an alderman on the committee for comment, but did not hear back. There are only three people on the committee, and all that is needed is a majority. The vote is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Aurora panel expects crowd for Pride Parade vote
After a meeting between event organizers and local clergy — who shared a variety of concerns — the stage is set for Aurora officials to vote on a permit for the first Pride Parade for the LGBT community in the city's history.
Members of the Government Operations Committee will decide on the permit at the panel's next regular meeting at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 13. Because of the size of the crowd expected for the meeting, it will be held in the full City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place.
The parade is being organized by Indivisible Aurora, in conjunction with several other organizations. One of its members appeared Jan. 11 before the City Council's Government Operations Committee to apply for the parade permit for June 17, which is Father's Day. June is Pride Month.
At that time, Gwyn Ciesla, of Aurora, said the parade would be "very tame," "G-rated" and appropriate for every age level.
Some clergy members in Aurora also were at the meeting, and they said they wanted more information about the event. The Rev. Peggy Hicks, of Exalted Word Church, said some clergy are "worried about this event" and wanted more details about what it would entail.
Committee members tabled consideration of the permit until the Feb. 13 meeting to allow members of the clergy and parade organizers to meet. Not only did that meeting take place earlier this week, but Ald. Scheketa Hart-Burns, 7th Ward, Government Operations chairman, said she has met with the clergy on several other occasions.
Hart-Burns started the meeting between clergy and parade organizers by reading a city ordinance, based on state statute, that basically says the city cannot turn down use of public facilities "based on sexual preference."
Hart-Burns told The Beacon-News that despite what the law says, there still are some concerns. She added the city does have a responsibility of "making sure the event is peaceful and law-abiding."
An Aurora policeman at the meeting assured both sides that the police would be on hand to handle any cases of law-breaking at the parade.
Hart-Burns said clergy started with almost two pages of concerns, but those have been whittled down "to just a few."
One of those is that many clergy would like parade organizers to change the date from June 17, so that the event isn't on Father's Day.
City officials said organizers might also have an event during and after the parade in the Water Street Mall downtown that would include some vendors.
Under City Council rules, the Government Operations Committee has the final say over the parade permit. It does not need full council action. The other members of that committee in addition to Hart-Burns are Ald. Rick Mervine, 8th Ward, and Ald. Judd Lofchie, 10th Ward.
Aurora Group Seeks City Approval For "G-Rated" Pride Parade
AURORA, IL — A pride parade organizer made a request Tuesday for the city to approve an inaugural parade, possibly accompanying event or events, in Downtown Aurora June 17. Gwyn Ciesla, an Aurora resident and organizer with the group Indivisible Aurora, explained the vision for the parade.
"It's going to be Extremely G-rated, there will be no alcohol, there will be no nudity, things like that. It will be very tame," Ciesla said, adding that this would be something kids could feel comfortable going to. That Sunday in June coincides with the end of Blues on the Fox festival and Father's Day, and is sandwiched between Harry Potter festival the weekend before, and Chicago's Pride Parade the week after. June is pride month for the LGBT community and its allies.
The parade, with a limit of 60 floats or so, would kick off at 1:00 pm., and follow the same route as the Memorial Day Parade, staging and culminating on River Street. They're waiting on a certificate of insurance and talking to police about possible conflicts with Father's Day traffic.
Aurora's Special Events Coordinator Gina Moga said there's also the possibility of organizers seeking a special events permit to have a small vendor fair or event along Water Street Mall or Stolp Avenue.
Ciesla hopes the event will draw in thousands, and is working with other groups to offer more options for that weekend to boost the local economy.
One member of the public, Rev. Peggy Hicks, said, "We're just worried about this event and I think in all due reverence to people, we want to know exactly what they're going to do." Hicks, along with other members of the clergy, plan to meet with Ciesla in the coming weeks before the Government Operations Committee takes it to a vote, although Indivisible Aurora's Facebook page has already posted a banner with the event's date. The committee agreed to push the vote back to Feb. 13.