West Cook News

The Village of Oak Park will host its annual Pride Party on June 22, encouraging attendees to don their best rainbow-inspired outfits. Those interested in volunteering for the event can sign up online.

Oak Park joins communities globally in recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) Pride Month throughout June. This month-long celebration highlights the diversity and achievements of the LGBTQ community while raising awareness about their ongoing fight for equal rights.

Oak Park has a longstanding history of supporting LGBTQ issues. In 1989, the village amended its Human Rights Ordinance to prohibit employment and housing discrimination against gays and lesbians. The village secured domestic partnership benefits for its employees in 1994 and established a Domestic Partnership Registry for same-sex couples in 1997, becoming the first municipality in Illinois to do so.

The rainbow flag, an iconic symbol of the LGBTQ movement, is flown year-round outside Village Hall. Oak Park was also among the first municipalities nationwide to formalize diversity as public policy by adopting a written statement emphasizing openness and acceptance as essential to community quality of life. The village’s Diversity Statement can be read at www.oak-park.us/diversitystatement.

Pride Month is celebrated in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, considered a pivotal moment in the Gay Liberation Movement.

For more information about Oak Park's Pride Party or other related events, contact DEI@oak-park.us or call 708.358.5778.