Calls grow for Chicago Pride Parade to find new location

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The chorus of those wanting Chicago to relocate its annual Pride parade is getting louder.

Chicago police reported nearly 60 arrests hours after the 2024 Chicago Pride Parade in Lake View, for everything from reckless conduct and battery, to gun possession and resisting arrest.

That, as well as similar violence in 2022 has many calling for the parade to be held downtown in 2025 — including longtime Chicago Tribune columnist and Channel 7 commentator Laura Washington.

In a new piece, Washington wrote : “This great parade is becoming more known for pandemonium than for Pride.”

Appearing at an unrelated press briefing on Monday, Mayor Brandon Johnson was asked for his reaction by WBBM’s Carolina Garibay.

“The city of Chicago, we are known for our celebrations, and Pride month this year, there was no exception there,” Johnson said. “It was a beautiful display of an entire community that needs more protection.”

As for possible changes to the parade, the mayor said he will continue discussions with his LGBTQ+ advisory council and “make decisions that are best for the people of Chicago.”

In her column, Washington said the “LGBTQ+ community and culture are celebrated and embraced widely” and asked why the parade should remain in a neighborhood that “cannot safely accommodate it.”

WBBM’s Carolina Garibay contributed to this report.

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