Amid mounting political attacks on LGBTQ+ rights nationwide, elected officials from Chicago and Cook County gathered June 2 to raise the Progress Pride Flag over Daley Plaza in a show of resistance, unity and resolve.
The ceremony, now in its fifth year, blended celebration with a clear call to action that the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation is far from over.
“Pride started not only as a celebration, but as a protest against those who would deny us our rights to be our authentic selves and to love who we love,” said Cook County Commissioner and 8th Congressional District candidate Kevin Morrison, who emceed the event. “We stand here in the face of all those who would seek to erase us, to declare loudly and proudly that we are here and we exist.
Cook County Commissioner Maggie Trevor, the first out lesbian to serve on the Cook County Board, focused her remarks on the escalating attacks against transgender people—and how they have emboldened people to act out against the entire LGBTQ+ community.
Trevor pointed to a recent attack in the northwest suburbs where a 19-year-old woman was assaulted after attempting to use the women’s restroom. The attackers, an adult and a child under 18, face felony charges, and the local state’s attorney’s office is investigating whether to add hate crime charges.
“What gives people the license to commit this kind of hate crime is the dehumanization of people who do not conform to a narrow view of gender,” Trevor said. “The assault we see on trans people is an affront to all of us. It threatens women’s rights. It threatens civil rights. It threatens all of us.”
Trevor urged people to reject shame and fear in the face of these attacks.
“I am proud of the ability to be part of a community with joy and openness rather than shame and dehumanization,” Trevor said. “I am proud. I will not go back.”
The theme of courage in the face of erasure continued with Precious Brady-Davis, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Brady-Davis, who is the first Black trans woman to serve in public office in Cook County, reminded the audience of Pride’s radical roots.
“At this time, we are commemorating a riot. In 1969, two brave trans women, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, said that we will never go back into the shadows of history,” Brady-Davis said. “And let us be clear in this moment—as the Trump administration tries to legislate us out of history—we will not go back.”
Ald. Anthony Quezada, who was recently appointed to the 35th Ward seat, also evoked the radical origins of Pride.
“We gave them riots. They gave us rights,” Quezada said. “We raise this flag today in their memory and in honor of every person who has fought for the right to live openly, freely and without fear.”
Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th Ward) looked ahead to the upcoming Chicago Pride Parade, held annually in his ward. This month’s parade takes on a theme of “United in Pride,” a message Lawson said is important to keep in mind as the forces against the LGBTQ+ community look to sow division.
“While we are under attack federally, we have to hunker down and take care of the institutions here that sustain us,” Lawson said, naming organizations like Brave Space Alliance, Center on Halsted, Howard Brown Health and Life Is Work.
Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke to Chicago’s broader role as a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people, especially in light of national rollbacks.
“Chicago is a bright spot in the Midwest for inclusivity,” Johnson said. “People come here from near and far to access healthcare, for gender affirming services, to feel safe and to celebrate who they are.”
Johnson also pledged to “take a strong, affirmative stance against any threats from the federal government.”
“We will not allow our liberties to be captured by tyranny,” Johnson said.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle traced the long arc of LGBTQ+ progress in Chicago and Illinois.
“Local organizing laid the groundwork for state-level protections that made Illinois one of the first states to ban conversion therapy and expand gender-inclusive policies,” Preckwinkle said. “The strides we celebrate today were achieved through decades of hard work, and that work is far from over.”
As the Progress Pride Flag rose over Daley Plaza, Morrison closed the ceremony with a message of hope and determination.
“Together, I know we’ll continue to make progress for our community and advance LGBTQ+ equality and equity here in Cook County and across this nation,” Morrison said.