City boosts Pride Parade entries to 150

The city will now let more groups join next month’s Chicago Pride Parade, though a shortened route is set in stone, the mayor’s office announced Friday.

Twenty-five more entries will be allowed to participate, bringing the total to 150 — still down from last year’s 199.

“This collective endeavor reflects our shared commitment to fostering community engagement while ensuring an efficient allocation of resources,” Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a news release. “By prioritizing accessibility and sustainability, we aim to create an inclusive and vibrant celebration that enriches the fabric of our city while minimizing logistical strains.”

The shortened route, which in previous years began at Montrose and Broadway, will now exclude the Uptown community.

The new route will allow “major arterial and side streets to be open for safety vehicles and traffic access, and to provide additional opportunities for spectators to flow to the east side of the route,” the announcement said.

The news comes after a month of shifts regarding Chicago’s popular celebration, which is set for June 30 this year.

New city safety regulations prompted the downsizing of the historic parade and an earlier start time, at 11 a.m.

The number of entries initially dropped to 125, and the Sun-Times reported all of the schools from last year’s parade were among the cuts.

Teachers criticized the decision, and one day after the news broke, parade organizers gave the schools a shared entry slot to participate.

Following the entry cap, the Mayor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Council announced in an open letter it was not consulted about parade changes, the Windy City Times reported.

Last week, city officials unveiled a proposal to shorten the parade route.

The latest plan was created with the LGBTQ+ Advisory Council, parade organizers, city agencies and residents “to develop a sustainable and accessible parade route for this year’s Pride Parade,” the news release said.

“The City is committed to deeper and more robust community engagement so that Pride can continue to honor the LGBTQ+ community’s activism, visibility and achievements, and looks forward to staying committed to the LGBTQ+ community and celebrating Pride in 2024 and beyond.”

PRIDEChicago, the parade’s organizers, did not respond to a request for comment.