After some back-and-forth, this year's Aurora Pride Parade will be held Sunday, June 12, after the city unexpectedly reversed its decision and reinstated the parade's permit, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
The city and parade organizers Aurora Pride appeared in court earlier in the day as Aurora Pride tried to get the decision to revoke the permit reversed, but lost their appeal. A couple hours later, organizers announced on Twitter the permit had been reinstated.
On its website, under the heading "We're back on!," Aurora Pride stated, "Great News! The City of Aurora has notified us that our permit for Sunday has been reinstated. The Aurora Pride Parade is on. We look forward to welcoming everyone on Sunday morning."
The city issued a statement saying, "Even after an independent hearing officer upheld the City's decision to revoke the Pride Parade permit based on manpower shortages, we continued our good faith efforts with the Aurora Police Department to secure the additional officers needed for the 2022 Aurora Pride Parade. The City didn't just double down on our efforts; we tripled down by offering an unprecedented triple-time financial incentive to our officers, and the required number of police officers to secure the parade has been successfully attained.
"Consequently, a rescission of permit revocation has been submitted to Aurora Pride, and the Aurora Pride Parade can proceed as planned for Sunday, June 12."
The Aurora Pride Parade Committee decided to ban uniformed officers from marching in the event. As a result, Mayor (and GOP gubernatorial candidate) Richard Irvin announced he would not participate in the parade and the city pulled its entry from the float lineup.
The parade will kick off at noon, starting at East Benton Street and South Broadway, according to Aurora Pride's website.
