City Council Will Vote To Make Juneteenth Paid Holiday For Staff

AURORA, IL — The Aurora City Council will vote Tuesday to make Juneteenth a paid holiday for city staff. If passed, June 19 will be a paid holiday starting this summer.

Last week, City Council unanimously placed the historic resolution on the consent agenda for Tuesday evening's meeting. It was intentionally placed on the City Council agenda during Black History Month, this February, according to Clayton Muhammad, the city's chief communications officer.

The signing, which the city is calling its Juneteenth Holiday Voting and Signing Ceremony, will take place at 6 p.m. at Aurora City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place. The meeting will also be live-streamed on Facebook for people who wish to attend but can't make it in person.

Starting this year, if June 19 falls on a weekday, non-emergency offices will be closed for the day. If the day falls on Saturday or Sunday, Juneteenth will be celebrated Friday or Monday, respectively.

On the holiday in 2021 — which marked the city's 20th anniversary celebration — Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin announced his intention to make June 19 an official city holiday.

"I will then further call upon our staff and residents to make sure it is not just a day off, but a day of service, of education, of empowerment," Irvin said at the city's Juneteenth celebration in 2021. "We do this for our past, and we do this for our present generation. We do this for our future."