Juneteenth Officially Made A Holiday In City Of Aurora

AURORA, IL — Making history Tuesday night, Aurora City Council unanimously voted to make Juneteenth an official holiday for city staff. Celebrated since 1865, the holiday commemorates the freedom of enslaved people in the United States.

Following the vote at City Hall, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin was joined by Black staff and council members to sign the resolution that would make June 19 a paid holiday starting this summer.

"As I sign this resolution, let us commit to continuing to strive to be one Aurora that's not only diverse but inclusive and equitable," Irvin said before signing the resolution.

If Juneteenth falls on a weekday, non-emergency offices will be closed for the day. If the day falls on Saturday or Sunday, the holiday will be celebrated Friday or Monday, respectively.

The vote comes a week after City Council unanimously placed the resolution on the consent agenda for Tuesday's meeting. Irvin announced his intention to make June 19 an official Aurora holiday during the city's 20th-anniversary celebration in 2021.

"It's not lost on me, the doors that were opened before I got here to allow me to be the first African American mayor of the city of Aurora in 180 years," Irvin said at Tuesday's meeting. "It's not lost on me what all of us do now to continue to open the doors and pave the path for young people to follow. It weighs on our future and our future generations to come."

Aurora took similar action in 2018 when City Council voted to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a paid city holiday, despite it being signed into federal law 35 years prior.