No Pride Parade? Aurora Revokes Parade Permit

AURORA, IL — A day after police said they may recommend canceling the Aurora Pride parade based on a lack of officers available to staff the event, the city revoked Aurora Pride's special-events permit to hold Sunday's parade.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Aurora officials said: "Based on the inability of the Aurora Pride board to retain the number of law enforcement officers required to ensure the public health and welfare of participants and spectators the Aurora Pride Parade (70% of which were already provided by the Aurora Police Department), and on the recommendation from the Aurora Police Department that the parade cannot be held without satisfying these safety requirements, the City of Aurora has issued a Notice of Revocation to Aurora Pride."

A hearing was held Thursday after parade organizers filed an appeal, but the appeal was denied, officials announced.

"The practical reality is simply that the Aurora Police Department cannot staff the event to ensure public health and safety, they have the authority under the law to revoke the permit, and the Petitioner's appeal of the [revocation] of the permit is hereby denied," Administrative Law Judge Victor E. Puscas Jr. wrote in his decision.

But to Aurora Pride, the parade is not yet canceled. After Thursday's appeal was denied, Aurora Pride said it would file a federal lawsuit "in short order."

"To be clear, one of the aims of this suit is reversal of the permit revocation and preservation of Sunday's parade," organizers said.

The American Civil Liberties Union also plans to ask a federal judge to prevent Aurora from blocking the parade from happening Sunday. According to reports from the Daily Herald, ACLU and Aurora Pride aren't convinced the city's decision is based on a lack of officers to staff the event.

"Aurora Pride has been put in an impossible and fundamentally unfair position on essentially the eve of their big event," said Kevin Fee, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, according to the Daily Herald. "A parade is constitutionally protected speech. If [Aurora officials] can pull the plug, they give the police force an effective veto over the message of the parade."

After police and city officials revoked parade organizers' permit to host Sunday's Pride Parade on Wednesday, Aurora Pride released the following statement:

"To all our participants, sponsors, prospective attendees, and supporters ... As you are likely aware, the Aurora Police Department has said it cannot supply enough sworn officers to provide Parade security, and has tasked us with finding officers from other jurisdictions to close the gap. We were notified that we had until 12PM today to do so, or our Special Events permit would be revoked at that time.

"We have not been able to close the gap, despite the tireless efforts of our Safety team lead and many supporters offering their assistance. As a result, our permit is now revoked.

"However, we’re not giving up. Our position has been misrepresented, and we’re making every effort to keep the parade as scheduled.

"Thank you for your steadfast support, and please hang tight."

Aurora Pride members told Patch they could not provide additional comment beyond their statement.

The permit was revoked about two weeks after parade organizers announced that while they continued to "allow and encourage" the participation of Aurora Police Department officers, they asked them to show up without service weapons, out of uniform and without the presence of any police vehicles, Patch reported. Organizers cited community members feeling "uneasy" in the presence of official police vehicles due to past "negative experiences."

The announcement provoked Republican gubernatorial candidate and Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin to pull out of the parade and not include Aurora Pride in the city's annual flag-raising event commemorating the start of Pride Month. The mayor also said at the time, May 26, that the city would not be represented with a float in the parade either, Patch reported.

As a compromise, parade organizers offered to allow officers to appear in "soft uniform," meaning they could wear a shirt with a patch or logo from the police department.

"Many people belonging to these groups feel a great deal of anxiety simply in the presence of a police car, weapons or uniform," Aurora Pride members wrote in a statement May 26. "It's been said that it's unfair to paint all officers with the same brush, so to speak, and I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, the reality on the ground is that there is a perception that though negative incidents with police are the result of a small number of bad officers, it's not always clear that there is enough being done to address those officers' actions."

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