Barnett Doubles Down On Commitment To Making Pride Month Proclamation

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — After pushback from a few residents at a recent village meeting, Downes Grove Mayor Bob Barnett doubled down on his commitment to make a Pride Month Proclamation in June.

In a post on his Facebook page, Barnett wrote, "Mayoral proclamations are a mayoral privilege, full stop."

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"If you have followed my time in Village leadership, you know that I do not often speak in such direct terms. But on this point, let there be no misunderstanding: mayoral proclamations are not subject to a vote," Barnett wrote.

He added that he gets "many requests for proclamations from individuals and organizations both within our community and beyond" every year.

Barnett said he considers each requests and chooses the causes he believes "deserve greater visibility or understanding — those that would benefit from community awareness, support and engagement."

"That is the purpose of this proclamation," he wrote.

He said proclamations are not written hastily, but are "written for our history."

He encouraged residents to read proclamations "once, twice or even three times" — and reflect on the meaning behind them."

Barnett said he will keep welcoming input on proclamations, but will continue to make them as part of his "mayoral responsibility."

"It is an important part of leading a community — especially one as large, diverse and engaged as Downers Grove."

At the village's May 5, meeting, Eileen Bryner claimed the village's Pride Month proclamation is "discriminating against most everyone else."

"It selects one controversial ideology for official honor and public prominence, while leaving the beliefs of the broader population unrecognized...while issuing no comparable proclamations for Christian perspectives on family, marriage or biological reality," Bryner asserted.

She suggested that the village declaring Pride Month "creates confusion and undermines the values parents teach at home."

Laura Hois, who is running for state representative asked, "What exactly are the rights of LGBTQ students and why are Governor Pritzker and Senator Durbin so keen on supporting them and advancing them?"

She said the Pride movement has become "divisive" in schools and libraries

Gloria Walsh-Rock said, "I believe that [Pride Month] should be celebrated because there are many kinds of people here in Downers Grove. And when we think about what are the rights of LGBTQ-plus students, children, adults, families, I believe those rights should be taken as seriously as everyone else in the village."

She said the proclamation is "for all of the families that haven't been recognized for many, many, many decades."

"Families and children that have structures that aren't considered traditional by everybody and I think that...I hope that the village will continue to celebrate that, just as they celebrate many things," Walsh Rock said.

Barnett is set to make the Pride Month proclamation at the Downers Grove village meeting on June 2.

Downers Grove made its first official Pride Month declaration in 2022.