City of Berwyn Salutes LGBT Pride

City of Berwyn Supports Pride Parade & Northalsted Market Days

Why Berwyn? Because the city is a destination that thrives on its diversity. Through its Integrated Marketing Campaign, the City of Berwyn proudly welcomes the LGBT community to Make the Move into its progressive city.

On June 30, the City of Berwyn's Mayor Robert J. Lovero and other community representatives participated on a float at the 44th Annual Pride Parade. City ambassadors are also gearing up for the Northalsted Market Days, which the City of Berwyn has sponsored and participated in for the past seven years. Mayor Lovero stated, "Berwyn's diversity is a great asset. We have a comfortable yet vibrant community, and we welcome all with open arms." Scott Lennon, Berwyn resident and ambassador, commented, “The Why Berwyn? campaign has been a huge success for the City of Berwyn. I have been involved with Berwyn’s outreach efforts for the past seven years, and our presence has increased awareness of Berwyn. We are the only Chicago suburb doing direct outreach, and these events have helped us to attract new residents from the LGBT community, first time home buyers, urban dwellers and families to our community.”

For the past decade, Berwyn's demographics have been changing. In 2011, the Williams Institute of UCLA released a study that shows Berwyn among the top 5 cities in the state of Illinois with same-sex couples per 1,000 households. What’s more, Berwyn was ranked #3 for total number of same-sex couples in Cook County outside of the City of Chicago, just behind Oak Park and Evanston. Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, Berwyn had a 41% increase in households reporting same-sex couples.

It's no surprise that the LGBT community has grown as the City has taken public efforts to codify its value for inclusion. In June 2008, the City of Berwyn added "sexual orientation" to its newly adopted Human Rights Ordinance. Four years later, in June 2012, the City of Berwyn passed a resolution supporting equal access to housing regardless of "sexual orientation or gender identity."

Berwyn is the place to be, whether you call it home, do business here, or visit us for nightlife.

Additional information on the City of Berwyn’s Integrated Marketing Campaign can be obtained through the Berwyn Development Corporation at (708) 788-8100 and at www.whyberwyn.com. This campaign can also be followed at facebook.com/WhyBerwyn and twitter.com/whyberwyn.

About the Berwyn Development Corporation
The Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC) is a public-private partnership with the City of Berwyn that provides economic development and Chamber of Commerce services to all segments of the Berwyn community. The BDC is a not-for-profit membership organization that serves over 300 business and individual members. The BDC focuses its efforts on those activities that will improve the overall climate for local businesses and residents, in addition to encouraging the development of new commercial venues and employment opportunities. The BDC continually strives to develop new programs, services and events that promote Berwyn businesses and the community. For more information, visit www.berwyn.net or follow the BDC at facebook.com/BDCorp and twitter.com/bdc_berwyn.