Pride Flag Erected At Joliet Township Government: 'We Love Them So Much For Doing This'

JOLIET, IL — This marks the first full week that elected officials with Joliet Township Government are displaying the LGBTQ pride flag in honor of pride month. On Wednesday, the flag was on display in front of the Joliet Township Government Office building next to the Jefferson Street Bridge, which remains closed due to major repairs.

"We proudly raised the Progress Pride Flag in collaboration with the Joliet Pride Network. A moment to honor love, visibility, and resilience," reads the Joliet Township Government Facebook page, which contains a video showing the flag-raising ceremony attended by newly seated Joliet Township Supervisor Cesar Guerrero, the former Joliet City Councilman.

Jeff Gregory of the Joliet Pride Network also spoke during the pride flag-raising ceremony.

"We have a good crowd here. We'll show everybody in just a little bit. But we're here at the Joliet Township Office for, I can't remember how many years this is, that they have raised the flag in celebration of pride month, but we appreciate it. We love them so much for doing this, for their support, not just in June, but for the entire year," Gregory remarked. "So, if you're not involved in your township government, get to know these folks, they're amazing humans and they're very, very supportive of everyone in our community so we love that.

"And also a shout-out to the other Will County government offices that have taken it upon themselves to fly the flag as well."

Guerrero told everyone he's had the pleasure of knowing Gregory for the past few years, adding, "We will be doing an official proclamation at our next regularly scheduled monthly board meeting which is coming up on Tuesday, June 10th ... I want to thank everyone for being here, again, my name is Cesar Guerrero, and I serve as the supervisor here for Joliet Township Government ... this flag is more than just fabric, it's a symbol of love, resilience, protest and belonging. So, we want to take a moment to reflect on what this flag represents. The progress pride flag includes the rainbow stripes, but it also includes black and brown stripes to represent people of color, and pink, white and blue to represent the transgender community. Its design is intentionally inclusive, reminding us that justice must reach everyone."

According to the Human Rights Campaign website, the original Pride Flag was created in 1978 after activist Harvey Milk asked artist Gilbert Baker to design a symbol of gay pride. Each color represents a different part of the LGBTQ+ community: hot pink represents sex, red symbolizes life, orange stands for healing, yellow equals sunlight, green stands for nature, turquoise symbolizes magic and art, indigo represents serenity, while violet symbolizes the spirit of LGBTQ+ people.