CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Illinois House has approved establishing a thirteenth state holiday -- Juneteenth -- sending the measure to the governor’s desk.
The holiday would officially be called Juneteenth National Freedom Day.
It would mark the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to tell the last slaves in the country that the Civil War was over and that they were free.
Under the measure, approved now by both the Illinois House and Senate, June 19 would be a state holiday, a day off from work for state employees and a day off from school for students.
If June 19 falls on a weekend, the holiday would be observed the following Monday.
The measure still needs Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature to become law.