(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — City workers will get another paid holiday starting next year when Chicago observes Juneteenth.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday said she is adding Juneteenth to the holiday calendar in 2022, a move that came as a surprise to many.
Last year, she cited budget concerns as the City Council’s Black Caucus pushed to make June 19 a holiday.
Lightfoot announced her decision at a Juneteenth celebration in Daley Plaza, saying, “Days like Juneteenth remind the world that black history is truly American history.”
Juneteenth celebrates the day slaves in Galveston, Texas were freed, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It symbolizes the end of slavery in the U.S.
Illinois state Sen. Kimberly Lightford said Chicago will not be alone. Later this week, Gov. Pritzker is expected to sign a bill making June 19 a state holiday.
If there are no other changes to the calendar, Chicago will have 14 paid city holidays next year.
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