Hundreds of thousands converged on Chicago Sunday for the city's Pride Parade, the largest Pride event in Midwest, to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
As the parade stepped off and dazzled down Broadway and Halsted, attendees showed up even as the rain came down.
"This is actually my first Pride Parade, and it's just exciting to be around people who are like me and everything, it's just a very welcoming place," said parade-goer Maddie Ostap.
Equality Illinois hosted a pre-parade VIP event during which Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin spoke about LGBTQ+ plus rights, along with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and First Lady of Illinois M.K. Pritzker.
"All I have to say is more glitter, less Twitter," M.K. Pritzker said.
"This was a protest march many years ago, and it's evolved into sort of a combination so very very proud to be here every time and proud to be with Equality Illinois," Gov. Pritzker added.
The parade capped off a month of Pride celebrations, including Chicago Pride Fest, which took place a week earlier and Pride in the Park.
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"Illinois is an accepting state, we believe that the standards of acceptance and tolerance are fundamental to democracy..." Durbin said.
Sunday's Parade also brought a significant financial boost to the Northhalsted community and other neighborhoods on Chicago's North Side.
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"What an amazing time to be alive, we're out here to support all our local gay businesses, all our local people," attendee Jose Perea said.
