Season of Pride: More than one million pack Chicago streets for LGBT Pride

CHICAGO — More than one million people packed Chicago streets Sunday for the first Gay Pride Parade since Illinois legalized same-sex marriage statewide this month, making the annual event one of the largest in the U.S.

Many who came early to grab a good spot along the route said the new law makes this year’s parade more festive — not a political statement. Last year’s parade attendees used the event to continue their fight for marriage equality.

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Charlie Gurion, who with David Wilk became the first couple in Cook County to get a same-sex marriage license in February, said he said there was a different feel to this parade.

“I think there is definitely like an even more sense of pride now knowing that in Illinois you can legally get married now,” Gurion said, as he posed for photograph after photograph with Wilk at the parade. “I think it is a huge thing and everybody’s over the moon that they can do it now.”

Justine Carreon, a 21-year-old nursing student from Villa Park, agreed.

“It’s much more of a celebration this year,” Carreon said. “There’s much more open minds.”

Jim Kelly, 67, hasn’t missed the parade since 1983. The Oak Park resident is getting married in August.

“For me the parade remains the same,” he said. “It’s a massive declaration of how proud we are of each other and ourselves.”

The event has grown by a third in recent years — 1 million people attended the 2013 parade according to Chicago police, up from 750,000 people in 2011.

“I do see more straight people every year,” said Sam Berke, 24, a UPS worker from Batavia.

Numerous public officials, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as well as representatives from city businesses and museums, such as the Shedd Aquarium and Art Institute, participated Sunday.

Chicago police said late Sunday that more than a million people attended this year.