Illinois role in Juneteenth and Emancipation:
Illinois: First State to Ratify 13th Amendment – NBC Chicago
Illinois House passes Juneteenth holiday bill (chicagotribune.com)
Black elected leadership in Illinois and west Chicagoland:
Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford,
Illinois Senate Black Caucus Celebrates the signing of Juneteenth law – The Southland Journal
Lightford: Juneteenth should be a state holiday (senatorlightford.com)
Illinois State Representative LaShawn Ford
Illinois House passes Juneteenth state holiday bill, heads to governor (yahoo.com)
Rep. La Shawn Ford on Juneteenth becoming an official state holiday - YouTube
Former Cook County Commissioner, newly elected Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago
Celebrating Our Liberation (constantcontact.com)
Mayor Katrina Thompson, Broadview
A MESSAGE FROM MAYOR KATRINA THOMPSON | Broadview (broadview-il.gov)
Broadview Mayor Proposes Making Juneteenth Annual Paid Holiday - Village Free Press (vfpress.news)
Mayor Nathaniel Booker, Maywood
Welcome to Maywood, IL (maywood-il.gov)
Mayor Andre Harvey, Bellwood
Harvey elected Bellwood’s first African-American mayor | West Suburban Journal
Mayor Rory Hoskins, Forest Park
Mayor - Village of Forest Park, Illinois
Inaugural Juneteenth parade unites west suburbs - Forest Park Review