Aurora Pride Parade fundraising goal met
A last-minute fundraising campaign has ensured there will be a second annual Pride Parade this June in Aurora.
As of early Thursday afternoon, donors had sent $19,640 to Indivisible Aurora via a GoFundMe.com campaign.
The group needed to raise $17,000 by April 30 to complete payment for city services, such as police protection, barricades and emergency medical workers.
One of the top contributions was a $1,000 gift from the New England Congregational Church of Aurora.
Among the other 356 donors were Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman and Kane County Circuit Court Judge John Dalton.
The parade is scheduled for June 9.
Indivisible Aurora organized the first Pride Parade last year and had planned a two-day celebration this year.
But last Friday, its leaders announced they were canceling everything, saying they couldn't afford the city's fees. In January, the city council voted to require organizers of private events to pay the full cost for city services.
At a news conference Tuesday, where the fundraising effort was announced, city officials said they would bill Indivisible Aurora about $28,000 for items such as police overtime pay, street barricades, crowd-control barricades, trash pickup and fire and paramedic services.