Estimated 1 million people attend Chicago Pride Parade on city's North Side
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago's Pride celebrations continued Sunday with the annual Pride Parade, drawing heavy crowds also celebrating the Supreme Court's historic decision to make same-sex marriage legal across the U.S.
The parade, which stepped off at noon from Montrose and Broadway in the city's Uptown neighborhood, ended at Diversey in Lincoln Park. Organizers say the parade included 200 floats.
PHOTOS: Chicago Pride Parade 2015
It is estimated that one million people turned out to celebrate Friday's Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality.
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"No longer will we have gay marriage and straight marriage, we'll only have marriage," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The ruling comes nearly two years after then Governor Pat Quinn made same-sex marriage legal in Illinois.
"I said then, love is patient, love is kind, love never fails and the Supreme Court this week made sure that's the law of the land in America and it's truly a special day for everybody in our country," said Quinn.
Parade organizers asked crowds to behave after the city threatened to move the event out of the Lakeview neighborhood. This year, along with hundreds of Chicago police officers, 90 off-duty police officers were hired for extra security.
"We want people to come, have a safe and happy day, and we wish everybody happy pride," said Richard Pfeiffer, PRIDEChicago.
"We have to party responsibly. It means no public drinking, a $1,000 fine, so please keep this very responsible," said Alderman James Cappleman, 46th Ward.
Three same-sex couples were married and country recording artist Ty Herndon was grand marshal of the parade that featured the Stanley Cup, hundreds of marchers, entertainers, and groups including the ABC7 Eyewitness News float.
While most celebrated a victory for equality, others say there's still more work to be done.
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"I enjoy the equality that we all celebrated, not just for gay or straight," said Crystal Cadena. "This is a day for all of us to come together to show support and love for one another.
While most celebrated a victory for equality, others say there's still more work to be done.
"We're so much closer to that step of being real first class citizens and that makes this Pride the best Pride ever," said Clay Goodpastone.
The city's celebrations come as the Supreme Court made its landmark gay marriage decision earlier in the week, striking down the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Crowds gathered Saturday for the annual Proud to Run 5K at Montrose Harbor, which fundraises for three charities that aid the LGBTQ community.
Watch a broadcast of the parade on ABC7 at 11:30 p.m. Sunday or watch it on-demand after the broadcast on ABC7Chicago.com.
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