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Read the press release here.

Pride Parade Should Move, Most 44th Ward Residents Say in Survey

By  Mina Bloom and Alex Parker  | October 6, 2014 8:08am 

  About 51 percent of survey respondents who live in the 44th Ward said they want the parade to move.
About 51 percent of survey respondents who live in the 44th Ward said they want the parade to move.
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Bill Whitemire

CHICAGO — In announcing the results of a survey about the Pride Parade last month, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) said respondents favored keeping the parade in Lakeview.

But a more detailed look at the survey results shows a majority of ward residents surveyed want the parade moved Downtown, according to data posted on Tunney's website Friday.

The online survey polled more than 3,300 people, and the initial results released by the alderman's office said more than 55 percent of respondents favored keeping the parade in Lakeview. On Friday, a more detailed breakdown of responses showed that 51 percent of self-identified 44th Ward residents are in favor of moving the parade.

About 61 percent of respondents said they live in the 44th Ward.

The Pride Parade marked its 45th year in June, and drew more than a million people. The parade route snaked through Uptown, Boystown and Lincoln Park. After residents complained about trash, drinking and violence, Tunney said in July he'd be open to moving the parade.

He commissioned the online survey in August.

"The survey indicated that Lakeview residents want the Pride Parade to stay in our community, but it also indicated that neighbors want to see real reforms," Tunney said when the results were released Sept. 25.

Requests for comment from the alderman's office went unanswered over the weekend.

Most respondents in both sets of results said they did not think there were enough police and security around after the parade. Sixty percent of ward residents and 52 percent of all respondents said the security after the parade was inadequate.

But 67 percent of ward residents and 73 percent of all respondents said there was enough police and security during the parade itself.

Sixty percent of all respondents and 53 percent of ward residents said they identified as LGBT.

When asked of their top concerns about the parade, 24 percent of ward residents said crime. A quarter of all respondents answered, "Nothing, I thought it was great."

Here are the responses from 44th Ward residents:

44th Ward Pride Parade survey

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