CHICAGO — This year's Pride Parade will be smaller and shorter, organizers said.
In hopes of making Pride a "safer, tighter event," organizers will cut the number of entries from 200 to 150 and are trying to double the number of security agents they had last year, said coordinator Richard Pfeiffer.
The Lake View parade, which celebrates Chicago's LGBTQ community, typically has about 200 entries and runs about two and a half hours, Pfeiffer said. The city has asked organizers to reduce the number of organizations walking the parade for the last few years, Pfeiffer said. Pride had 300 entries just 12 years ago, he said.
Pfeiffer, who called himself a "parade freak" who's gone to every major parade in the city, said the cuts will improve Pride.
"Over the years, some parades go on a little bit too long and you're ready to move on to other things," he said. "So, the feedback [to Pride's changes] has been positive so far."
Organizers also plan to increase the number of security agents walking the route, going up from last year's 90 to 180, Pfeiffer said. They added security at last year's Pride at the city's request, and it helped make the parade safer and cut down on people walking the route with open alcohol containers, Pfeiffer said.
In 2015 during the parade, about 15 people were arrested for misdemeanors, while one person was arrested for felony DUI, Chicago Police said at the time. Nine people received tickets. Following the parade, another 52 arrests were made that were related to the event, police said.
What goes on after the parade's end is a "separate issue," Pfeiffer said.
Neighbor groups complained this year about the June parade, which brings a reported 1 million people to the area annually to the Lakeview and Uptown area.
The changes will "make [Pride] a safer, tighter event so that everyone enjoys it," Pfeiffer said.
The permit request details can be seen on the Crime in Wrigleyville site, which first reported the changes. The start of the parade may be moved to 11 a.m., one hour earlier than usual.
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