Dear Members, Friends, and Allies:
Join a march in support of a more inclusive flag display policy for the Village of Arlington Heights. The march will begin at North School Park at 10:15am on Thursday, July 22, and will proceed south on Arlington Heights Road to Village Hall for a planned press conference. We have invited State Senator Ann Gillespie, State Representative Mark Walker, and Cook County Commissioner Keven Morrison to attend.
**Please tell ten friends**
Background
The Village of Arlington Heights passed a restrictive flag display policy on July 6, 2021. The policy allows the Village to display only the U.S., State, Village, and P.O.W./M.I.A. flags. Trustee Nicolle Grasse proposed an amendment to the policy that would have allowed the Village to consider displaying flags that had been approved for display by the U.S. Federal government or the State of Illinois. The amendment was supported by Trustees Rich Baldino, Mary Beth Canty, Nicolle Grasse, and Robin LaBedz but failed to pass. Additionally, more than 20 interested parties spoke at the Board of Trustees meeting expressing support for a more inclusive flag display policy.
Despite strong community support for a more inclusive flag display policy and a call from the League of Women Voters to seek greater public input, the Board of Trustees passed the ordinance on a 5-3 vote.
The League of Women Voters does not believe the democratic process was followed for this vote and is disappointed that our elected officials are not acting as good stewards of our community.
League Positions this TFA Supports
League of Women Voters “promote an open government system that is representative, accountable, and responsive.”
Further, LWV applies a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion lens to our work. Specifically: “The DEI lens is a way of examining a program, a process, a product, or otherwise in relation to how it will be perceived by a variety of communities, voices, and perspectives, and what barriers may exist that are preventing it from being equitable or inclusive to everyone. All League work should be examined through this lens to best ensure that we are reaching the full diversity within League communities and are being equitable and inclusive in how we approach and execute our work.”
Additional Information
A social media post about the flag display ordinance written by Luke Sparreo has been liked by almost 7,000 people and garnered over 1,000 comments. It has been shared thousands of times across multiple social media platforms.
The Village of Arlington Heights has received two requests in its 150+ year history to fly special flags. One was in the 19thcentury. The second was received in June 2021 to fly the Pride Flag in Arlington Heights. While Village President Tom Hayes claims this flag display policy is not in response to or a referendum on the Pride Flag, it was only considered following a single request to fly the Pride Flag.
Juneteenth is a recognized Federal and State holiday. Additionally, the Pride Flag and the Juneteenth Flag have been flown over the U.S. and State Capitols.