‘Glen Ellyn is for everyone’: Longtime resident says Pride Month proclamation does not reflect all residents' views

Longtime Glen Ellyn resident Linda Samuta is speaking out against the Village Board's June 22 proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month, saying it failed to reflect the views of all residents and raised broader concerns about government neutrality.

In an interview with the DuPage Policy Journal, Samuta expanded on concerns she first raised in an email to the village board before the meeting, arguing the proclamation conflicted with principles of equal treatment and objecting to both its presentation and the process leading to its adoption.

Her email also questioned why the village was recognizing Pride rather than veterans ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary of independence and whether other groups, including people with disabilities, would receive similar honors.

She also criticized the meeting agenda, writing that residents who wished to address the proclamation were not allowed to speak until after the board considered it.

Samuta closed her email by urging village officials not to proceed with the proclamation.

“Please, let people live their lives without succumbing to the bullying if you don't agree to celebrate ‘pride,’” she wrote.

Samuta said the board's decision to have Trustee Steve Thompson, who identified himself at the meeting as "a proud member of the LGBTQ plus community," read the proclamation instead of President Jim Burket reinforced her concerns about the village's neutrality.

“It seems obvious that Trustee Thompson has an agenda to push ‘Pride’ on the community when in reality, all this does is create division between neighbors who have a difference of opinion on this lifestyle,” Samuta said. “My research shows this is what the village does with proclamations, which is wrong as the Glen Ellyn community should have an opportunity to address proclamations they may disagree with."

Following Thompson's reading, Samuta described a divided reaction in the room.

“After it was read, there was clapping in the audience, not by all, and from my vantage point I don't believe the Boy Scouts clapped,” she said. “More importantly, I was glad to see the Glen Ellyn Police Chief not engage in the celebration."

Samuta also said she hopes the proclamation will not lead to additional Pride-related activities in the village.

“My hope is that this proclamation to declare the month of June in Glen Ellyn be Pride Month does not result in government buildings flying the LGBTQ+ flag or having a Pride Parade,” she said. “Not everyone in Glen Ellyn agrees with this and doing so would show a lack of respect for many residents. After all, Glen Ellyn is for everyone."

The proclamation itself grounded its language in foundational American principles and local inclusion.

“Whereas the United States of America was founded by a set of principles that every person has been created equal, that each has rights to their life, liberty and pursuit happiness, and that each to be accorded equal protection of the law,” the proclamation reads. 

It also referenced the broader cultural context noting “the month of June is traditionally recognized as LGBTQ plus Pride Month.”

“Now, therefore, I, on behalf of Jim Burkett, President of the Village of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and on behalf the Village Board, do hereby declare the month of June to be Pride Month in the Village in Glen Ellyn to promote the principle of equity and liberty for all of our residents,” the proclamation concluded. 

Opposition in Glen Ellyn reflects a broader regional debate over Pride Month proclamations and whether local governments should remain neutral in such observances. Concerns have surfaced in nearby Downers Grove, where Mayor Bob Barnett issued a similar proclamation. 

Critics, including Republican state House candidate Laura Hois and resident Eileen “Chick” Briner, say the proclamations amount to ideological messaging that “caters to only one genre of thought on sexuality and gender” and have called for neutrality. 

Downers Grove Trustee Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt described opposition to Pride Month proclamations as “bigotry,” while others argue disagreement does not equal intolerance.

Village of Glen Ellyn Pride Month proclamation declaring June as Pride Month. (Village of Glen Ellyn)