SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Juneteenth is now an official state holiday in Illinois. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation declaring June 19 be recognized as National Freedom Day throughout the state.

Illinois legally recognized Juneteenth in 2003, but the legislation waiting on Governor Pritzker’s desk would make it an official state holiday. Read More: Booker, Jackson Lee reintroduce bill ...

Under the Illinois law, state employees and educators will get June 19 as a paid holiday if it falls on a weekday. Pritzker's office says since Juneteenth is on a Sunday next year, the first paid ...

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Illinois is closer to making Juneteenth a state holiday. Legislation making June 19 a paid day off for all state employees and a school holiday was unanimously approved by the ...

Juneteenth in Illinois is now a state holiday after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill to commemorate the date in 1865 when the last enslaved Black people in the U.S. learned that they were free.

Juneteenth will now be a state holiday in Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill on Wednesday making his state the 47th in the nation to establish June 19 as a day to recognize the end of slavery.

The victim killed in a mass shooting at a Juneteenth parking lot party in Willowbrook, Illinois was identified by the coroner’s office Monday, while no arrests have been announced a day after ...

Illinois Gov. Pritzker Says He Plans to Make Juneteenth a State Holiday Pritzker has already ordered flags be lowered in Illinois on June 19, also known as Juneteenth.

The holiday is June 19, and people in southwest Illinois have been celebrating it with an organized community event for more than a decade. This will be the first year, however, Juneteenth is ...

Illinois legally recognized Juneteenth in 2003, but the legislation waiting on Governor Pritzker’s desk would make it an official state holiday. Read More: Booker, Jackson Lee reintroduce bill ...