Berwyn is the place to be, whether you call it home, do business here, or visit us for nightlife.Why Berwyn? Because we are a destination that thrives on our diversity. The City of Berwyn proudly welcomes the LGBT community to Make the Move into our progressive city.
On June 30, the City of Berwyn’s Mayor Robert J. Lovero and other community representatives participated on a float at the 44th Annual Pride Parade. City ambassadors are also gearing up for the Northalsted Market Days, which the City of Berwyn has sponsored and participated in for the past seven years. Mayor Lovero stated, “Berwyn’s diversity is a great asset. We have a comfortable yet vibrant community, and we welcome all with open arms.” Scott Lennon, Berwyn resident and ambassador, commented, “The Why Berwyn? campaign has been a huge success for the City of Berwyn. I have been involved with Berwyn’s outreach efforts for the past seven years, and our presence has increased awareness of Berwyn. We are the only Chicago suburb doing direct outreach, and these events have helped us to attract new residents from the LGBT community, first time home buyers, urban dwellers and families to our community.”
For the past decade, Berwyn’s demographics have been changing. In 2011, the Williams Institute of UCLA released a study that shows Berwyn among the top 5 cities in the state of Illinois in terms of same-sex couples per 1,000 households. In fact, Berwyn was ranked #3 for total number of same-sex couples in Cook County outside of the City of Chicago, just behind Oak Park and Evanston. Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, Berwyn had a 41% increase households reporting same-sex couples.
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It’s no surprise that the LGBT community has grown as the City has taken public efforts to codify its value for inclusion. In June 2008, the City of Berwyn added “sexual orientation” to its newly adopted Human Rights Ordinance. Four years later, in June 2012, the City of Berwyn passed a resolution supporting equal access to housing regardless of “sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Berwyn is the place to be, whether you call it home, do business here, or visit us for nightlife.
