Chicago Cinco de Mayo parade cancellation will cost businesses, community
Immigration fears have forced Little Village to
cancel its annual Cinco De Mayo parade
, and while the primary concern is safety, the move will cost businesses and the community money.
Guerrero Auto Repair has been a proud participant in the Chicago Cinco De Mayo parade for more than 30 years.
"It's something every year we look forward to," said Erika Cruz of Guerrero Auto Repair. "Our kids are fourth generation. We want to teach them about our culture, a lot of stuff we grew up with."
But that lesson will be lost this year now that the parade has been canceled.
"It was a hard decision, but people are afraid, very afraid of the new administration, Donald Trump," said Hector Escobar of the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce.
There have been raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the country, including in Chicago, so the thought of attending a public event in the neighborhood raises a frightening question.
"Most of this is, like, what about if the immigration shows up?" Escobar said.
Organizers say the chamber of commerce will lose about $1.5 million by cancelling this year's parade. Businesses that depend on the crowds to eat and shop will lose $5 million to $6 million.
But the chamber pointed out that businesses in the community have already been losing money, some down 60% since Jan. 1, which Cruz's family can attest to.
"We had a high clientele of Venezuelans, Colombians, Cubans, different other races," she said. "We've seen that amount of clientele decrease since the Trump administration."
While the chamber understands the concern, they understand the need for safety.
"I think it's more important to be safe right now than sorry," said Escobar.
The question now is how long will they live in fear?
"I mean honestly, it's been so crazy with this administration that we don't know what is going to happen tomorrow," he said.
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