Juneteenth Independence Day: What will be open and closed in and around Springfield

Steven Spearie, State Journal-Register
·2 min read
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Kamren Lott, 11, of Springfield helps carrie the banner for the Juneteenth parade for the third year in a row as the parade makes its way down Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. during the Juneteenth Unity Parade and Celebration Saturday June 18, 2022.
Kamren Lott, 11, of Springfield helps carrie the banner for the Juneteenth parade for the third year in a row as the parade makes its way down Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. during the Juneteenth Unity Parade and Celebration Saturday June 18, 2022.
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Juneteenth Independence Day is a federal holiday and will be observed by most government agencies and schools on Monday (June 19).

It commemorates the day the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas, in 1865.

Juneteenth is a blend of the words "June" and "nineteenth." The holiday has also been called Freedom Day, second Independence Day and Emancipation Day.

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President Joe Biden signed legislation establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and went into effect Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t until more than two years later that about 2,000 Union troops marched into Texas to ensure slaves they were freed. Texas was the western-most Confederate state.

The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865 after the Civil War, freed enslaved people throughout the country.

Because it is a federal holiday, there is no U.S. Mail delivery and banks will be closed Monday.

Here is a list of what is open and what is closed in and around Springfield for Juneteenth:

Government offices and courts

Federal offices and courts, along with state of Illinois, Sangamon County offices and courts and City of Springfield offices are all closed for Juneteenth.

The administrative offices of Oak Ridge Cemetery and Lincoln Library are closed.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, hold up the bill marking Juneteenth an official state holiday in Illinois during a bill signing at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Ill., Wednesday, June 16, 2021. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register]
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, hold up the bill marking Juneteenth an official state holiday in Illinois during a bill signing at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Ill., Wednesday, June 16, 2021. [Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register]

Schools

Springfield School District 186 offices will be closed for Juneteenth. The board of education meeting has been moved to 6 p.m. on June 20.

The University of Illinois Springfield campus is closed Monday.

The campuses of Lincoln Land Community College and Midwest Technical Institute will be open for Juneteenth.

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SMTD buses

Sangamon Mass Transit District buses will run regular routes on Juneteenth.

Tourist sites

Tourist sites, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Lincoln Home National Historic Site and Lincoln's Tomb, all will be open for Juneteenth.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Openings and closings for Juneteenth Independence Day