Plainfield Mayor John Argoudelis said he wants to make sure that all residents regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation feel welcomed in their community.

“Everyone should feel safe, valued and fully a part of our community life,” he said prior to reading a Pride Month proclamation at the June 1 Plainfield Village Board meeting.

Shortly after Argoudelis read the proclamation, a debate ensued about whether the village should continue to fly the Pride Flag at Village Hall.

“I feel, as a member of this board, a position of neutrality must be maintained,” village trustee Tom Ruane said. “And not having a flag policy kind of pushes that boundary of neutrality.”

Arlington Heights, for example, allows only the flags of the United States, the State of Illinois, the village of Palatine and POW/MIA to be flown at Village Hall and other village properties.

“A policy of neutrality ensures that all citizens can enter civic spaces without feeling that the institution itself is taking a side on cultural or political topics,” Ruane said.

He also said the village opens itself up to litigation. Ruane said he is going to push for the village to create a flag policy.

“I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts on that, not just those on the board,” he said. “Then we can find out if that is something we really want to do or not.”

Argoudelis disagreed.

“This is not a legal issue,” he said. “We do not open ourselves up to litigation...We have flown all sorts of flags associated with proclamations. And yet it is only once a year, 12 months from last year, that all of a sudden we are concerned about this. The fact of the matter is, there’s been no public outcry.”

He said the village has flown the Pride Flag for six straight years.

“If that makes part of the population of Plainfield and the people that support equality and fairness in Plainfield feel good about the community they’re in, I don’t see any problem with it,” Argoudelis said. “This is not an endorsement of anything. This is making sure that everybody feels included.”

In response, Ruane said the government’s job is not to tell people “what’s right and what’s wrong.”