Nobody has the day off for this holiday, except maybe city workers. They just made it a holiday to please the large Polish immigrant population in the city.
For the same reason, a big street called Crawford Avenue was renamed “Pulaski Road”. That wasn’t enough though. In the 90s, they came out with “honorary” street names where they would put a little placard beneath the street sign with another name on it, usually to honor someone from the community who had died. Well, what do you know, now Pulaski Road also has an honorary street name of “Casimir Pulaski Boulevard”. I guess naming it after Pulaski once didn’t get enough Polish votes so they did it again!
Over the last few years, Casimir Pulaski Day has become less popular as a public holiday in Illinois. In 2009, it became an optional holiday for schools and it has been estimated that almost three-fourths of all school districts no longer close on Casimir Pulaski Day. In Chicago in 2012, the public school schools decided not to celebrate this holiday at all from that date forward. Many Polish communities celebrate the holiday by having public ceremonies, fairs, parades and group gatherings. Individuals can celebrate this holiday by learning more about the life and heroism of Casimir Pulaski.