City Hall trying to cut deal with protesters, avoid legal battle as Democratic convention nears
Federal and local officials have repeatedly said they are ready for what could be one of the biggest events to hit Chicago in decades. It’s been described by one Chicago police official as bigger than the 2012 NATO Summit and 1996 Democratic National Convention.
United Center, site of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
City attorneysare trying to strike a deal with groups suing to protest near the United Center during the Democratic National Convention, with a little more than two months to go before Chicago becomes the center of the political universe for a few days in August.
City Hall previously tried to steer the protests three miles east of the United Center to Columbus Drive in Grant Park. But city attorney Andrew Worseck told a federal judge Thursday that it now plans to offer them a route that is “United Center adjacent.” He said he planned to make the offer in a “confidential conversation,” and he did not disclose the details of the path in court.
It’s unclear whether that new proposal will be acceptable to the groups that claim the city has unconstitutionally denied them their right to protest where their voices might be heardby national political leaders, including President Joe Biden.
If a deal isn’t reached, the dispute could force a ruling in federal court just weeks — or days — before the convention. Worseck appeared Thursday before U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood, who presides over a lawsuit brought by groups concerned with the Israel-Hamas war.
Another case, brought by groups concerned with abortion and bodily rights, is pending before U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin.
Christopher Williams, an attorney representing the protest groups in Wood’s courtroom, said he expects to hear more details about the city’s proposal during a phone call Friday.
“I don’t think anybody can reasonably believe, including the city attorneys, that putting protesters … miles away meets the First Amendment requirements,” Williams said.
Attorney Chris Williams speaks about the rights of individuals to protest during a news conference at Federal Plaza regarding the right to protest outside the Democratic National Convention.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Federal and local officials have repeatedly said they are ready for what could be one of the biggest events to hit Chicago in decades. It’s been described by one Chicago police official as bigger than the 2012 NATO Summit and the 1996 Democratic National Convention and expected to draw “well over a million people to come and enjoy the city.”
But lawsuits over the protest sites continue to linger. The complaint before Wood was filed by the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression, the Anti-War Coalition, and Students for a Democratic Society at UIC. It stresses that Biden is “the one person who could stop the suffering in Gaza with a single phone call.”
They sought to protest near the United Center on either the first or last day of the convention.
The separate case before Durkin was filed by Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws and activists Andrew Thayer, Kristi Keorkunian and Linda Loew. They write in their lawsuit that, despite the Democratic Party’s “branding as a champion of reproductive rights and an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, the party has not done enough to protect the right to bodily autonomy from a devastating series of attacks.”
The group originally wanted to start their protest on Michigan Avenue the day before the convention, on Aug. 18.
City Hall denied the various applications but said the groups could protest elsewhere. Specifically, the city offered to let them demonstrate on Columbus Drive, between Jackson and Roosevelt.
“The message is clear,” one lawsuit alleges. “[The city] will tolerate marches during the convention only if they are nowhere near the convention or its delegates.”
It called the alternate route “virtually invisible to the protesters’ intended audience.”
Lawyers for Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws have said the controversy resembles a Chicago case dating back to the 1970s. A group carrying the mantle of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sought a permit to demonstrate in white neighborhoods around Marquette Park.
The city instead proposed a route through predominantly Black neighborhoods. A judge wrote in 1976 that the move “had the effect of depriving plaintiffs of their First Amendment rights.”
Supporters hold up signs during a news conference Thursday in Federal Plaza regarding the right to protest outside the Democratic National Convention.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said law enforcement groups have been prepping for more than a year and have coordinated with 15 public safety entities — including the Chicago Police Department.
It’s part of a critical voter outreach plan in place since President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and extended into the halls of the White House — as Biden combats Donald Trump and his army of online supporters.
Many Democrats argue democracy itself is in danger this election cycle. This danger demands we fiercely defend the right to protest throughout the summer and the next four years.
The city is required to provide police escorts for all convention committee personnel who are “delivering credentials to state delegations and the media at their respective hotels.” It also must provide “special” security for “delegates and other dignitaries.”
Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley “saw this as an opportunity to show a city that does work — not a city that crumbles under the pressure of protesters,” said Leslie Fox, executive director of the 1996 convention’s host committee. “The stakes were pretty high.”
Lollapalooza is typically the busiest hotel weekend of the year for Chicago. But a Sun-Times search shows average daily hotel room rates during the Democratic National Convention may be nearly $50 higher during its four-day stint in Chicago.
“This is just a target-rich stew for the Russians to try lots of things and see what works,” says Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic International Studies.
Trump and Biden face crucial strategic decisions on how to play the conviction. They’ll meet for their first debate June 27 in Atlanta, Trump will be sentenced July 11 and the Republican National Convention kicks off July 15 in Milwaukee.
Inspector General Deborah Witzburg warned that using pepper spray and corralling protesters ‘risks escalating tensions and violating constitutional rights of lawful demonstrators.’
Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2022 spoke before state Democratic Party leaders in New Hampshire and Florida, fueling speculation that he was plotting a presidential run in 2024. Since then, he’s repeatedly tamped down questions about his presidential ambitions.
Before the Chicago convention in August, Democrats will hold a virtual roll call to nominate President Joe Biden to a second term in order to qualify for the Ohio ballot, columnist Lynn Sweet writes.
The lack of a defined, public strategy isn’t a criticism of city officials. The goal is to show that Chicago can embrace protest and the exercise of free speech rights.
With 89 days until the convention kicks off, organizers and state and local officials meet with the media and woo influencers who could connect with hard-to-reach voters.
Hay talento sin aprovechar que nuestra ciudad tiene que ofrecer, y es fundamental impulsar más recursos permanentes como los que se están construyendo para la convención.
The Southern Poverty Law Center urged Mayor Brandon Johnson and Police Supt. Larry Snelling to reconsider the decision not to take disciplinary action against eight officers connected to the Oath Keepers, six of whom admitted to joining the group.
The Israel-Hamas war is heightening fears of unrest, but convention leaders say they’re confident in their partnerships with Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and the U.S. Secret Service.
‘The X is the event,’ Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Chicago Sun-Times about the location, which will be the central hub for about 60 agencies involved in designing and implementing convention security.
President Joe Biden hits Chicago Wednesday for a fundraiser after a stop in Racine, where his visit will spotlight one of Donald Trump’s economic flops, the failed Foxconn plant, which never employed the promised 13,000 workers.
This year’s edition of the parade will kick off at 11 a.m. Sunday near Sheridan Road and Broadway in Uptown. Security will be beefed up, and fewer participants will march than last year.
Chicago House will offer housing to 13 families on West 63rd Street in a neighborhood with a high rate of HIV infection. The site will also contain office space for staffers overseeing residential units citywide.
