For now, an administrative judge’s ruling allows the Poor People’s Army to march Aug. 19 — during the Democratic National Convention — from Humboldt Park to the “public sidewalk in front of the United Center” on Madison Street, according to the permit application.
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After the debacle of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago has worked hard to contain demonstrations and protests so they don’t upstage the scripted political theater of events — but the city has just stumbled in those efforts.
So far, city officials have taken a hard stance against activists seeking permits to demonstrate during the Democratic Convention this August, denying requested protest routes of three groups in the last month alone.
But due to a technicality, the city was forced on appeal Monday to allow one of those groups to march nearly up to the United Center’s front doors.
The Poor People’s Army was granted its permit after the city failed to respond to the application within its own 10-day deadline. The Philadelphia group regularly protests at Republican and Democratic conventions.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it’ll be anything like the mayhem of ’68.
“We’ve always organized the largest marches, and they’ve always been peaceful,” said Cheri Honkala, spokeswoman for Poor People’s Army. “They’ve always said, ‘You can’t do that.’ And we’ve always done it.”
Thousands of delegates are planning to gather in August at the United Center for the Democratic National Convention.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
But another group says the city’s overall stance to contain the demonstrations could backfire.
“The city’s hard-line response sets up the very chaos that they say they want to avoid,” said Andy Thayer of the group Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, which is planning its own protest.
For now, an administrative judge’s ruling allows the Poor People’s Army to march Aug. 19 from Humboldt Park to the “public sidewalk in front of the United Center” on Madison Street, according to the application.
The United Center is where thousands of delegates are planning to gather Aug. 19-22 to nominate President Joe Biden for reelection.
The city should not worry about traffic disruptions and lack of police officers, as noted in the city’s initial permit denial letter, Honkala said. Their group has protested peacefully before, she said.
Ronnie Reese, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s press secretary, said he was unaware of the permit issue.
But a city spokesperson acknowledged receiving the Poor People’s Army application and issued a statement saying “the City has agreed to accept the original permit application not withstanding any modifications required under federal law.
“The permits issued by [the city’s Department of Transportation] do not account for any federal restrictions that may be implemented during the DNC.”
‘Not our first rodeo’
Another group — the Coalition to March on the DNC — was denied a permit in late January to march to a small park near the United Center.
The group said it expected resistance from the city, but it’s confident it eventually will get a permit to protest.
“This is not our first rodeo,” coalition member Joe Iosbaker told reporters Tuesday outside City Hall. “We’re going to put so much pressure on the city, they will give us a permit.”
The coalition represents at least 10 groups, including the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and Black Lives Matter Chicago. It filed parade permits that were denied on Jan. 22 and Feb. 1.
Erica Bentley, of Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition & Solidarity and a member of the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention, speaks during a news conference outside City Hall Tuesday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
The group wants to march Aug. 19 from Union Park to a small park at Washington Boulevard and Wolcott Avenue, near the United Center, where delegates will meet to vote on the party’s presidential nominee. But the city’s Department of Transportation, which processes parade permits, denied that request.
The city’s denial letter proposed an alternative route on Columbus Drive in Grant Park. But the coalition says that is too far away to deliver its message.
“It’s beyond insulting, but it’s not surprising,” said coalition member Erica Bentley. She’s also associate director of Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition & Solidarity.
The coalition plans to appeal the city’s ruling, Iosbaker said. The group will argue that the city must allow them to protest within “sight and sound” of the convention. That’s the legal basis on which other protest permits have been granted before, Iosbaker said.
The other activist groups received denial letters with almost the exact wording as the Coalition, Iosbaker said.
The third group — Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws — said it is evaluating whether to march on its proposed route, whether or not it receives a permit from the city.
The group, which advocates for reproductive and LGBTQ rights, was denied a permit and last week lost its appeal before an administrative judge. Thayer said they plan to take the case before a state court.
Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, speaks to fellow activists from the groups Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws and Coalition for Reproductive Justice and LGBTQ+ Liberation.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
The group plans to march outside the Water Tower on Michigan Avenue on Aug. 18, hoping to get attention from the convention’s thousands of delegates. City officials also proposed they take an alternative route through Grant Park.
“A 15-minute walk in the park is what the city deems as a reasonable alternative to protesting at the DNC,” Thayer said. “It’s just absurd. If the city is not prepared to accommodate reasonable First Amendment activities and host the DNC, they should never have signed up to host the DNC in the first place.”
Thayer said he was upset with Johnson’s administration, given the mayor’s history of activism as a former paid organizer of the Chicago Teachers Union.
The Chicago Police Department likely denied the permits, which go through the transportation department but must be signed off by several others, Thayer said.
“They’re just setting themselves up for more by not negotiating with the groups,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws is still evaluating whether or not it will march on its proposed route.
The civil liberties group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, a left-leaning group whose marching permit was denied by the city.
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