Parking banned, CTA buses and trains suspended in Loop during latest George Floyd protest

Street parking has been restricted from Chicago Avenue to Ida B. Wells Drive, and from Lake Shore Drive to Wells Street, while CTA buses and trains have been suspended in the Loop.

SHARE Parking banned, CTA buses and trains suspended in Loop during latest George Floyd protest
Chicago police stand on State Street in River North as hundreds of protesters gather Friday.

Chicago police stand on State Street in River North as hundreds of protesters gather Friday.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Chicago officials are restricting parking and shutting down CTA service in most of the downtown area Saturday during a Loop protest taking place in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

The parking restrictions will extend from Chicago Avenue south to Ida B. Wells Drive, and from Lake Shore Drive west to Wells Street, according to the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Cars found in the area will be towed to 1802 S. Lake Shore Drive, officials said.

The CTA suspended Red, Brown, Blue, Orange, Green and Pink Line service in the Loop about 6 p.m., citing protest activity downtown. All buses have been shut down from Ashland Avenue east to the lakefront and from Division Street south to 35th Street.

The Orange Line is suspended between the Loop and Halsted, the Brown Line is suspended between the Loop and Chicago, and the Pink Line is suspended between the Loop and Ashland, the CTA said.

The Red Line is stopped between Clark/Division and Sox-35th, while the Blue Line is stopped between Division and UIC-Halsted, the CTA said. The Green Line is suspended between Ashland/Lake and 35th-Bronzeville-IIT.

The second round of protests kicked off about 2 p.m. at Federal Plaza near Adams and Dearborn streets.

Hundreds of people marched downtown from Friday afternoon into early Saturday. The demonstration was mostly peaceful but turned more violent around midnight, resulting in 108 arrests and about dozen injured Chicago police officers.

The Latest
The Central Market’s opening marked completion of the eight-year, $400 million Midway Modernization Program, which expanded security checkpoints and upgraded parking garages and concessions.
A vehicle being pursued in Milwaukee crashed into a bus, injuring four people. The driver of the vehicle being chased was taken into custody.
Police on Monday were called to an apartment complex in the 6300 block of South King Drive where they found a pit bull with a gunshot wound biting a woman.
The Joffrey ‘Nutcracker,’ Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo, the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball, and a Pre-Kwanzaa Marketplace are among the highlights in the week ahead.
“I’d skip the self-checkout when Arthur was there,” one library patron said