DOWNTOWN — Social justice groups are continuing to fight for the right to protest near the Democratic National Convention this summer, but city officials say they don’t have the resources to accommodate the demonstrations.
Anti-War Committee Chicago and Students for a Democratic Society at UIC filed for parade permits last month to march near the United Center. The groups are part of the March on the DNC Coalition, a network of organizations fighting for the rights of and liberation of oppressed people.
The groups applied to demonstrate on different dates during the Aug. 19-22 convention, and outlined different parade routes and attendance levels. Both groups were denied and each was given the same alternative parade route more than 3 miles away from the United Center, one of the main convention sites.
Christopher Williams, an attorney representing both groups, argued during an appeal hearing Monday the proposed alternative route is not sufficient because it lacks “comparable public visibility, and a similar route, location and date to that of the proposed public assembly,” as required by municipal code.
Williams also argued city officials didn’t do an effective enough review before denying the groups’ applications.
“We think the city has not met its burden … there is no basis to deny this application. When a government is denying First Amendment rights, it’s subject to the highest level of scrutiny and the government is required to find the least restrictive alternative,” Williams said during closing arguments.
The Students for a Democratic Society at UIC march would be Aug. 19, starting at Union Park and heading west on Washington Boulevard to Western Avenue, south to Jackson Boulevard and east to Ashland Avenue before returning to the park.
The Aug. 22 demonstration proposed by Anti-War Committee Chicago would start at Addams Medill Park and travel along Ashland Avenue, Adams Street, Damen Avenue and Roosevelt Road, before returning to the park.
The alternative route proposed by the city starts at the southern end of Grant Park, at the corner of Columbus Drive and Roosevelt Road, and goes north on Columbus, ending at Jackson Blvd.
Attorneys for the city argued that although the two permits were denied, the alternative route provides the groups the opportunity to be seen and heard in the high-trafficked Downtown area.
City lawyers also argued officials denied the permits because they do not have the resources to staff and manage the original proposed routes.
“The city approved the petitioner to parade on the same day, just in a different location which the city could meet its obligation under the Chicago code in terms of allocating … resources to the parade,” said Matthew Spahr, assistant corporation counsel for the city.
Parade permits for Chicago are submitted to the Chicago Department of Transportation and reviewed by a public way permit officer who collects feedback from several city offices before issuing a permit approval or denial, according to Bryan Gallardo, the department’s assistant commissioner.
Gallardo testified Monday that negative feedback from the Chicago Police Department played a part in denying the permit application. Officer Gabriella Shemash, Deputy Chief of Area 3, testified she recommended the denial for March for the People’s Agenda’s permit because it would require “hundreds of officers” to man the protest.
Thousands of officers will already be assigned to the DNC, and the department couldn’t cover both events, Shemash said. The alternative route would require significantly fewer officers and would not block a major emergency vehicle route to the Illinois Medical District, she said.
Shemash could not say how many officers would be required for either of the protest routes.
Additionally, the police department and transportation department could not recommend an alternative route closer to the United Center because the Secret Service has not yet revealed the convention’s “footprint,” which is meant to be fenced off and only accessible to convention participants, Shemash said.
“We don’t know exactly where the security perimeter will end. So therefore, I can’t say that any street around the United Center will or will not be available for either pedestrian or vehicle traffic,” Shemash said.
Joe Biesk, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, told Block Club federal officials have been communicating with city departments about the convention. He confirmed the safety plans were still in development and not public.
“We look forward to releasing the maps later this summer in order to minimize disruption to the city,” Biesk said in an email.
A decision on the appeal by Administrative Law Judge Dennis Fleming is expected within 48 hours.
Representatives from both groups said at a press conference before Monday’s hearings that they intend to march, with or without a permit.
In February, the city was forced to grant The Poor People’s Army, a coalition based in Philadelphia, a permit to march from Humboldt Park to the front of the United Center on Aug. 19 after officials failed to respond to the group’s application within the city’s own 10-day deadline.
Chicago has a long history of protests targeting major events like the DNC and the 2012 NATO Summit.
Violent clashes famously erupted between protesters and police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In 1996, Mayor Richard M. Daley tried to avoid a repeat of the 1968 disaster by creating a “protest lottery,” according to The New York Times. Winners of the lottery were awarded one-hour slots to demonstrate at city-approved sites, which included a fenced-in parking lot at the United Center and an area at the corner of South Michigan Avenue and East Balbo Drive. That year, the city also planned to close “10 streets and restrict access to a several-block area around United Center to all but credentialed delegates, media, guests and police officers,” according to a 1996 Chicago Tribune article.
Joe Iosbaker, a member of the Coalition to March on the DNC who protested during the 1996 convention, told Block Club the groups would not accept “protest pits” as an alternative to a march.
“It was humiliating to have to march … through an iron cage and to have, what did they give us? 15 minutes?,” Ioseaker said.
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