DOWNTOWN — An administrative law judge on Wednesday denied appeals from two social justice groups looking to march on the Democratic National Convention this summer.
The groups were appealing the city’s decision not to approve their requested march routes, saying they have a First Amendment right to protest near the convention.
Last month, Anti-War Committee Chicago and Students for a Democratic Society at UIC filed for parade permits to march near the United Center, one of the main sites for the Democratic National Convention.
The groups are part of the March on the DNC Coalition, a network of organizations fighting for the rights of oppressed people, including calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Both groups applied to demonstrate on different dates during the Aug. 19-22 convention and outlined different parade routes and attendance levels. The city, however, denied the applications and each group was given the same alternative parade route more than 3 miles away from the United Center.
The organizations fought the city in administrative court this week, arguing that the alternative protest route provided by the city was too far away from the convention.
In its original denial letter, the city explained it did not have enough resources to staff and manage the original proposed routes.
During an appeal hearing Monday, an attorney representing both groups argued that the proposed alternative route was insufficient 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. The attorney also argued city officials didn’t do an effective enough review before denying the groups’ applications.
Thousands of officers will already be assigned to the convention, and the Chicago Police Department can’t cover both events, the city argued Monday.
The alternative protest route proposed by the city would require significantly fewer officers and would not block a major emergency vehicle route to the Illinois Medical District, Officer Gabriella Shemash, deputy chief of police area 3, said during her testimony Monday.
Shemash could not say how many officers would be required for either of the protest routes.
A decision handed down Wednesday by the Department of Administrative Hearings said the city proved it could not properly staff the groups’ protests and that the proposed alternate route would have been comparable.
Dod McColgan, an organizing member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, told Block Club the organizations now plan to take their case to federal court.
“We’re also launching a public pressure campaign on the Department of Transportation and the mayor’s office to demand that they stand with us in standing for our right to protest and our right to a permit within sight and sound of the DNC,” McColgan said.
The Students for a Democratic Society at UIC march would be Aug. 19. If granted a permit, it would start at Union Park and head 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 Boulevard.
“We’re definitely trying to move on this as soon as possible. We know that August is coming soon,” McColgan said.
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