As Chicago gears up to host the Democratic National Convention (DNC), city officials are bracing for an influx of more than 50,000 visitors, along with thousands of protesters. This extensive preparation comes in response to concerns that the DNC could trigger protests similar to those in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd. During those protests, arson, looting, and rioting caused significant damage in downtown Chicago.
In addition to the heightened training, hundreds of extra law enforcement officers from across Illinois will be deployed. These reinforcements will bolster security around the United Center, the primary venue for the convention, and ensure that Chicago’s 50 neighborhoods remain protected.
Businesses are boarding up storefronts, fearing a repeat of the looting sprees that devastated the business district during the 2020 protests. Scott Shapiro, owner of the menswear shop Syd Jerome, expressed skepticism about the city’s ability to protect businesses. “This city has a poor track record when it comes to protecting businesses,” Shapiro told WLS-TV.
“We felt it was more prudent to board up since our customers and their employers have told them to stay home throughout the convention for their own safety,” he added.
Breitbart News lays out Chicago’s history of poor protection:
Days after the city was selected as the site for the 2024 convention in April 2023, massive groups of teenagers took to the streets to rob, fight, and shoot for several days.
The youths’ violence continued for several nights, leaving lasting damage to the local community and each other, Breitbart News reported.
Then-Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson (D) stressed how important it was not to “demonize” the teens who participated in the rioting.
The city has a shocking pattern of condoning violent unrest, as the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) rioterslooted, vandalized, and shot up Chicago businesses and neighborhoods.
Local BLM organizers defended the looting, calling it “reparations.” Similarly, on Christmas Eve 2023, pro-Palestinian protesters targeted the homes of local lawmakers and shut down Interstate 90 — the key artery connecting Chicago to O’Hare International Airport — in both directions.
In June, pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized the city’s Buckingham Fountain by dyeing the water red and spray-painting messages like “Gaza is bleeding” on it.
While large protests are expected to occur around the DNC, Snelling said Chicago is better prepared to handle them than it was in 2020.
Saying that law enforcement leadership has been doing extra training for more than a year and that additional police resources will be pulled in from across the state, the police superintendent emphasized, “We have a city to protect.”
“The Chicago Police Department will be in every single neighborhood protecting the neighborhoods so we will not deplete resources from our neighborhoods,” he added.
Activists are also still actively challenge the city’s restrictions on protest activities. The Coalition to March on the DNC, representing 200 social justice organizations, has been locked in a legal battle with the city over permitting rights. The coalition initially sued the city, alleging that their First Amendment rights were being violated by restrictions on constructing stages, connecting sound equipment, and providing portable toilets at Union Park, the site of the protests.
In a recent emergency hearing, the city agreed to allow a stage and sound system for both rallies planned by the coalition. However, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood upheld the city’s decision to shorten the protest route and increase the distance from the United Center.
Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the coalition, expressed concerns that the city’s approved route, which is shorter and includes sharp turns, could lead to dangerous bottlenecks. He argued that the longer, 2.4-mile route proposed by the coalition would better accommodate the expected turnout of “tens of thousands of people” and minimize the risk of arrests.
