Politics
How Will the Democratic National Convention Impact Downtown Chicago? Here Are the Security Zones
Chicago police officers training at McCormick Place on June 6, 2024, ahead of the upcoming Democratic National Convention. (WTTW News)
The Democratic National Convention will close off wide swaths of the Near West Side around the United Center and downtown around McCormick Place, under a security plan law enforcement authorities released Thursday.
Derek Mayer, the deputy special agent in charge of the United States Secret Service, Chicago field office, said the security plan for the DNC was reviewed by 17 law enforcement agencies after the failed assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.
There are no known threats to the DNC, Secret Service officials said Thursday.
Here is the map of the security perimeter around the United Center:
The security perimeter around the United Center during the Democratic National Convention. (City of Chicago)
Here is the map of the security perimeter around McCormick Place:
The security perimeter around McCormick Place during the Democratic National Convention. (City of Chicago)
The security perimeter was drawn to allow the convention to take place from Aug. 19-22 without disruption and without impacting the daily lives of Chicagoans more than necessary while allowing protestors to exercise their First Amendment right to demonstrate, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
The convention will be a “triumph of political expression,” Pritzker said.
“Chicago is ready,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We were born ready.”
Impacted businesses and residents will receive information on the security plans starting Friday, when law enforcement officers will carry out their latest canvas of the area.
Street closures and parking restrictions around McCormick Place will begin late Aug. 16, while those around the United Center start at 7 p.m. Aug. 17. The closures and restrictions are expected to carry through the duration of convention events, possibly through the morning of Aug. 23.
There are two levels of security zones.
In the less restrictive “vehicle screening perimeter,” cars are allowed, but drivers — including taxis dropping off passengers or delivery vehicles dropping off takeout food — must enter through certain checkpoints to undergo screening.
The inner “pedestrian restricted perimeter” is only accessible to convention delegates, staff, journalists and other people who have appropriate credentials. Neither bikes nor cars will be allowed.
Residents who live inside the perimeter, including at the Chicago Housing Authority’s Horner Homes, will receive specific instructions.
The Coalition to March on the DNC, made up of more 125 organizations, plans to march on the first and last days of the convention, and has been fighting for months to be within sight and sound of the United Center, where Democratic delegates will gather to celebrate their nominee for president. That is widely expected to be Vice President Kamala Harris, after President Joe Biden announced Sunday he would not seek another term in office.
The approved route for protests has not yet been finalized, but will be within sight and sound of the United Center, Mayer said.
Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the coalition, said officials must provide a march route for tens of thousands of people to protest the convention now that the security perimeter is set.
City lawyers proposed a one-mile march route that includes side streets that is insufficient, Abudayyeh said.
“It just needs to give us a longer route with wider streets, that is, all the way up Washington Boulevard, and we’ll immediately sign on the dotted line,” Abudayyeh said.
Johnson used his remarks Thursday to celebrate Harris’ presumptive nomination as a “breath of fresh air” and said it was appropriate for Chicago, the hometown of the first Black president, to nominate the woman he said would be the first Black woman to hold the White House.
Harris, who is likely to be officially nominated during a virtual roll call before the convention to ensure her name appears on the ballot in all 50 states, has yet to name a running mate. Pritzker is among the contenders but is considered a long shot.
No matter how that turns out, Pritzker and Johnson will be in the limelight during the DNC. As Pritzker put it, “the eyes of the world will be on our great city.”
A contingent of Chicago police officers visited Milwaukee last week to observe security practices during the Republican National Convention.
There’s been scrutiny over an incident in which out-of-state police officers, brought to Milwaukee to assist with law enforcement efforts during the RNC, shot and killed a knife-wielding man outside the convention’s secure perimeter.
Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling said officers that have received eight to 12 hours of special training from outside agencies will be coming to Chicago to help during the DNC, but they will be assigned to areas to assist with “infrastructure” rather than violence-prone neighborhoods.
“They will not be in areas where we know there’s a possibility that they would have to take some type of police action,” Snelling said. “That doesn’t mean they won’t have to where they are, but this will free up our officers, Chicago police officers, to be in more volatile areas. Because this is our city, and our officers are bound by particular rules, regulations and laws.”
Snelling gave assurances that the CPD has enough officers to handle its DNC obligations while keeping up its regular mission.
“Every single neighborhood, we will be protecting,” Snelling said. “And we’re looking at our manpower. We’re looking at our allocations and we want to make sure, and we will make sure, that the neighborhoods who need us the most, we will be there for those neighborhoods. We will be there for the entire city of Chicago.”
The DNC won’t be successful if the rest of the city isn’t also safe, Snelling said.
There’s no expectation the plan will change, but Snelling said law enforcement is prepared to “move with the flow of intelligence” if need be.
The Coalition to March on the DNC will focus on demands to end U.S. aid to Israel amid the war in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people. Other groups will highlight the need for better schools, more well-paying jobs, affordable housing, immigrant rights, expanded protections for unions and in opposition to police misconduct.
Another coalition of groups focused on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, known as Bodies Outside plans to march Aug. 18 on Michigan Avenue under an agreement brokered by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
Snelling said CPD has been in contact with protest groups about expectations.
“What we will not tolerate is vandalism to our city,” Snelling said. “What we will not tolerate is violent activity. If we see that we will put an end to that quickly.”
In a statement, ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka called for “more work” on how police will interact with activists.
“Police should be looking to de-escalate engagements with protestors, and must not use interactions as a pretext for mass arrests, violence, or retaliation,” Yohnka said. “Simply engaging in First Amendment activity, including peaceful activity that may cause inconvenience to others, is never a reason for arrest. For too long, some elected officials and some observers have engaged in hyperbole and fear-mongering to suggest that the mere act of protest is threatening. It is not.”
Yohnka said the ACLU is still examining the security zones and other plans.
Anyone interested in updates on how the convention will impact Chicago can sign up for phone alerts by texting the letters DNC to 226787.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
Contact Amanda Vinicky: @AmandaVinicky | [email protected]
