ACLU says Chicago may be unprepared for Democratic National Convention protests

The city of Chicago has been so vague about its security plan for the Democratic National Convention that it may be unprepared for the throngs of protesters who will descend on the city in August, according to the ACLU of Illinois.

The civil liberties group lobbed that accusation Thursday as it filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, a left-leaning activist group whose preferred protest route on the Magnificent Mile was shot down by the city.

“Despite suggestions by some Chicago officials that the city is prepared for the Democratic National Convention, we are here today because they are not,” Ed Yohkna, spokesman for the ACLU of Illinois, told reporters Thursday. “Sadly, the city has not created a clear, transparent plan for welcoming those who want to come to demonstrate and express themselves on the issues of our day."

So far, the city has denied nearly every protest application from other groups that applied to march during the convention, which will be held from Aug. 19-22. The city offered them an alternative route through Grant Park, but the activists say that's too far from their target audience of delegates and reporters who will be converging on the United Center and McCormick Place.

The city's across-the-board permit denials are part of a pattern of the city infringing on the activist groups' First Amendment rights, according to the suit. The lawsuit claims the city's ordinance that lays out how parade permits are issued is unconstitutional.

The city hasn't been transparent about its security plan either, the ACLU argues.

The city has been unclear about how many police officers will be needed or available on the day of the protests. When Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws appealed the city’s permit denial earlier this year, city officials were unable to tell an administrative judge about the number of officers required or available, according to the suit.

The city has also yet to lay out the exact security perimeter boundaries around the main convention halls at the United Center and McCormick Place. Officials have only said the perimeters will likely extend a two-block radius from the convention centers.

"Political conventions have typically been the site of mass protests because they provide a singular occasion to send a message to the national parties and the national and international media," the lawsuit states. "Nonetheless, the City of Chicago has released no plans for accommodating large-scale protests during the Convention."

The lawsuit names the city of Chicago, Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Carney and Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling as defendants. The city’s law department declined to comment on the lawsuit, which it said it had not received. The mayor’s office, CPD and CDOT did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, the group the ACLU is representing, wants to march to tell the Democratic Party that it has not done enough to protest reproductive rights of the LGBTQ community.

The group, which applied to protest on Aug. 18 at the Water Tower and Michigan Avenue, will march that route whether or not it gets a permit, member Andy Thayer told reporters Thursday.

The city’s alternative route in Grant Park is insufficient, he said. Members of the group prefer to march on Michigan Avenue where many reporters and delegates will be staying in hotels.