Pro-Palestinian group pushes for larger protest route near DNC as city raises safety concerns

Pro-Palestinian protesters and city leaders battled Tuesday over a march route during the Democratic National Convention, with organizers pushing for a route on wide streets close to the United Center and city leaders countering by raising safety concerns.

Organizers with the U. S. Palestinian Community Network applied for a permit to demonstrate along Washington Boulevard, Damen Avenue and Lake Street near Union Park and the United Center, where the convention is planned Aug. 19-22. The city denied the request and proposed an alternate route taking marchers along smaller streets like Hermitage and Maypole avenues instead.

City officials said the two main reasons for denying the application were interference with the security perimeter established by the Secret Service and concerns about a large group of people gathering near a fence where people could get crushed.

Organizers challenged the denial, landing the two camps at a court hearing before administrative law judge Dennis M. Fleming. Fleming has 48 hours to decide whether to uphold the permit denial.

The organizers' attorney, Chris Williams, argued that the city didn't have enough information at the time of the application and could have told organizers they would decide after the Secret Service finalized its security perimeter.

"They don’t know, the city doesn’t know, it doesn’t have the information to make the denial," Williams said. "When they do know, then we can have a conversation."

City attorney Christopher Dionne said the city is required to respond within seven business days.

Williams countered that the response didn't have to be an approval or denial but that a decision would be made once the perimeter was set.

Chicago Department of Transportation Assistant Commissioner Bryan Gallardo said he's been told the perimeter would line up with Washington Boulevard, where the march is planned, but the official perimeter won't be released until later this month.

The street will have a scale-proof fence, Chicago Police Deputy Chief Gabriella Shemash said, creating further safety concerns if a large gathering takes place near the fence.

"I wouldn’t put my officers or anybody else in that situation," Shemash said. "At this time, we don’t believe there will be fencing along the alternate route, it won’t cause any of those potential crushing issues."

Hatem Abudayyah, an organizer with the USPCN, said the group is considering route options that haven't been presented publicly yet. He said the route proposed by the city doesn't allow enough space for the thousands of protesters expected, and there are certain turns along the route that would cause a bottleneck and potential safety concerns.

"We have a number of ideas," Abudayyah said. "We can't say everything about our conversations with everybody right now, but we have some other ideas that we believe can make this manageable for everybody."

Previously, the city had suggested Columbus Drive as an alternate route to the Washington Boulevard march, causing organizers to file a lawsuit claiming the route denied them the constitutional right to protest near the delegates gathering at the United Center.

Williams said Tuesday the new proposal near the United Center is proof that the details can change and the city should wait until they know all the necessary information to make a decision on the permit.