Chicago Gears Up for DNC Amid Protests and Security Concerns

Union workers set up a perimeter as preparations are made ahead of the Democratic National Convention outside the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Chicago will be bustling with political leaders, delegates, media, law enforcement, and demonstrators as it hosts the Democratic National Convention (DNC) from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.

With everything from high-profile speeches to polarizing protests on the menu, business owners and locals expressed a mixture of fear, excitement, dissatisfaction with outreach, and hope for peace during the long, warm week ahead.

“I just want everything to be smooth. If they’re going to protest, I want them to be peaceful,” said Gail Doherty, manager of the Billy Goat Tavern at Ogden and Madison.

Her establishment, part of a chain made famous by “Saturday Night Live” and journalist Mike Royko, lies just up the street from both the United Center, the arena where many notable Democrats will speak, and Union Park, where large-scale demonstrations will occur on Aug. 19 at noon.

Like some others from businesses near the convention who spoke with The Epoch Times, she suggested that contact from officials ahead of the massive event has not been sufficient.

At an Aug. 13 citywide DNC meeting, Jose Tirado of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management & Communications (OEMC) said his organization and both city and federal agencies “have been canvassing the impacted areas to engage with residents and businesses” since April.

“Impacted areas,” he said, include downtown, the West Loop, and areas near the United Center and another convention site, McCormick Place.

Derek Mayer, deputy special agent in charge of the Secret Service in Chicago, said during the same meeting that “layers of public outreach” marked the year leading up to the DNC.

“I’ve had one person from the OEMC come down and talk to me about closures, and that’s the last I’ve seen of anybody,” Doherty said. “I don’t believe it’s been adequate.”

Mohammad Aslam, who runs a bodega along a planned protest route on Lake Street, told The Epoch Times he hadn’t heard anything from local authorities.

Mohammad Aslam, the owner of a bodega on Lake Street in Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024, ahead of the Democratic National Convention beginning blocks away in just days. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

Scott Shapiro, who runs the Syd Jerome men’s clothier in the downtown Loop, told The Epoch Times that he has heard “nothing at all” from the city, although the Secret Service had been in contact with his building manager.

But Mohammad Anwar, owner of King Auto Repair & Body Shop on Lake, told The Epoch Times that he had heard something from the city and got a phone call without going into specifics. He’s just past the western periphery of protestors’ assigned route, one that organizers are still fighting to lengthen and thread closer to the action at the United Center.

The Epoch Times reached out to the OEMC for comment but received none by press time.

Democrats Face Protests Over Israel

Following a ceremonial roll call, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the presidential nomination, while Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will accept the vice presidential nod. The two were already nominated through a virtual roll call. There will be speeches and caucus meetings split between the main venue, the United Center, and another location, the McCormick Place Convention Center.

While those formalities and other events have attracted attention, protests have been a major topic ahead of the convention. Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to throng the streets of Chicago.

While some demonstrations will concern other issues, much of the anticipated street activity will be in response to the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its conflict against Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, in the Gaza Strip.

The protests have been restricted to a 1.1-mile route in addition to Union Park and Park 578.

Union Park is a grassy, irregular pentagon, sliced in two by Washington Boulevard and located just off the Ashland L Stop. At less than 14 acres, the space that could host tens of thousands is small—a fraction of the size of downtown Grant Park, which is 313 acres. Pitchfork, which hosts an annual music festival in the park, wrote that it can fit “up to 20,000 people.” The Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, is visible to the east from inside the park.

Park 578 is just 2.03 acres, according to the Chicago Park District. Spanning a few blocks, it features a mini soccer field, a playground, and a track. Around the park, there are houses and the Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church but no businesses unless you count a parking lot.

The coalition behind the protests, which calls itself the March on the DNC 2024, is set to consist of at least 170 groups. The demonstrations, the coalition stated on its website, will be on Aug. 19 and Aug. 22. A judge this week denied the coalition’s request for a preliminary injunction to expand the protest zone, but organizers are still fighting for more room.

A sticker advertises a protest against the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 16, 2024, in Chicago, near the United Center and Union Park, where demonstrations are expected. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

Anti-Democrat signage near Union Park in Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024, ahead of protests coinciding with the Democratic National Convention at the nearby United Center. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

Pro-Kamala Harris signage featuring art from Shepard Fairey, the designer of the Barack Obama "Hope" poster, near Union Park in Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

Harris has pushed for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, a core demand of pro-Palestinian protesters. Yet she has also expressed support for Israel.

“It is time for this war to end,” she said after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 25. “Israel has a right to defend itself. And how it does so matters.”

In recent days, the State Department condemned the alleged sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee in an Israeli detention facility.

March on the DNC 2024’s website makes clear that President Joe Biden’s departure from the race does not change their view about the U.S. response to the war.

“His decision doesn’t change the policies of Democratic Party leadership, specifically their support of the genocide in Palestine, so our movement must continue to apply pressure,” a statement from the coalition reads.

Israel has responded militarily in Gaza, which Hamas controls, following the terrorist group’s attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas carried out the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, in addition to raping women and taking innocent people hostage.

The International Court of Justice found in January that claims of genocide by Israel against Palestinians were plausible. Some U.S. lawmakers, including Palestinian American Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), have also accused Israel of genocide.

But the White House has denied that Israel is perpetrating a genocide. Israel’s defenders argue that the Israel Defense Forces takes many steps to avoid civilian casualties, such as dropping leaflets and leaving phone messages ahead of attacks on targets in areas where there are civilians.

While the main focus of demonstrations will be the Biden administration’s handling of the Middle East conflict, the protesters will call for other things, including legalizing all immigrants and protecting LGBT and abortion rights, according to March on the DNC 2024’s website.

Some coalition members include the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Black Lives Matter Chicago, Students for Justice in Palestine Chicago, CODEPINK, Queer Palestinian Empowerment Network, Starbucks Workers United Chicago, Minnesota Workers United, and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.

Law Enforcement Describes Months of Preparation

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Epoch Times that thousands of federal, state, and local law enforcement would be involved in managing the DNC, including police from across Illinois and plainclothes officers who he said won’t be easy to spot.

He stressed that the DNC, like the Republican National Convention, is fundamentally different from the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where former President Donald Trump was almost assassinated. Both conventions were national special security Events developed with federal partners through many months of planning. But he didn’t dismiss the possibility of serious incidents like the one in Butler.

“We do look at the threat climate in real-time,” he said.

Fencing has already been put up around the United Center and McCormick Place, both of which will have a heavy law enforcement presence in trying to make it difficult for protesters to breach. Certain identification will be required to enter the areas available only to delegates, members of the media, and other credentialed personnel.

Staff at the Chicago Police Department’s headquarters told The Epoch Times that more than 3,000 police press credentials have been approved.

During an Aug. 12 event at the City Club of Chicago, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said that although his department will protect people’s right to peacefully protest, there will be zero tolerance for violence.

“The moment it starts, you put an end to it quickly because a greater response now may mean that we need less of an even higher response later,” he said.

“We will not allow people to come here and destroy this city.”

The Chicago Police Department and the state’s attorney in Cook County, where Chicago is located, have been coming up with guidelines for what charges would be brought against protesters breaking the law, according to Snelling, who did not go into more detail.

“Protesting and rioting are two different things,” he said. “You have the right to protest, but there will be no rioting tolerated here.”

When The Epoch Times asked Guglielmi for more specifics on law enforcement preparation for protests, he said the responsibility for that falls more on local than federal law enforcement.

As of press time, the Chicago Police Department has not responded to questions from The Epoch Times about the demonstrations, including what contingencies may be in place if protesters attempt to leave their designated route or engage in violence.

A post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, from an account identifying itself with the Coalition to March on the DNC 2024 expresses support for a “diversity of tactics,” saying, “We will not condemn the various forms of protest that people will engage in throughout the week of the DNC.”

While many who spoke with The Epoch Times near the United Center are nervous about the possibility of violence, Ian Johnson said he wasn’t worried.

Ian Johnson in Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024, not far from where the Democratic National Convention will take place at the United Center. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

“I’m used to violence anyways,” said Johnson, who told The Epoch Times he had lived on Chicago’s West Side all his life.

Excitement and Fear From Nearby Businesses Ahead of Convention

Chicago businesses could benefit from the DNC being in their neighborhood, especially the ones near McCormick Place. (The United Center does not have any businesses within walking distance except for a small pizza shop that was closed when The Epoch Times was in the vicinity of the venue on Aug. 14.)

“Previous DNCs have had roughly $150 million economic impact on the whole city, so we’re at least expecting that,” Rich Gamble, interim president and CEO of Choose Chicago, which helped get the DNC to the Windy City, told CBS Chicago last month.

The Marriott Marquis, across from McCormick Place, is booked, Steve Conklin, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, told The Epoch Times on Aug. 14.

Even though the hotel does well when there are conventions, it is “too early to tell” what the revenue will be for the hotel, Conklin said.

“It’s great exposure for the city of Chicago, great exposure for the Marriott Marquis,” he said.

He said the Marriott Marquis is not concerned about the protests, given the fencing and other security precautions in place, although the hotel has been in contact with the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies.

Nonetheless, he said, the hotel is over-prepared, as “hope is never a good strategy.”

Others were less optimistic about the likely effects of the convention.

Across the Chicago River in the Loop, Shapiro’s Syd Jerome has already been boarded up. Shapiro said crime over the past few years and protests during 2020 contributed to his seeking preemptive protection.

“The city has a very poor track record when it comes to protecting its businesses,” he told The Epoch Times.

Scott Shapiro points to shutters helping protect his storefront in downtown Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024. After the George Floyd protests of 2020 and other crime, he worries that the police will not do enough to protect his high-end clothing store, Syd Jerome. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

A well-protected mannequin at the high-end clothing retailer Syd Jerome in downtown Chicago on Aug. 16, 2024. The storefront is protected ahead of the Democratic National Convention the following week, which will be marked by protests. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

Shapiro’s business has suffered from the DNC, he said.

“Our customers, whether they’re an employer or employee, have decided to stay home throughout the entire convention,” he said.

Aslam said he expected to make some money through food and drink sales during the convention.

“It’s good for us—we’re a business—if they’re peaceful,” he said.

Apolonia, a three-year-old modern Mediterranean restaurant down the street from the convention center, might benefit from the convention, the manager, Paula Huerta, told The Epoch Times. She declined to say whether the restaurant is booked during the convention, although she noted that it is “pretty busy” during conventions.

She said people have inquired about having private events at the restaurant during the convention. There are not any private events for the convention or the convention-goers at the restaurant, Huerta noted.

Regardless, “just make sure you book ahead of time,” she said.

Huerta also said the restaurant is not concerned about potential violent protests affecting the restaurant.

“We’re just gonna be very aware of everything,” she said.

Doherty weighed in on the presence of the protesters.

“I’m assuming protesters have to get hungry, right?” she said when asked about the convention’s possible effect on her bottom line.

A wall in the Billy Goat Tavern near the United Center on Aug. 16, 2024, days ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times

Yet while many demonstrators explicitly oppose the police, the Billy Goat Tavern proudly flies a thin blue line flag behind the bar.

“I’m not taking it down,” she said.