After a riotous night Saturday in Chicago, unrest again unfolded in the city but also in the suburbs on Sunday.
Reports of looting, windows being smashed and other acts of violence were coming in from several areas of the Chicago area.
The Illinois National Guard was called in to protect the downtown. Access into the Loop and nearby was being limited.
The day started with workers boarding windows that had been smashed the night before after what started out as a protest of the death of George Floyd in Minnesota turned ugly well after midnight even though the city had imposed a curfew of 9 p.m..
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he called up the guard following an early Sunday morning request from Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
“I want to be clear and emphasize: the Guard is here to support our Police Department,” Lightfoot said. “They will not be actively involved in policing and patrolling.”
Pritzker urged those who protested Saturday to self-quarantine and get tested for COVID-19.
Here are the latest developments:
CPS suspends grab-and-go meal sites
Chicago Public Schools will suspend grab-and-go meal sites and all other school and administrative office activities Monday, according to a news release, as the city continues to deal with fallout from the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“This decision was made out of an abundance of caution and in recognition of the potential challenges families and staff could face trying to reach school buildings and offices tomorrow. Staff will telework, and remote learning will proceed as scheduled,” the release said.
Protesters break curfew
At North Avenue and Wells Street in Old Town, protesters gathered, some sitting in front of a Chicago police skirmish line. They chanted “I can’t breathe” and “black lives matter.”
A half hour after the 9 p.m. curfew went into effect, police issued a dispersal warning: “This gathering is in violation of the city’s curfew law. You must disperse immediately. … This is your fourth and final warning.”
— Paige Fry
Tear gas, police car on fire in Aurora
In Aurora, the state’s second-largest city, authorities deployed tear gas as several businesses along the main street were looted. People pulled up in front of a local jewelry store by the carload, crawling inside through a shattered window and later emerging with trays full of necklaces.
Earlier Sunday, Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman invited protesters to department headquarters and met with them outside to answers questions.
“Any officer who thinks that (what happened to George Floyd) is OK needs to turn in their badge,” she said. “And I stand by that.”
Hours later, onlookers cheered as a police squad car went up in flames. Aurora imposed an 8:30 p.m. curfew, but people were still out, honking horns and lighting off fireworks.
Rosie Alvarez, owner of a mixed martial arts studio in downtown Aurora, said her business already was struggling to survive during the pandemic. After her window was smashed out, she said it’ll take even longer to reopen. She was not at the store when the window at Sumdong was smashed, but a customer called and told her.
“I understand what they are going thru, but they are hurting local businesses already hurt by the pandemic,” Alvarez said. “This is devastating.” — Megan Jones
‘It is sad, sad, sad’
About 7:30 p.m., a group tried to break through the door of a food and liquor store at West 16th Street and South Homan Avenue, taking turns kicking and hitting the building with a hammer. The group paused when police arrived and then continued to try to gain entry to the building after they left.
A neighborhood resident who declined to give her name watched from the corner. She said the scene did not honor George Floyd.
“I just had to come outside to see what is really going on,” she said. “It is sad, sad, sad.”
“And it’s not just in the black neighborhoods,” she said, drawing attention to white protesters downtown yesterday. “I’m about to leave now.”
— Morgan Greene
Beauty salons, shoe stores and grocery stores hit
On the Far South Side, outside a beauty salon at 95th Street and Stony Island, looters filled a U-Haul with weave and hair supplies. Men and women jumped in and out of a Jewel Osco’s front window as the store alarm rang through the parking lot, which was filled with haphazardly parked cars until their owners returned and hastily sped away.
Looters also worked their way into a Foot Locker nearby by lifting a rail barricade off the ground and limboing underneath it. As they succeeded in opening the store, a young man skipped across the parking lot to join them.
— Gregory Pratt and Jessica Villagomez
Commercial Avenue ransacked
Looters ransacked clothing and shoe stores on the once vibrant Commercial Avenue strip in South Chicago. Wooden hangers littered the sidewalk and empty boxes laid on the street. About half a dozen mismatched individual shoes were left behind in a planter.
As officers stood in the street, one of them told a woman passing by with her two children, “You better get those babies home.” The woman then asked them about a baby that had been left behind in a car while the mother looted, and one of the officers replied that the baby was OK.
— Gregory Pratt and Jessica Villagomez
Crowds target Chatham stores
The Chatham shopping mall on 87th Street and the Dan Ryan was badly looted, with shopping carts strewn all over the Jewel and Home Depot parking lots. Dozens of officers searched the area and used carts to block entrances to the mall. Crowds of people also streamed into a nearby Family Dollar with one man emerging with laundry detergent, soda and toilet paper while another swaddled packets of Red Bull.
— Gregory Pratt and Jessica Villagomez
CTA suspends all routes until Monday morning
Starting at 6:30 p.m., CTA will suspend service on all bus routes and rail lines at the request of public safety officials, according to the CTA website. Service is expected to resume Monday morning. Commuters can find updates at transitchicago.com.
Pace is also suspending service starting at 6:30 p.m. and until further notice, according to a news release.
Person shot during looting of North Riverside Mall
Police said groups of people smashed windows and looted west suburban North Riverside Mall and nearby businesses, and during the chaos, one person was shot.
“Over the course of several hours North Riverside police in a coordinated effort with… surrounding police departments were able to disperse the looters and establish a perimeter around the mall preventing any further property damage and looting,” North Riverside police Chief Carlos Garcia said in a statement.
“During the incident, a subject was shot by an unknown offender and taken to a local hospital.”
Garcia provided no further information about the victim, saying the shooting was under investigation.
— Todd Lighty
A free-for-all in West Garfield Park
In the West Garfield Park neighborhood, there was a surreal, calm feeling even as multiple storefronts had been looted Sunday afternoon on Madison Street.
The smell of smoke from a business that was burning east of Karlov Avenue and constant horn-honking from the backed up traffic added a level of frustration for motorists.
Chicago police wearing helmets with face shields were lined along Karlov blocking traffic along Madison. But the looting continued west of where they stood.
Dozens of people crowded one corner store for several minutes, if not longer, until a strong cheer went up when they apparently breached the business.
Other people were pushing shopping carts and large plastic bins down Madison. A liquor store was a main focus with cars pulling up and double-parking. There was a strong stench of booze along the street.
While things had calmed down at 5 p.m., the situation earlier in the day was a little more tense, according to one witness.
All kinds of businesses were hit throughout the day, including a cellphone store and a Family Dollar store. Longtime community members, who said word had spread on social media drawing crowds, shook their heads at the scene of one of the main business arteries turned into a free-for-all.
On one corner, multiple rolls of Christmas paper were strewn, apparently abandoned. An open case of Miller High Life cans. Women carried mannequin heads, and one lay on the sidewalk, cast aside.
As the sun set, some in the neighborhood were worried about more serious troubles Sunday night. Some worried about how police would enforce the curfew, while others lamented the scene before them.
A group of men gathered outside the Born Losers private club on Madison, just west of Kostner Avenue. One man lamented the looting and said the George Floyd video was no reason to destroy businesses.
“I can’t even go to the store now to (buy) liquor,” he said in a frustrated tone. “All (that) is not going to help with nothing.”
He acknowledged a billow of smoke popping up over Madison about four blocks west. “This is history,” he said.
Around that time, several Chicago Fire Department vehicles raced west on Madison. A few minutes after that, they were racing back east.
— Annie Sweeney and Jeremy Gorner
Protest at police headquarters
Shortly before 4 p.m. the sound of breaking glass filled the air at East 35th Street and West Prairie Avenue as the windows of Bronzeville Finer Foods were shattered.
Just west, a few dozen protesters gathered in front of Chicago Police headquarters, where dozens more officers stood in front of the entrance. Some protesters held fists in the air, and all were silent, until they broke into a cheer of “Black Lives Matter.” One protester held a sign that said: “Being black is not a crime.”
Meanwhile, at Guaranteed Rate Field, a few dozen members of the Illinois National Guard set up a staging area in Lot A with Humvees.
— Morgan Greene
Sports store looted in Canaryville
At 47th and Halsted in Canaryville, people made a mad dash into City Sports Outlet and emerged carrying bundles of clothes. One man was nearly hit by a car pulling into the store’s parking lot while another filled the trunk to the brim.
And at 47th and Michigan in Bronzeville, looters broke into a Western Union by the gas station and carried out sacks.
— Gregory Pratt and Jessica Villagomez
‘Horrible’ experience for shoe store owner in Little Village
An unusual scene played out in Little Village Sunday afternoon after looters smashed their way into Fresh Kicks shoe store and a T-Mobile.
The shoe store manager, Lack Chong, said that he opened at 11 a.m. for curbside pickup, and an hour later, 10 people tried to loot the store using hammers. Chong’s coworkers ran into the back room and he hid while the looting went on. About 10 minutes later, cops arrived, Chong said.
“It was horrible….They just try to crush everything,” he said of the looters. “It made me feel so nervous. I think we could find a more peaceful way. This just creates another bad situation.”
Hours later, police stood guard outside the storefront but groups of Latino men from the neighborhood stood on the corner of 26th and Homan watching out for outsiders. The men heckled cars driven by African American men, shouting “Keep going!” At one point, the men rushed a car and hit it with a baseball bat as the driver sped away.
At another point, the men threw bottles and bricks while some of the men shouted “Shoot it!” as the car zipped around a parked police vehicle and fled.
— Gregory Pratt and Jessica Villagomez
Curfew in Calumet City after looters smash windows
The mayor of Calumet City in southeast Cook County shut down the city Sunday and imposed a strict curfew after scores of looters smashed businesses’ windows and ransacked River Oaks Mall.
Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush told the Tribune that looting started out with a handful of people and quickly grew to number perhaps as many as 200 to 300.
Markiewicz Qualkinbush ordered a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice, adding she was closing highway exit ramps that lead into the city.
“Obviously, Calumet City is in a state of emergency,” she said. “We are shutting down the city to get a handle on this.”
The mayor said her curfew restricts vehicular and pedestrian movement unless it involves emergency personnel, law enforcement or essential workers who are commuting.
Markiewicz Qualkinbush said that “organized bands within the protest groups” drove to Calumet City and neighboring towns to commit crimes.
“Today, Calumet City has experienced the boil over of years of unjust application of the law that has victimized African American communities across our nation,” the mayor said in a statement. “Amid peaceful demonstration spotlighting horrible injustice that led to the senseless death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, frustration has taken a violent destructive tone.”
— Todd Lighty
Protest-related cases in Cook County bond court include alleged battery to cop
A Cook County judge presiding over Sunday’s felony hearing call at the Leighton Criminal Court Building saw 12 protest-related suspects, with charges ranging from looting to aggravated battery to a police officer.
In one instance, a Portage Park man was accused of intentionally ramming a bicycle into a police sergeant and resisting arrest, injuring the officer’s leg and thumb.
In another, a Texas woman in town for the protests, allegedly punched a police officer in the eye after throwing a glass bottle at two officers. That same officer then used their body to shield the young woman from a surging crowd in downtown, according to prosecutors. She later apologized to officers, authorities said.
Several people were arrested inside Macy’s flagship store on State Street, after looters broke into the closed store Saturday night.
— William Lee
Lightfoot: Previous peaceful protests like comparing ‘apples and oranges’
Chicago has seen numerous protests over the last decade, from the demonstrations at the 2012 G8 summit to weeks of marches following the 2015 release of video that showed Laquan McDonald’s shooting death at the hands of police.
None, however, resulted in the kind of widespread looting and vandalism that followed Saturday night’s protest against the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
On Sunday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said such previous Chicago protests were “apples and oranges.”
“We moved from peaceful protests to an element that was in the crowd that was clearly there for a fight. You don’t bring a clawhammer or shovel or bottles or urine or accelerants, Molotov cocktails, unless you’re up to something other than peaceful protests,” she said.
“Dealing with that element certainly became a challenge. And then, on the heels of tamping that down, we saw literally people coming by the carloads and with U-Haul vans to loot and destroy and damage our businesses.”
Lightfoot was asked if the city was prepared for Saturday night. “The planning for yesterday started days before,” she said. “We had cancelled days off, used overtime. There were a number of police out on the scene over the course of yesterday. We’ve now also shifted to 12-hour days, three watches.”
Lightfoot said the city is working with federal agencies to determine who the outside elements were who drove the violence, but declined to provide details.
The mayor’s comments came during a news conference to discuss the deployment of 375 Illinois National Guard members to Chicago. The Illinois National Guard will help Chicago police manage street closures part of the city’s downtown shutdown.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he called up the guard following an early Sunday morning request from Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
“I want to be clear and emphasize: the Guard is here to support our Police Department,” Lightfoot said. “They will not be actively involved in policing and patrolling.”
Pritzker urged those who protested Saturday to self-quarantine and get tested for COVID-19.
“The virus is still out there. And we cannot forget that.”
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx decried “the casualness” of decades of disparities and violence faced by the African American community, including what she described as the casual way a police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck.
“I am angry. What is not acceptable is what I saw last night,” she said. “That there will be those who will try to exploit the anger and the mourning…of what has been happening in this country.”
“We will hold accountable those who are seeking to exploit this moment,” said Foxx, who added that people shouldn’t conflate protesters and looters.
Illinois National Guard back 50 years after 1968
Nearly 400 Illinois National Guard members will enforce street closures throughout the city following two days of unrest, but the troops have been ordered not to police the protests, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sunday.
Pritzker activated a military police unit shortly after midnight at the urging of Mayor Lori Lightfoot in what is believed to be the first time since 1968 that a Chicago mayor had requested the guard’s help in dealing with local unrest.
About 125 guard members already have reported for duty and another 250 are expected shortly. The soldiers and airmen have been given explicit orders not to interfere with protestors who are exercising their First Amendment rights, the governor said.
“Their job is to provide a perimeter,” Pritzker said. “They’re not going to be on the front lines. There has been a lot of discussion about that and what their role will be. They’re purely there to provide a perimeter so the center of the city doesn’t get overtaken in the way it seemed to at certain times last night.”
Each soldier has been given strict guidelines in regards to use of force, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Richard Neely, the Illinois adjutant general. Officials, however, declined to discuss those rules of engagement.
Lightfoot downplayed suggestions that the guard’s presence could escalate tensions throughout the city, saying the guard members understood their limited role.
“They are every bit as well trained as our officers are. They are trained to come into these circumstances,” Lightfoot said. “I have every confidence they will show exactly the same restraint that our officers do. We’re not going to let them get into a difficult circumstance that they cannot handle.”
As the violence and looting escalated Saturday night, Lightfoot said Police Superintendent David Brown asked for the national guard’s assistance. She made the request to Pritzker around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
The mobilized 33rd Military Police Battalion unit – which is based in Machesney Park and has companies in Springfield, Freeport and Ft. Sheridan – has specialized training in crowd control. Though many in the unit are police officers in their civilian lives, the activated troops also include firefighters, teachers and factory workers.
“We are here to carry out to a limited mission at the request of Mayor Lightfoot and the governor, to help manage street closures so that those protesters will not interfere with those who want to exercise their First Amendment right,” Neely said. — Stacy St. Clair
New protests, unrest reported in city, suburbs on Sunday
On Sunday, there were several reports of protest and unrest in the city and suburbs.
At 3:30 a contingent of about two dozen officers were lining up in formation at intersection of Chicago Avenue and Kedzie, where a strip appeared to have been looted. Officers carried bully clubs and wore face shields. They were directing traffic, which was backed up in Chgo Ave.
Glass at the Foot Locker was spider-webbed. People were stuffing items into trunks of cars and carrying items down the street. Some ran.
There was a mannequin and broken glass on the street.
The mall is across from a children’s play lot. A little boy was being pushed on a swing by a woman amid all of this.
There was one protest near Madison Street and Pulaski Road, and at 35th and King in Chicago, police said.
And far from Chicago, malls and other businesses in the southwest suburbs voluntarily closed.
The Orland Square Mall in Orland Park and Brookside Marketplace in neighboring Tinley Park closed early, although they had been on shortened hours because of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy said law enforcement “has received lots of intelligence” about possible civil unrest but that nothing has occurred his village. He said that by mid-Sunday afternoon, police had made no arrests.
“People are being extra vigilant and we’re getting a lot of calls,” he said. “We are chasing our tails a lot.”
Pat Carr, assistant village administrator for Tinley Park who oversees police and fire activity in the village, said there have been pockets of reports of unrest and that people have fled when police responded.
Carr said he did not know the number of protesters but said that people in 10 to 12 cars had caused a disturbance at Brookside Marketplace at 191st Street and Harlem Avenue before driving off.
“We have asked residents to stay inside,” he said. “This is all as a precaution to keep our residents prepared and safe.”
Mokena, with borders both Tinley and Orland Park, sent out an alert to its residents: “There are reports of large groups or protesters in the area around Lincoln-Way area. As such, we will be closing many stores this afternoon. Please stay close to home, stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity.”
— Annie Sweeney, Todd Lighty
National Guard to have ‘limited presence’
At a news conference late Sunday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the Illinois National Guard would have a “limited presence” tonight.
The Guard’s presence would be on the “outer perimeter”of the downtown area, said Police Supt. David Brown.
The National Guard is being ordered to Chicago amid “absolutely devastating” looting and destruction downtown, Lightfoot said.
Brown said that police days off have been canceled.
“This chaos and destruction is not the right tactic to bring change,” Lightfoot said.
Officials said there were 240 arrests and 6 shootings, with one death.
In a statement, Governor J.B. Pritzker said he would activated 375 Illinois National Guard soldiers. The Guard will carry out a limited mission to help manage street closures and will not interfere with peaceful protestors, he said.
“At the request of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, I am activating the Illinois National Guard to support the City of Chicago in protecting our communities and keeping people safe,” said Pritzker. “This is an immensely challenging moment for our city, our state, and our country, one born from decades and centuries of systemic racism. To those peacefully expressing the pain, fear, and rage of this moment, I hear you. Your voices matter. We must address the profound injustices in our society and bring about real and meaningful change.”
Though Lightfoot said she was “sickened by the murder of George Floyd,” she strongly condemned the actions of some protesters who have burned storefronts on Michigan Avenue and smashed windows.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Lightfoot said.
“This chaos and destruction is not the right tactic to bring change.”
“It not only breaks my heart but leaves me angry and frustrated”
She also thanked the police: “I watched for hours yesterday as you showed incredible restraint”
And she warned people to stay safe: “Please wear face covers and maintain safe social distancing while you are marching”
She also called for moment of silence at 5 p.m.
— Greg Pratt
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Outside groups involved in in Saturday’s events, Lightfoot says
When asked if “anarchists” had a role in Saturday’s protests and looting, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said there were little doubt that outside groups were involved in the protests and looting.
“I think there’s no question about that,” the mayor said at a Sunday morning news conference. “There clearly was coordination. They were clearly listening to (police) radio traffic. They had Uhaul trucks that magically showed up in front of stores. Car caravans that dropped people off who broken into windows and then were hustling the goods out to the backs of cars. Absolutely it was organized. There’s no question whatsoever about that.”
An investigation into the particular groups was underway, the mayor said.
The mayor also shot down claims that closing off traffic and public transit to downtown, instituting the curfew and raising the bridges trapped people.
“Totally, utterly false. And the proof is in the pudding. People were roving all over the downtown area, by foot, by car and by other means. No one was trapped. The LaSalle Street bridge was open the entire time.
“And again, look at what happened. If they were trapped, we would have seen an isolated area of problems. We didn’t see that. There was tremendous mobility, to our detriment.”
Later in the day, Chicago police spokesman Howard Ludwig said he had no information “at this point” that any alleged outside agitators played a role in upsetting what had started earlier Saturday as peaceful anti-police protests.
–William Lee, Todd Lighty
City limits access to Loop, CTA service in and out of Loop suspended
The city of Chicago Sunday morning announced that “multiple routes to the Central Business District will be temporarily reduced today following multiple public safety incidents and property damage that occurred overnight.”
In a news release the city said it was taking the action “to further ensure the health and safety of residents and the hundreds of peaceful protestors participating in rallies” today.
According to the release, starting today, “the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS), Department of Water Management (DWM) and Chicago Police Department (CPD) will reduce access in the Central Business District and Loop area to only employees whose businesses are located within the designated boundaries, individuals who reside in the surrounding area and residents engaged in essential activities as defined in the Municipal Code.”
The boundaries include:
Division Street from Lake Shore Drive and North Halsted Street.
North Halsted from Division Street. to Milwaukee Avenue and Grand Avenue.
Milwaukee Avenue from Grand Avenue to Kinzie Street.
Canal Street from Kinzie Street to 26th Street.
26th Street from Canal Street to Lake Shore Drive.
The release continues:
“Additionally, CTA service has also been suspended for trains and buses coming in and out of the Loop for public safety reasons. CTA will provide regular service updates at: transitchicago.com.
“Following today’s announcement, the City is working closely with the organizers of rallies and protests scheduled to take place within the area this afternoon to provide an alternative, optional route for marches to peacefully and safely return in Chicago. This latest effort follow’s Mayor Lightfoot and Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Arwady’s joint-issued citywide curfew for all residents and visitors, effective from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily beginning Saturday, May 30, until further notice.
“Mayor Lightfoot, Dr. Arwady and Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown continue to reiterate that their number one priority is the safety and health of all residents, including protestors and police officers. In addition to these latest preparedness efforts, Mayor Lightfoot will join CPD and OEMC today to provide an update on the City’s preparedness efforts to ensure peaceful organized protests, rallies and marches.”
Illinois State Police announce downtown expressway ramp closures
Illinois State Police officials have announced the following expressway ramp closures, which will be in effect until further notice:
Interstate 290 eastbound to Congress
Interstate 94 northbound ramp to Congress
Interstate 90 northbound ramp to Ohio
Interstate 90 southbound to Ohio
At least 20 Chicago officers were injured Saturday night
At least 20 officers were treated at hospitals Saturday, injured during violent street protests and looting, said Chicago police spokesman Howard Ludwig.
“There were a couple officers with broken bones, more with stitches,” he said. “And even more with bumps and bruises.”
— Todd Lighty
Chicago theaters sustain minor damages
Both the Goodman Theatre and Broadway in Chicago said Sunday morning that their venues had received minor damage during the Saturday night disturbances in downtown Chicago.
A Goodman spokesman said that the damage to the theater at 170 N. Dearborn St. included the spray painting of a door, two smashed glass entry doors and a cracked window.
In a statement on social media released Sunday that did not reference the damage, the theater said that “the Black Lives Matter movement has never been more essential” and that the theater remained steadfast in its “commitment to producing works of arts that help to connect, challenge and restore.”
Broadway in Chicago said that most of its Loop venues had not sustained any damage but that the CIBC Theater at 23 W. Monroe St., where “Hamilton” recently closed, had its glass front doors shattered by protesters and its exterior plaques tagged.
It appeared Sunday morning that none of the historic theaters in the Loop saw their interiors breached or suffered irreparable damage, even though the Chicago Theatre was the backdrop to much of the Saturday night protest activity on State St. Chicago theaters have been closed to performances since the pandemic stay at home orders were issued earlier this year.
— Chris Jones
Protesters gather early in the morning near Lightfoot’s home
A group of about 35 protesters gathered near the home of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot early Sunday, playing musical instruments and shouting, “Wake up, Lori, wake up.”
The street was blocked off, forcing the protesters to assemble at the end of the block.
–Brian Cassella
Volunteer tries to help with cleanup
As the city streets remained largely quiet and desolate Sunday morning, Sarah Walczewski from the South Loop made her way downtown by 7 a.m.
Walczewski was at home during Saturday night’s protests but wanted to do her part to help the city heal by cleaning debris, she said.
Walczewski was among several volunteers who cleaned scenes of cluttered debris and shattered glass left behind from looted businesses. Several stores along State Street were broken into with items like makeup displays scattered along the street and roads covered in pockets of broken glass.
Droplets of blood and piles of trash sat outside corners of the street.
Residents walked by the businesses with many stopping to take photos and videos of the damage.
Holding a stack of white trash bags, a broom and dustpan, Walczewski kept cleaning. She gathered piles of glass left behind from a broken window at Potbelly’s on State and Lake street.
“I just want to help,” she said. “The whole situation is tragic and I’m very much aligned with the cause of the protestors. I love Chicago.”
–Jessica Villagomez
Businesses look for plywood
Neemias Ortiz, an employee at The Berghoff, worked to board up the restaurant early Sunday morning. The only damage the restaurant had sustained Saturday was a broken window, he said.
He added that neighboring businesses were struggling with finding companies to aid in boarding and many were taking it upon themselves to do the work.
“I went to Home Depot to get plywood, there were so many people there all getting material to board,” he said. “Things happen, we have nothing to do but to protect what we can,” he said.
John Cusack tweets video of Chicago protests and police coming ‘at me with batons’
While attending protests in downtown Chicago on Saturday, actor John Cusack said on Twitter that police “came at me with batons” and were hitting his bike as he attempted to film a burning car.
Protests took place nationwide over the weekend, sparked by the deaths of black people at the hands of police, including George Floyd in Minneapolis last week, Louisville and Kentucky EMT Breonna Taylor in March, as well as jogger Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed in February by a former police officer in Georgia.
In a video posted by Cusack, an Evanston native who lives in Chicago, the nighttime footage is blurry but shouts (presumably from law enforcement) are heard in rapid succession: “Get out of here! Move! Get out of here! Get the f— out of here now! Get out of here, let’s go!”
Amidst those shouts Cusack can be heard responding, “Alright, alright, alright, I’m going.”
Read more here.
–Nina Metz’
‘Everything is gone,’ says Loop jeweler
Rick Samaniego, a manager of family-owned jewelry store Wedding Bands and Co. by Koorash on Wabash Avenue, cleaned through the rummage on the shop Sunday morning.
“We haven’t been working since the shelter in place order,” he said. “No income at all, and now this. Everything is gone.”
Samaneigo said he got notice of a break-in from an alarm at 9 p.m. Saturday night.
He and his brother-in-law, who owns the shop, thought of coming downtown before ultimately deciding against making the trip in.
“We both tried coming but we realized what are we going to do? Fight them off?,” he said.
He got to the store by early Sunday morning to find glass shattered and materials gone.
Volunteers helped him sweep up some of the debris.
“It’s a good feeling,” he said. “I know it’s not much but it’s a hand. Imagine working your whole life to build something then it gets taken away.”
Check back for more updates.
