Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is poised to offer protesters at the Democratic National Convention a route near the United Center to potentially settle a federal lawsuit claiming the city of Chicago is violating protesters’ First Amendment rights by blocking plans to march within “sight and sound” of the convention hall.
The development was revealed at a hearing Thursday in the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, which is seeking an injunction blocking the city from confining protesters to places far from the convention site in Grant Park.
A lawyer for the city told U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood that city officials have now received enough information from the U.S. Secret Service that the Johnson administration will be able to propose a “United Center-adjacent route to the plaintiffs in this case,” though details were still being worked out behind the scenes.
The route will be usable “by multiple groups” who have applied for permits to protest near the United Center, said Chicago Law Department attorney Andrew Worseck.
One of the main issues has been the Secret Service’s security plan for the United Center, where along with McCormick Place much of the convention activity will occur, and particularly what exactly the security perimeter around the United Center will be, Worseck said. He said the Secret Service is “still in the middle of its planning process,” and further details about the security plan were not revealed in court.
Wood granted additional time for briefing on the motion for a preliminary injunction, given the parties are “engaged in a good faith effort to try and resolve the matter” short of a ruling.
But she also warned that time was of the essence, and offered to help in the negotiations if need be.
“Obviously there is time sensitivity here,” Wood said. “The convention is set in stone — that date is not going to change.”
The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Chris Williams, said his clients welcomed the judge’s input but said both sides could “give it a shot” on their own first.
Wood set a status hearing for June 25.
After the hearing, Williams told reporters in Federal Plaza that he thinks “the city is feeling a lot of pressure to resolve this case” because their Grant Park proposal is a clear violation of free speech rights, which trump any city ordinance and allow for political speech to reach a “target audience.”
“That target audience will be at the United Center, including the president of the United States, the vice president and other dignitaries from the Democratic Party,” Williams said during a news conference that included the plaintiffs and 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez. “They will not be on Columbus Drive four miles away on a tree-lined street.”
Williams also said the Johnson administration is only increasing the potential for unrest by trying to curtail protesters’ First Amendment rights.
“You have a recipe for a clash,” Williams said. “You have the potential for violence. You have the potential for abuse by the police. You have the potential for lawsuits against the city. And if a court later upholds that it was First Amendment speech, guess who’s on the hook? The city and all of the taxpayers of the city.”
After the Tribune asked the mayor’s office for comment, a Law Department spokeswoman responded by email saying the city had “nothing more to add” at this point.
The lawsuit was one of at least two filed in U.S. District Court earlier this year after the city blocked protest permits requested near the United Center, which will serve as the convention hall for the DNC. The denials came despite Johnson’s promises that demonstrators will have a fair platform and security. Instead, the city has so far offered each group the same two-block route through Grant Park — a proposal the groups allege doesn’t fulfill their right to be within “sight and sound” of the convention.
“The tens of thousands of people that are coming — not only from the Midwest, but all across the country — will be marching on the DNC, permit or not,” Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said at a news conference in April. Abudayyeh also said the group hopes to “make life miserable” for top congressional and White House Democrats.
The plaintiff’s memorandum filed earlier this week specifically mentioned the desire to protest President Joe Biden’s policies regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Those protest plans could not be fulfilled with an off-site march, the plaintiffs argued.
“The plaintiffs seek to direct their political speech through peaceful marches to the president of the United States, the one person who could stop the suffering in Gaza with a single phone call, while he (is) at the DNC,” the filing stated. “(City officials), relying on its parade permit ordinance, have unconstitutionally denied plaintiffs and their members’ (the) right to engage in political speech through peaceful assembly on public forums, thereby violating their First Amendment rights.”
A second federal lawsuit filed by a consortium of activist groups is seeking a similar preliminary injunction against the city for denying a permit to protest on North Michigan Avenue during the convention. U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin is helping both sides attempt to negotiate an agreement behind the scenes.
At the news conference after Thursday’s court hearing, Abudayyeh said he was “optimistic” that a resolution in his case could be reached, but added they will “continue to put pressure on the mayor’s office to make sure we get within sight and sound (of the United Center).”
He expressed alarm over comments earlier this week by Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling, who told reporters at a briefing on convention security that thousands of officers were undergoing specialized training to “respond directly to civil unrest and the possibility of riots.”
“First Amendment protection is only there if you’re not committing a crime,” Snelling said. “You can be acting out peacefully and still breaking the law.”
Abudayyeh said Snelling’s words were “very concerning” and signaled a sort of “mass arrest policy” being put in place.
“This sounds like nothing more than a threat from a Police Department that has a history of violence against protesters,” Abudayyeh said.
The lawsuit alleges protest ordinances require the city to offer an alternative protest route with similar visibility, timing and location when it rejects a protest permit application. But city representatives have not met with protesters to negotiate routes and have instead suggested groups seeking permits could face legal penalties for making duplicative applications, according to the suit.
The city has repeatedly argued in administrative court hearings that Chicago does not have enough police to protect the event, keep protesters in check and regulate traffic, records show.
Meanwhile, demonstrators have long signaled their aim to disrupt the convention, chasing after host committee Executive Director Christy George for months.
As George led a first-look United Center tour for media in January, a handful of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied outside.
In early February, her talk show appearance at The Hideout was repeatedly interrupted as more pro-Palestinian activists unfurled banners and flags. Weeks later, as she chatted inside the Union League Club, a 100-strong group rallied on the sidewalk to demand Democrats commit to spending federal money to solve Chicago’s homelessness issue.
