Chicago Gears up for DNC Amid Protests and Security Concerns

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

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, the 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 stadium where many notable Democrats will speak, and Union Park, where large-scale demonstrations will occur Aug. 19 at noon.

Like some others from businesses near the convention who spoke with The Epoch Times, she suggested 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.

Related Stories

“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.

Scott Shapiro, who runs the Syd Jerome men’s clothier in the downtown Loop, told The Epoch Times he has heard “nothing at all” from the city, though 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 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 has reached out to the OEMC for comment.

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 that concluded last week. 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.

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

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.

Harris has pushed for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a core demand of pro-Palestine 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, adding, “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.

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

The International Court of Justice found in January 2024 that claims of genocide by Israel against Palestinians were plausible. Some U.S. lawmakers, including Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), have embraced genocide accusations.

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 RNC, is fundamentally different from the Butler, Pennsylvania rally where former President Donald J. 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.

“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,” Snelling added.

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 that 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.

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.

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

The Marriott Marquis, across from the 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, though 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 impact of the convention.

Across the Chicago River in the Loop, Shapiro’s Syd Jerome has already been boarded up. Shapiro said crime over the last 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.

His business, he said, has suffered from the DNC.

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

Aslam, the bodega owner, 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 if the restaurant is booked during the convention, though 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, she added.

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 at the Billy Goat Tavern weighed on the presence of the protesters.

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

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.