What democracy looks like in Chicago. No microphones, no toilets and no tents.
The city of Chicago - and by that I mean the mayor since we’re talking about Chicago - has told protesters planning to march on the Democratic National Convention that it can hold rally at nearby Union Park but they cannot have any loudspeakers, port-a-johns or tents.
The Chicago Superintendent of Police has threatened marchers with mass arrests.
Did I mention that the mayor, Brandon Johnson, is a former union organizer and ran for mayor as the “progressive.”
Are the tight security measures justified or a provocation?
I go with provocation. All the talk by police and the city of potential rioting is baseless but will certainly give cops an excuse to bust heads.
We’ve seen it before.
Meanwhile, Black residents of the west side, the neighborhoods that surround the United Center, must also endure all the fences, restrictions and police presence.
Union Park, where a limited protest is being permitted, is on Ashland where Chicago’s union headquarters have been historically located.
Ironically, Union Park is also where one of Chicago’s loudest summer music festivals is located, the sounds of which over the years I could hear at my house over four miles away.
Yet no loudspeakers will be permitted at the park during the DNC.
That’s what democracy in Chicago looks like.