NATO protesters appeal to Chicago officials over parade route

Updated 5:30 p.m.

(Crain's) ? Activists appealed Chicago's denial of a permit for a protest march from Daley Plaza to the site of the NATO summit on May 20 after rejecting a new route proposed by city officials today.

Andy Thayer, an organizer with the Coalition Against the NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda (CANG8), said the group's request was identical to a route already approved by the city for May 19.

That parade permit was approved when the G-8 summit also was to meet in Chicago. But the White House moved the G-8 to Camp David, leaving protesters with permits for a day when no meetings will be held.

A hearing on CANG8's appeal is scheduled for next Tuesday at 10 am before the city's Department of Administrative Hearings, he said.

(See related story: "NATO protesters eye court battle over Chicago march permit.")

CANG8 wants marchers to assemble at Daley Plaza, in the heart of the Loop, then march down State Street because it's more convenient and more in the public eye. The city wanted the assembly to take place at the Petrillo Music Shell in the middle of Grant Park, then march south along Columbus Drive and Michigan Avenue, avoiding the Loop entirely.

Mr. Thayer said an alternate route proposed today by the city would go through part of the Loop, making the march longer and more circuitous. It would have taken marchers from Grant Park north to Monroe Street, then west to Michigan Avenue, north to Madison Street and over to State Street before heading south toward McCormick Place.

"The city is trying to accommodate our desire for an audience for our First Amendment message," Mr. Thayer acknowledged, but "it's adding extra mileage to a march route that's already pretty long. It's just not practical."

Mr. Thayer said the city claims the route his group wants won't work on the 20th because it goes through the central downtown area and there won't be enough on-duty police officers to handle the traffic congestion. He said the city's addition of the phrase "on duty" to the criteria set forth in the parade ordinance, after the original permit was granted, gives the city too much leeway to deny a permit.

In its March 15 denial of the permit request for May 20, the city said that a march on that date would exacerbate "significant traffic impediments" that will be created by motorcades for about 5,000 NATO delegates and staff, and about 50 heads of state.

"Mr. Thayer requested a date change for his permit to Sunday May 20th, and for the past week the city has been working with him to accommodate his revised application," a spokesman for the city law department said in a statement. "The city is committed to allowing his organization to express their 1st Amendment rights while balancing it with our obligation to keep the participants safe as they express their rights and to keep the city as a whole safe. ?Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement and Mr. Thayer will not accept the alternate route proposed by the city."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120322/NEWS02/120329896/nato-protesters-appeal-to-chicago-officials-over-parade-route

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