When will Chicago residents receive the same consideration as Democratic elite?
On Monday, August 19, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) will be welcomed to Chicago. The 12th time Chicago has hosted the DNC, the Democrat Party’s nominating convention’s return to the Windy City has evoked memories of the jarring 1968 convention held between August 26-29 at the International Amphitheatre.
Set against the backdrop of the war in Viet-Nam, Democratic delegates arrived in Chicago in 1968 strongly endorsing Johnson Administration's Viet-Nam policy together with an unyielding support for broadening and expanding domestic welfare programs introduced under the Great Society. The fervid commitment for Johnson’s social programs drew unified party support, but the Viet-Nam plank deeply divided the party.
Accompanying Democrat delegates to Chicago were thousands of protesters led by a coalition of activist groups masquerading as peaceful protesters. Anticipating tumult and refusing to be caught off balance, then-Mayor Richard J. Daley fortified the Amphitheater with a steel fence crowned with barbed wire. Outside the venue, to protect delegates against violence, Daley posted Chicago Police (CPD) and the National Guard.
Despite the precautions and Daley’s wish for an orderly, non-disruptive convention, violence ensued. Defying Daley’s order an 11 p.m. curfew be enforced, protesters initially demonstrated outside the Amphitheater, only to be driven off by CPD and the National Guard. Though CPD dispersed another protest at Lincoln Park, for the entirety of the convention police engaged in a series of rolling clashes with demonstrators in Grant Park, culminating with an epic battle royale at the intersection of Balbo Drive and Michigan Avenue in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel on August 28.
Though history has recorded CPD’s management of the demonstrations as a “police riot,” it has tended to overlook repeated provocations from demonstrators —including protesters unfurling the flags of North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front (Viet-Cong) at the General John Logan Memorial — demonstrators assembling without permits, or physical assaults on officers. Assisted by an obliging media, history has also portrayed CPD as the neighborhood bully and indulging their worst instincts by freely and appallingly using batons or tear gas on helpless protesters.
Even from the vantage point of 56 years later, the 1968 DNC remains unmatched for its tumult and violence. Yet as the DNC is set to reappear in the Windy City, the ring of 1968 has inevitably drawn comparisons to 2024. Today, similar to 1968, there is an extraordinary level of political unrest on the streets. In another striking parallel to over five decades ago, the stunning collapse of President Joe Biden’s re-election bid due to cognitive decline evokes the memory of President Lyndon Johnson’s decision to exit the presidential race over health concerns, plummeting approving ratings, and public dissatisfaction with his handling of the Viet-Nam War.
Unlike 1968, though there remains an establishment Democrat Party, the party’s center of gravity has lurched to the fringe left and into the tentacles of the progressives. Also contrasting with 1968, some organized labor groups — then culturally conservative and passionately opposed to socialism — have been lured by the hollow promise of socialism.
Bearing in mind the rising tide of political violence, the Democratic Party’s descent into radicalism, and the tens of thousands of demonstrators expected to descend on Chicago fluently speaking the language of protest ahead of the DNC, legitimate questions have been raised over how CPD will contain awaited demonstrations. If we consider the divisions across the United States are even deeper than 1968 and the advent of social media and mobile communications have enhanced the potential coordinated protests could lead to large-scale civil disturbances, concerns over how CPD will address unrest grow. It is also worth mentioning CPD is down over 2,000 officers in the past five years, and a recent study revealed over one-third of 911 emergency calls placed go unanswered render concerns over CPD’s ability to control protests and protect citizens more acute.
Acknowledging the authenticity and righteousness of those concerns, it will be helpful to address how a leaner CPD has prepared in advance of the DNC. According to officers training for the DNC, Tier 1 personnel — officers first to confront protests — underwent a three-day training session at McCormick Place. Known as Field Force Operations (FFO), the instruction imparted to officers direction over forms of protests, crowd control, and legal aspects of policing. Officers also received instruction on permissible use of police equipment to control protests, tactical formations regarding crowd control, and the proper procedure to apprehend, search, and detain criminal offenders. On day three of training, Tier 1 personnel underwent a dress rehearse in full equipment. Tier 1 officers were also issued new gas masks with filters, and new helmets.
For Tier 2 officers — officers in reserve — training was nearly identical, to the exception they did not take part in the day-three drill. In addition to FFO training, all officers were also required to complete online examinations, undergo Law Enforcement Medical and Rescue Training (LEMART) training and undergo a final, mandatory test at the conclusion of the training program.
While CPD has received its training for expected protests and officers anticipate swift orders to make arrests should protests take an unpleasant turn during the convention, valid questions exist over the utility of the precautions and preparations for an event of this magnitude. For Mayor Brandon Johnson, the DNC is not without challenges. A former Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) organizer and lobbyist, Johnson is deeply sympathetic with Chicago’s protest culture. The DNC, however, has compelled the mayor to strike a balance between his political alignment with progressive protesters and his responsibilities as mayor. In its common definition, the job of mayor of the City of Chicago is to managing the city; this means, in part, being uncompromising in delivering safety and security to residents.
For Governor J.B. Pritzker, the DNC, too, is a test of leadership. In the run-up to the DNC, Pritzker has dipped into his personal fortune to clog the airwaves and Internet with mythical advertisements trumpeting his exceptional leadership over the State of Illinois. Fantasy with a purpose, while the coat of gloss applied over Chicago is intended to briefly conceal Chicago’s hopelessly failing schools, chaotic finances, and declining economic base, one earnest question remains: What becomes of Chicago when the DNC gets out of Dodge?
Let’s specify upfront there is an obvious need for amplifying security for the DNC. However, Chicago’s progressive lawmakers have remained stoic over the security measures which have Chicago bearing the resemblance of a fortified garrison. As Chicago braces for the DNC, CPD has an elaborate plan to distribute manpower, Mayor Johnson insisted on preserving ShotSpotter through the conclusion of the convention, and the comically incompetent Kim Foxx reversed long standing policy by issuing new guidelines outlining her office’s intent to impose punishments on protesters. A dramatic shift from progressives’ decade-long campaign of incitement against Cook County’s justice system, the contrast between the effort to maximize public safety efforts for the DNC and disinterest in applying the law prior to and after the DNC is hard to ignore.
A remarkably short-sighted and parochial strategy, when will Mayor Johnson and his progressive allies mercifully recognize public safety is a right all residents should enjoy for 365 days a year? For those willing to see reality, crime statistics cry out for a stronger police presence throughout the city —particularly in high-crime neighborhoods — and for both the Cook County State’s Attorney and Cook County Courts to enforce the law.
Complicating matters is the recent revelation Mayor Johnson sent a frantic letter to President Joe Biden appealing for federal assistance to address Chicago’s intractable crime. While Johnson’s letter to the White House was a veiled scheme to ask for federal money, the letter also revealed Chicago’s rudderless leadership. Though Johnson has spent almost the entirety of his term in office making excuses for problems rather than pledging to find solutions, there is a course of action the mayor should take to bring relief to residents experiencing the ordeal of crime the other 361 days special events do not take place in Chicago.
A good first step to concentrate on providing residents the safety and security they deserve is for Mayor Johnson to make a commitment to restore CPD personnel to its pre-COVID levels. In sum, over 2,000. Though a complex task, the mayor would be best served to create an earnest recruitment campaign to return CPD to manpower levels to address crime. With a manpower need as great as Chicago’s, Johnson should explore as many possibilities as necessary and should include returning school-based law enforcement programs broadly in the Chicago Public Schools and develop a partnership with branches of the military to lure servicemen and women with experience in military police to Chicago. Simultaneously, the Chicago Police Department should enhance police preparedness by improving training, with a specific emphasis on exercises over how to respond to active-shooters and controlling crowds. Increasing the range and frequency of practical training with simulated exercises will better prepare CPD to respond to emergencies.
Though returning training programs to schools and recruiting ex-military are a good starting point, it is incumbent for Johnson to do much more. In Chicago, to safeguard residents, Johnson should use his power as mayor under Home Rule to pass an ordinance similar to the SAFE-T Act to apply penalties against those individuals who engage in domestic violence, assault police officers, and engage in hate crimes. Johnson should also urge passage of a “Nuisance Ordinance,” which would set financial penalties on those who damage public and private property, disrupt commerce, or violate the public way.
To help restore civility to Chicago’s streets, Mayor Johnson should work in consultation with state legislators to amend the SAFE-T Act to ensure there are clear exemptions to the no bail rule for violent and habitual offenders. Johnson should also urge lawmakers to enact legislation to penalize criminals who threaten or harass victims of crime, police or other First Responders.
Residents of Chicago deserve to live in safe neighborhoods 365 days a year, not just a four-day period when Democrat-elite visit the Windy City. Chicago’s residents and businesses are worthy of the same attention and concern Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson have demonstrated for planning the arrival of the DNC. For Johnson to take extra steps to welcome the DNC is to be expected. For Johnson to ignore residents on the other 361 days in the city over which he was elected to protect is a renunciation of the civic covenant he swore to uphold.
