RiotChicago

Protest, riot, & rebellion in Chicagoland

[riotchicago]

Between 20,000 and 25,000 protesters marched up and down Michigan avenue and State street in Chicago’s Loop on Sunday, May 17, 2021 to mark the 73th anniversary of the Nakba, and to condemn ongoing ethnic cleansing being carried out by the apartheid regime of Israel against Palestine. 

[riotchicago]

An absolutely massive crowd, easily 5,000 to 10,000 in Chicago marching to end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, May 12, 2021.

[riotchicago]

A march for Black and Brown lives passes two relevant tweets billboarded onto the side of an apartment building, August 9, 2020. 

[riotchicago]

A Whitney Young Magnet High School student march crosses over the Eisenhower Expressway as the sun sets on August 11, 2020. BIPOC youth have been relentless in their demand to remove Chicago police officers from public schools, and to cancel the $33 million dollar contract CPS has with CPD. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has opposed taking CPD out of CPS, despite individual schools voting cops out at an increasing rate. 

[riotchicago]

A CPD cruiser burns during the riots of May 30, 2020.  "The city, especially in the street, is a space where the powerless can make history." ~ Saskia Sassen

[riotchicago]

July 20, 2020: Protesters occupy the State street bridge while the Michigan avenue bridge is raised to help police secure a five block perimeter around Trump tower. The march had hoped to get close to building but police wouldn’t allow it. Throughout the summer of 2020 mayor Lori Lightfoot raised the bridges to restrict protesters and looters from accessing the Loop, making it clear she prizes the city’s wealthy over those struggling in working class neighborhoods. 

[riotchicago]

After police shot Latrell Allen on August 9th, 2020 during a foot pursuit in Englewood, looting again returned to downtown Chicago, prompting over 100 arrests. Police allege Allen fired at them first, but all officers involved had their body cameras turned off, a violation of department policy. Black Lives Matter Chicago issued a detailed condemnation of the shooting the following day.  In response to the looting, Mayor Lightfoot once again ordered all but one of the bridges in the Loop raised to protect the city’s wealthy from the city’s poor.  In response to the hundred arrests, protesters occupied the street outside CPD’s first precinct for several hours the following night, squaring off against police lined up to protect their headquarters. Additional units were brought in via CTA buses, a practice that many transit operators in the Local ATU union chapter oppose.  After night fall, protesters hung a banner facing the police station that read, “OUR FUTURES HAVE BEEN LOOTED FROM US...LOOT BACK.”

[riotchicago]

July 25, 2020: At an Abolish ICE march in front of the federal building a man lit an American flag on fire and lobbed it at police, who seemed more amused than anything. A group of anarchists in the crowd was handing out stickers featuring one of the many CPD vehicles burned during the May 30th riots. 

[riotchicago]

July 25, 2020: Hundreds of protesters form a giant ring to hold an intersection on Michigan avenue while Black and Brown youth speak in the center over loud speakers. In the background the Michigan ave bridge is raised to protect Trump tower. Later this same night Mayor Lightfoot removed the Columbus statue that was the focal point for an all out battle between protesters and police a week prior. Two other Columbus statues were also removed by the city shortly thereafter. 

[riotchicago]

Saturday, August 1st: Organized by a coalition of activists calling themselves Solidarity Street, protesters converged to march and throw an unpermitted block party at the intersection of State and Jackson in the heart of the Loop amid pouring rain. The same umbrellas used to protect protesters from pepper spray during the July 17 Battle of Chicago were now performing their much more common function.  Bike marshals did their usual job of maintaining the perimeter. Police attempted to prevent a small wooden stage and PA system from being hauled in, but ultimately a supervising sergeant relented. Despite the downpour, rappers and singers maintained a crowd of several hundred late into the wet evening. 

[riotchicago]

Black bloc anarchists and Black Lives Matter supporters surround and bombard Chicago police officers protecting a statue of slave trafficker Christopher Columbus on July 17, 2020. A CPD supervisor gets hit in the head with a LaCroix can and falls to the ground. Police were forced to retreat for almost 45 minutes before they had the numbers to successfully retake the hill upon which the statue sat. But due to the overwhelming number of protesters and tactical planning, this direct action ultimately proved successful when the city was forced to remove the statue a week later to avoid further confrontations.  I discussed at length the events of the July 17th Battle of Chicago in Grant park on the podcast Move Left, Idiots.  A write up on CrimeThink also accurately chronicled the events of that evening.

[riotchicago]

A new mural in Wicker park stands three stories tall next to the blue line tracks. Artists Ephraim Gebre, Robin Alcantara and Jared Diaz have now been asked to create additional similar works throughout Chicago. July 23, 2020

[riotchicago]

Cyclists hold the perimeter line against police while black bloc attempts to topple a statue of Christopher Columbus.  July 17, 2020 UPDATE: Only a week after protesters almost toppled the Grant park Columbus statue, the mayor ordered the statue be removed in the middle of the night on July 24. Another Columbus statue in Little Italy was also removed the same evening. 

[riotchicago]

Officer down at the Decolonize Zhigaagoong direct action to topple a statue of Christopher Columbus . I’d never seen so many cops mace themselves before, police actually opened up a fire hydrant for officers to flush their eyes. An armored Lenco BearCat sits in the background. During the battle with police, 18 CPD officers and hundreds of protesters were injured. 

[riotchicago]

All out war in Chicago’s Grant park as police beat protesters who were attempting to topple a statue of slave trader Christopher Columbus. Unlike numerous so-called ‘peaceful protests’ this was a highly planned direct action organized between Black & Brown youth leaders of the group GoodKids MadCity and local anarchists. While the toppling was ultimately unsuccessful, the crowd held the space for nearly 45 minutes despite an onslaught of police violence. I was personally attacked and slammed to the ground by three officers just for filming them after they’d inadvertently maced themselves. July 17, 2020

[riotchicago]

A crowd of several thousand marches through Chicago’s South Loop on Juneteenth, 2020. Protesters shouted “Out of your homes and into the streets!” to onlookers staring down from their condo towers above. 

[riotchicago]

By late June virtually all the murals painted on plywood nailed up to deter looting after Chicago’s May 30 riot had been removed. Artists, curators, and organizers are currently working to preserve the works. As WBEZ recently reported, multiple plans are in the works to display the murals in exhibition before finding them permanent homes.