Protest group fights permit restrictions during Chicago's DNC

CHICAGO (CBS) — A group planning to protest during next week's Democratic National Convention said the city is putting "outrageous conditions" in place when it comes to permits.

An emergency status hearing with U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood on the protest permit issue was held over the phone Thursday. The hearing ended without a resolution—and the city has been given until noon Friday to respond to the protesters' demands.

An in-person hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

Meanwhile, some protesters gathered outside City Hall Thursday afternoon, protesting the city's decision to approve their permit applications to protest during the DNC.    

The group's permits to protest have been approved, but the group said the city is imposing restrictions they believe are in place to silence them.

"This is not an issue of safety or security—it's a content-based decision," said Hatem Abudayyeh, co-founder of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, "and a content-based decision is illegal, to say, 'We don't want you to speak because of what you are saying. We don't want you to speak because you're going to be talking about the liberation of Palestine."

The group said the permit stated it can use Park 578 and the field at Union Park, but the conditions of the permit won't allow them to put up any stages or platforms or use sound equipment. They also aren't allowed to bring any portable toilets.

"And now the City of Chicago is trying to say, 'Oh, we're going to give you your right to free speech, but without sound or a stage or anything like that. Shame is right," said Gemini Gnull of the Climate Alliance of the South Sound. "That's like saying, 'Oh, you can breathe, but we're not going to give you any air. You can drink, but we're not going to give you any water."  

The group said they've been blindsided by the city and they plan to protest those conditions. Organizers said their attorney is also filing an emergency injunction to stop the city from enforcing those restrictions.  

"The city, the Democratic Party, nobody in government is going to give us what we are demanding, what is just, what is righteous—they're not going to do it on their own," said Kobi Guillory of the Coalition to March on the DNC. "We need to apply some pressure."

Battle over permits to protest

A judge will not require the City of Chicago to change the protest route offered to protesters during the Democratic National Convention, despite protesters requesting a route closer to the United Center.  

There has been an ongoing battle over permits to protest. The Coalition to March on the DNC sued the city for violating its First Amendment right to protest. The protest groups filed for permits to demonstrate back in 2023.

However, on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood ruled the current route satisfies the First Amendment.   

The city had agreed that protesters should be "within sight and sound" of the United Center. City Hall has offered a route that would begin around Union Park, and will head south on Ashland Avenue, west on Washington Boulevard, north on Hermitage Avenue, west on Maypole Avenue to Park 578 where many speeches are expected—and then to Damen Avenue, north to Lake Street, and east back to Union Park where more speeches are planned.

The protest group is expecting tens of thousands of people from all over the country. Buses are expected to come from Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio, protesters said.

The Coalition to March on the DNC has its first major planned protest on Monday at noon.