Chicago police emphasize safety for Pride Parade, say chaos afterward won't be tolerated
Chicago police on Thursday shared details on their security plans for this year's Pride Parade.
Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling said the top priority this year is the heat. With temperatures expected in the 90s, police plan to have officers and medical tents stationed along the route to help in the event of an emergency.
"You're talking about conditions where people can become dehydrated, pass out," said Snelling.
Markers will be set up along the parade route where people can look up and give coordinates for exactly where they area.
"If you see something along the route — criminal activity, someone who's in need of emergency assistance, someone who's sick — please make the call. Call 911," Snelling said. "Let us know exactly where you are. We'll get someone there immediately."
Another major concern is crowds and parties that spring up after the parade and go late into the night in the Northalsted and greater East Lakeview area.
"The parade itself goes off well every year. It's the events that occur afterwards," said Snelling.
Snelling said the kind of conduct seen in past years after the parade is not acceptable and will not be allowed.
"We want to make sure that what we've seen in the past, where we have people come into the neighborhood after the party is over, and they engage in violent acts — they engage in vandalism, they engage in reckless conduct — that's not something that we're going to tolerate, all right?" Snelling said.
The superintendent emphasized that the parade is supposed to be a fun and positive event.
"People have the right to have peace in their communities and their neighborhoods. When you come out to a parade, you should be coming out to have fun, enjoy the festivities, see everything that's going on — and then enjoy the rest of your day peacefully," he said. "We're not going to tolerate people who come down after the parade to take over the streets, to engage in that reckless behavior, fight, and in some cases, bring weapons."
Snelling said last year, police made 52 arrests during and after the parade. He said police will make arrests again this year if necessary.
The parade steps off at 11 a.m. Sunday at West Sheridan Road and Broadway in Lakeview.
Sheridan Road and Broadway intersect three different times. For clarity, the starting point at the parade is at the intersection of West Sheridan Road at 3900 North, an extension of Byron Street, and Broadway at 800 West where the road briefly merges with Halsted Street.
The intersection is dominated by the relatively new Eagle Building at 3845 N. Broadway — which incorporates a row of terra cotta eagles from an earlier building at the site that was demolished.
