Chicago mayor denies permit for firefighters, paramedics protest near DNC

By Sarah Roebuck
FireRescue1

CHICAGO — The mayor of Chicago has denied a permit that would have allowed firefighters and paramedics to hold a two-hour march during day two of the Democratic National Convention, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The firefighters and paramedics were planning to protest to bring attention to their three-year fight for a new contract that would include adding 20 ambulances, according to the report.

“They said it was too close to the United Center, but it’s not. That’s B.S. They have a perimeter and it’s outside the perimeter,” Pat Cleary, president of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Cleary said the plan is to march between Loomis Street and Ashland Avenue, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 20.

A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Transportation said the city supports the right to exercise the “First Amendment right to protest” during the DNC, and that demonstrators can do so “within sight and sound of the United Center.”

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Cleary said he is going to apply for a second permit for a march along a two-block stretch of Madison Street that crosses the Kennedy Expressway.

The march will also feature Chicago police officers angered by Mayor Brandon Johnson convincing the City Council to reject an independent arbitrator’s ruling on police discipline hearings twice, according to the report.. A similar protest took place during the recent NASCAR race on the lakefront.

The DNC workload highlights the union’s demand for 20 additional ambulances and more paramedics to staff them, aiming to alleviate the intense workload on current paramedics, Cleary said.