Sunday, May 20, 2012

NATO Summit Open Thread

There has been a lot of fuss about how the NATO Summit has affected life in Chicago and the South Loop.

Since we've been inundated with information from the media, we thought we wouldn't post anything and simply create an open thread for readers to share their thoughts.

Let us know what you think.  Is this it interesting that our neighborhood is hosting the most powerful people in the world?  Is it a pain?  Has anything changed for you?  See anything interesting in the neighborhood?

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Interesting how these people who are so anti-military cause the regions they go to spend a fortune on police protection.

Tim said...

Well it's nice having a four day weekend due to the hysteria. I was even able to ride the lakefront trail despite the supposed closing from Balbo South (just had to go around the trucks blocking it). The biggest annoyance was the disappearance of the mailbox at 16th and Michigan. I was hoping to return my Netflix!

Jim in Chicago said...

I stood and watched the entire protest/parade at State and Harrison and was at that point impressed by the approach of the police. They were clearly forming barriers, but were not wearing any apparent riot gear, in fact they weren't even wearing hats. The crowd certainly had "something for everyone." And my observation is the same as the commentary along the lines of "the movement lacks focus." OK, fine, you're for gay rights, but what does that have to do with NATO. Focus, people. WBEZ interviewed someone this morning who had driven in from Grand Rapids for the protest. The interviewer said "you drove 3 hours to come here, what would you tell NATO if you had the chance," and the reply was "um, I haven't really thought about it, I'm not sure."

I loved how at the end Streets and San. came past first with brooms and then with street sweepers, you couldn't tell anything had even hapened.

I was also impressed with an impromptu march on Saturday afternoon headed West on Harrison past Clark (and then I don't know where. One minute all was quite, then about a hundred police showed up on bikes, blocked Clark so the marchers could proceed West, the marchers past and they disappeared. The whole event took five minutes.

There was quite a bit of activity on Dearborn between Polk and Harrison last night. The police were trying to clear people out of the little Printer's Row park, and it looked like Grace Place was set up as a shelter, and there were several bloody and bandaged people hanging out on the sidewalk.

The commute South this morning was hellish. I should have taken the El, but when traffic looked clear I headed out in the car and then got caught in the closure of the ramp from Congress to the Ryan, got stuck in a horrid traffic jam on Halsted and finally went all the way west to Ashland before proceeding South, cutting back at 35th.

Anonymous said...

The rights to liberty and pursuit of happiness of the businesses, residents & condo associations in the area of the protest march were violated. The permit to march was based on the assurance that the march would be PEACEFUL, yet no steps assuring peace were taken by aldermen who voted to host the NATO summit, nor decision makers who granted Andy Thayer et al the permit to march, nor Andy Thayer and any individuals/organizations who were identified by Thayer/media as participants.

Someone please step forward to file a class action suit on behalf of the businesses who lost revenue, the taxpayers who lost revenue, the residents whose liberty was restricted, and businesses/condo associations who spent funds for extra security.

Respondents should include city hall & council, Chicago Department of Transportation, Andy Thayer, CANG8, Code Pink, Joe Iosbaker, Bill Ayers and anyone who stated the march would be peaceful. Liars.

MarkChicago said...

"123afbe4-a59a-11e1-b402-000bcdcb5194"...that name sounds familiar?

Anonymous said...

"TERMS AND CONDITIONS (Of Parade Permit)
Per section 8-4-120 of the Chicago Municipal Code, the applicant must promptly reimburse the City for any and all damage of any kind to any property of the City which may result from the use by the applicant of the City’s premises under the permission granted herein, and the applicant further agrees that it will not hold liable the City for or on account of any losses or damage to property owned by it or controlled by the applicant or for or on account of any loss or damage sustained by the applicant as a result of injuries to employees or agents of the applicant.
For large parades, as a condition of the permit, it is required that the parade organizer: (1) obtain a $1,000,000.00 commercial general liability insurance policy, naming the City as an additional insured; (2) indemnify the City against any additional and uncovered third party claims against the City arising out of or caused by the parade; and (3) agree to reimburse the City for any damage to the public way or to City property arising out of or caused by the parade.
Any person violating any of the provisions of section 10-8-330 of the Municipal Code of Chicago, shall be fined not less than $200 nor more than $1000 or may be subject to incarceration for up to ten days or both. In addition to any other penalty or fine provided, any person who sells or transfers a permit granted under this section shall be barred from applying for another such permit for a period of three years.
If applicant is applying on behalf of an organization, applicant warrants that he/she has authority to bind the organization listed in line 3 above. If applicant does not have such authority or if no organization is involved, applicant agrees that this application is made on his/her own behalf and is binding on applicant." See: http://www.cityofchicago.org/dam/city/depts/cdot/permit/Applications/Parade_Application.pdf

Broomy said...

I went to high school with James 123afbe4-a59a-11e1-b402-000bcdcb5194 Jr. Any relation?

Anonymous said...

I can't help that the system assigned that to me when I signed up. My name is Earl. Better? Now get serious.

BRENDAN said...

123afb...

i liked it better when you posted under "Anon". Your name gives me dyslexia

Broomy said...

I do feel bad for all the businesses that lost revenue due to the the summit. But there were just way too many Chicken Littles out there that left the city, or boarded up their own business. That's not really any one person or groups fault. When you have your own alderman telling his constituents to leave town, the local media focusing on nothing but the potential for "chaos" The city was prepared, and they had been telling us that for months, a lot of us just didn't want to believe it.

Unknown said...

Dearest Brendan,
It's Lesdyxia.

Unknown said...

Broomy,
I decided to board up Sunday night when a protester implied my store windows were not safe. To me, it was prudent to board them up. Trust me....I am no "Chicken Little". Just ask that protester. He left in a hurry.
Still, Andy Thayer et al will be held responsible.

Tim said...

When a city holds an event like this, everyone has to make some sacrifices, including the protesters, whose rights to assemble were voided in certain public areas of the city. I can understand taking protesters to task for actual property damage, but holding them legally accountable for the hysteria surrounding the event seems like a stretch.

Broomy said...

Meant no offense Patriot! And I don't mean to armchair Quarterback your business decisions! Everyone has has a responsibility to protect and defend their family, home, business or property the way they see fit. My point really is that there are a lot of things to blame the city for, but the ghost town we had during the summit isn't one of them. During that weekend my wife and I patronized Overflow coffee (a few times), Tapas Valencia, The Firehouse (was packed), Johnny O'Hagans (we went to the game) and the Weather Mark ( to watch the protest on Sunday!) But we couldn't go to Flavor 180 and a few other places because they were closed and boarded. I just think it's unfair to blame the city for lack of business if the business is closed.