Chicago Police

Access to Downtown Chicago Restored After Overnight Restrictions Over Looting

A heavy police presence is set to continue in downtown Chicago after hours of looting that left several businesses damaged and resulted in more than 100 arrests

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Access to downtown Chicago was restored early Tuesday after being restricted overnight, following hours of looting and unrest that left several city businesses damaged and led to more than 100 arrests.

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown announced Monday that access to the city's downtown would be "restricted" from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as part of a multi-layer plan that was also used when looting and unrest unfolded in Chicago earlier this summer following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot discusses overnight chaos that erupted downtown early Monday and resulted in more than 100 arrests and left 13 officers injured.

Part of Lake Shore Drive was closed, several expressway ramps were blocked, bridges were up and rail service was suspended for parts of Chicago Monday night and Tuesday morning as the city restricted access to its downtown.

According to the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, as of 6 a.m., the following closures were lifted:

All closures from overnight will begin opening at 6 a.m. are as follows: 

Lake Shore Drive will reopen between: 

  • Fullerton Avenue on the North and I-55 on the South 

Downtown Bridges: 

  • All Bridges will begin coming down at 6 a.m. 

Expressway Closures: 

  • All Ramps from Roosevelt Road to Division Street will open in both directions. 

CTA: 

  • Bus and Rail Service will return to normal service. Note: There may be some delays.  

CDOT 

  • Divvy Service will be available from North Avenue to Ashland Avenue and Cermak Road at 6 a.m. 

A heavy police presence is set to continue in downtown Chicago, Brown said, noting that officers will be working on 12-hour shifts with no days off "until further notice."

"We are also working with other city agencies, including Streets and Sanitation, the CTA, the Department of Transportation and the state police and other agents in a multi-layered plan which will be based on lessons we've learned from earlier this summer," Brown said.

Video taken in Chicago’s Gold Coast shows looters hitting a business and the aftermath of smashed windows and empty shelves.

Monday morning's unrest began at around 12:20 a.m., when police were called to reports of a mob scene on Michigan Avenue. Large crowds gathered outside the Saks Fifth Avenue and Coach stores, with hundreds of people yelling and throwing things at officers.

Looters were captured on video in multiple locations, with merchandise taken and storefronts vandalized. Officers were told to respond wearing helmets and there were multiple reports of gunshots.

It appeared as though the looting initially began in the city's Loop, but spread to multiple Chicago neighborhoods in the overnight hours, with reports of businesses struck in River North, Streeterville, Lincoln Park, the Gold Coast and the South Loop as well.

The Chicago Transit Authority shut down all train and bus service downtown "at the request of public safety officials," the CTA said. Bridges over the Chicago River were lifted at around 4:30 a.m., preventing further entry into and exit from the downtown area.

Looters swarmed a Walgreens store and Portillo’s in Chicago’s River North neighborhood early Monday.

Illinois State Police confirmed at around 5 a.m. that Chicago police asked for assistance in blocking all expressway ramps going in and out of the city's Loop: from Cermak to I-55, I-94 from Roosevelt to Division and Congress Parkway from I-290.

At around 7:15 a.m., the city's Office of Emergency Management & Communications tweeted that the CTA was restoring service and bridges and expressway ramps downtown would be opening as various street closures remained in effect around the Loop.

Brown said more than 100 people were arrested for allegations of looting, disorderly conduct and more. More than a dozen police officers suffered injuries during the response.

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