UPDATE: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a curfew for the city Saturday evening as protests in the downtown area escalated. Read more here.
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city's police department are set to deliver an update as protests in downtown Chicago escalated Saturday evening.
The address with the mayor, police officials and the Office of Emergency Management and Communication, is set to take place at 8 p.m. (Watch live in the player above)
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of downtown Chicago Saturday, and city officials pleaded with participants to keep marches peaceful after more than 100 were arrested Friday night.
As a result of the protests Saturday evening, Lake Shore Drive was shut down at around 5:30 p.m., according to the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication.
CTA suspended bus and train service on multiple lines as protests continued to escalate around 7:30 p.m.
On Friday, protesters took to the streets to once again call for reform after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this week. Hundreds of marchers made their way through downtown Chicago during the protests, with some vandalism and several arrests reported by Chicago police.
Local
On Saturday, protesters were once again on the streets of the city, with thousands marching through downtown in a mostly-peaceful demonstration.
In downtown, the bridge over the Chicago River on Michigan Avenue was raised, likely preventing more protesters from gathering near Trump Tower on the north side of the river.
Instead, protesters continued to walk east on Upper Wacker Drive toward Columbus Avenue and Lake Shore Drive.
Elsewhere in the city, there were reports of graffiti on the exterior walls of businesses in the Loop, and protesters damaged several Chicago police squad cars.
On Saturday, at least three more protests are planned, and city officials are encouraging motorists to take alternate routes or to consider taking public transportation in the downtown area.
“Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Supt. David Brown reiterate that their number one priority is the safety and health of all residents, including protesters and police officers who are working together to ensure voices are heard across this city following the death of George Floyd,” officials said in a statement posted to social media.
The Chicago Police Department posted photos to social media showing new Supt. Brown working with officers near the protests at Trump Tower.
Parking restrictions were also put in place between Chicago Avenue to Ida B. Wells Drive and Lake Shore Drive to Wells. All cars relocated because of the restrictions can be retrieved, free of charge, from the city lot in the 1800 block of south Lake Shore Drive, authorities say.
The Chicago protests are one of dozens around the country on what is being called a national day of protest over Floyd’s death. In Minneapolis, protests have raged for several days, with fires, looting and violence leading to Gov. Tim Walz to mobilize the state’s entire National Guard for the first time since World War II.
Protesters and police clashed in other cities as well, including in New York, Phoenix and Houston.
