KNOW YOUR RIGHT
TO PROTEST IN CHICAGO
May 2012
Please see original full document here:
This is only a working copy showing highlights
pertinent to
Worldwide Lyme Awareness Protest in Chicago, May 10
& 11, 2013!
The Illinois Constitution, Article I, Sections
4 and 5
The right to protest in public places
is fundamental to who we are as a free and democratic people.
Our right to protest is well protected
by both the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and by additional
guarantees of the Illinois Constitution.
This ACLU of Illinois report is a
“user’s manual” for people exercising their right to protest in public places
in the City of Chicago. This report provides general information only; when in
doubt regarding your legal rights, you should consult a lawyer.
Part I explains some basics
Part III addresses other government regulations of the time, place, and manner of protest.
Part IV briefly discusses civil disobedience.
Part V lists your rights if you are stopped or arrested by police
during a protest.
Part VI addresses police spying on protest activity.
Part VII presents the particular locations in Chicago commonly
used for protests, including the varying permit processes and other rules.
I. Overview
of the fundamental right to protest
A. Constitutional protection of the right
to protest
The right to protest in public places
includes large gatherings (like parades in the streets and rallies in parks),
small gatherings (like pickets on sidewalks and vigils on government plazas),
and solitary expression (like one person holding a sign or distributing
leaflets).
The Illinois Constitution guarantees
to the general public the rights to “speak,” to “assemble,” to “consult for the
common good,” to “make known their opinions to their representatives,”
B. The general rule: no regulation of
messages
C. Three exceptions: incitement, threats,
and fighting words
D. Counter-protest
E. No “heckler’s veto”
II. When can
government require a permit to protest?
require a permit for parades in the
streets
require a permit for large protests in
public parks and plazas, in order to ensure fairness among the various groups
seeking to use the site.
First Amendment generally bars
government from requiring a permit when one person or a small group protest in
a park, or when a group of any size protest on a public sidewalk in a manner
that does not burden pedestrian or vehicle traffic.13 Such non permitted protests
might involve speeches, press conferences, signs, marches, chants, leaflets, expressive
clothing, and efforts to speak with passersby.
the Chicago Park District does not
require a permit for gatherings in parks of fewer than 50 people. Likewise, the
Chicago ordinance regulating public assembly does not require a permit for
gatherings and marches on sidewalks that do not obstruct the normal flow of
pedestrian traffic.14
Chicago ordinance requiring permit
applications 15 days before a parade, and notice to the City five days before a
sidewalk demonstration that would impede pedestrian traffic, there is an
exemption for spontaneous responses to current events.16
The First Amendment limits the kinds
of permit fees and other financial burdens that government can impose on
protesters. First, the charges cannot exceed the actual cost to government to
regulate speech in the site.17 Second, government cannot charge protesters more
when additional police are needed to control opponents of the protesters – that
would be a kind of a “heckler’s veto.”18 Third, government cannot use an
insurance requirement to bar a protest by a group that unsuccessfully attempted
to obtain insurance.19 Fourth, there must be an exception for groups that
cannot afford to pay the charges.20 For example, in the Chicago ordinance
requiring certain parade organizers to obtain $1,000,000 in insurance, there is
an exception where this would be
“so financially burdensome that it
would preclude” the application.21
When Chicago law requires a permit to
protest, and the First Amendment does not excuse the absence of a permit,
protesters without a permit might be arrested or prosecuted.
III. When
else can government regulate the time, place, and manner of protest?
Government can regulate the time,
place, and manner of protest on public property – but only if the regulations
are narrowly tailored to advance an important government interest, and leave
open ample alternative channels of communication. Various government
regulations of protest address disrupting vehicle and pedestrian traffic,
blocking building entrances, harassment, targeted sidewalk protests, loud
sounds, speech peddling, and street performances. Violation of these protest
regulations can lead to arrest and prosecution.
One rule deserves special emphasis:
Illinois law currently prohibits audio recording of on-duty police, including
at protests on public property. This law is now subject to a constitutional
challenge, and some police departments and prosecutors have stated that they
will not enforce it. But other police and prosecutors continue to enforce it.
A. Blocking traffic and entrances
Protesters do not have a First
Amendment right to block pedestrian or vehicle traffic, or to prevent entry and
exit from buildings.
B. Harassment
Protesters do not have a First
Amendment right to harass other members of the public.
C. Targeted sidewalk protests
Protesters often seek to demonstrate
on sidewalks abutting a building that contains an audience that would prefer
not to hear the protesters’ message. For example, a labor union might picket a
worksite that uses allegedly unfair labor practices, or a citizen group might
distribute leaflets critical of an elected official in front of that official’s
office. Courts have held that the First Amendment protects sidewalk protests
targeted at courts, health care facilities, schools, and churches.26 While a
Chicago ordinance prohibits certain protests targeted at churches, the City in
2011 announced a policy of non-enforcement.27
Within 50 feet of the entry of a
health care facility, a Chicago ordinance bars protesters from approaching
within eight feet of another person for the purpose of passing a leaflet,
displaying a sign, or engaging in oral protest, education, or counseling.
D. Loud sounds
The First Amendment allows reasonable
regulations on sound amplification and other loud noise.34 Chicago prohibits
sound amplification (for example, with loudspeakers or bullhorns) that is
louder than an average conversational level at a distance of 100 feet, with an
exception for parades and public assemblies with permits.35 Applications for
such permits must identify sound amplification devices that are too large to be
carried by one person.36
F. Street performances
The First Amendment protects street
performances in public places.42 Unfortunately, a Chicago ordinance prohibits
street performances in Millennium Park and adjacent sidewalks, and on the North
Michigan Avenue sidewalks between Delaware Place and East Superior Street.43 The
ordinance also requires a permit for street performers.44
G. Disorderly conduct
The most common grounds for arresting
protesters are the Illinois statute and Chicago ordinance against disorderly conduct,
I. Recording police
The First Amendment protects
photography of on-duty police officers in public places.
Audio recording on-duty police is
treated differently in Illinois. The Illinois Eavesdropping Act prohibits the
audio recording of any conversation
Likewise, persons who live-stream
on-duty police in public places might be subjected to arrest or prosecution
under the Illinois Eavesdropping Act. The Act makes it a crime to intentionally
"hear or record" a conversation by means of a machine, absent
all-party consent.65 Illinois courts have not yet specifically ruled on whether
this ban applies to a
VII. Where do
protests commonly occur in Chicago?
B. Protest on the sidewalks
Many Chicagoans use the public sidewalks throughout our City as a site for myriad protest activities, including speeches, press conferences, display of signs, marches, leafleting, and attempting to speak with passersby. If such sidewalk protests do not obstruct the normal flow of pedestrian traffic, then the City ordinance does not require a permit.83 If a sidewalk assembly will burden pedestrian traffic, the ordinance requires five-day notice to the Department of Transportation.
C. Daley Plaza
Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago, owned
by the City of Chicago, is a public forum enjoying great First Amendment
protection.85 Daley Plaza is operated by the Chicago Public Building Commission,
which has issued rules for using Daley Plaza, and a permit application process.86
F. Grant Park
Grant Park, located between Chicago’s
downtown and Lake Michigan, is a public forum
enjoying great First Amendment
protection. It is owned by the Chicago Park District, which has issued rules
regarding the use of Grant Park and other parks, and a permit application
process.90
G. Millennium Park
Millennium Park, located in Chicago’s
downtown at the northwest corner of Grant Park, is operated by the City’s
Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.91 The City allows leafleting
and begging in Millennium Park.92 While courts have not addressed whether the
First Amendment protects rallies and picketing in Millennium Park, the better
view is that it does.
Conclusion
If you believe your right to protest has been violated, please contact the ACLU of Illinois. Our phone number is (312) 201-9740, and our website is http://www.aclu-il.org/. We cannot provide legal services to all callers, and generally provide legal representation only in cases affecting a large number of peop
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