For those who remember and for those who have studied American history the 1968 Democrat convention in Chicago was marked by violence. It was a year of upheaval in the middle of a decade of change. The 2024 Democrat convention is once again in Chicago and comparisons and cautions are already part of the convention coverage.
Expect to see retrospectives of a nation and a party divided in the wake of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The protests of the 1968 convention were met with strong police action that generated much criticism. Inside the convention hall, delegates were being manhandled in a contentious floor fight over who could or should speak. Candidate Hubert Humphrey disappointed many who expected a strong anti-war stance while protests outside were met with National Guard troops and Chicago police in many bloody confrontations.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daily had served in that post since 1955 and was noted for ruling with an iron hand. He was in no mood to tolerate disorder, having already dealt with riots surrounding MLK’s murder and playing a significant role in national Democrat party politics.
August’s convention will be ripe for protests but also in the shadow of lessons learned not only from the 1968 experience but the 2020 protests and riots as well. Law enforcement’s response to what happens outside the United Center and McCormick Place is likely to attract as much attention as what goes on inside the venue.
Planning for the event has been ongoing far in advance. The complexity of the response meets the complexity of the threat potential. The symbolism of selecting a presidential candidate, the number of public and private agencies involved, and the technology to perpetrate and counter disruption are all ingredients stacking up to a potential bonfire of chaos.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling held a press conference recently in which Snelling told reporters “We’re finalizing plans and making sure all of our operations are safe. Make no mistake, we are ready. The partnership, collaboration, and open communication between everyone involved is why we are ready,” Cheatle described the partnerships as a “whole-of-government approach.”
While those in uniform will be the most visible expression of event security, there are agents in the field gathering intelligence from live sources and informants. Behind some sophisticated monitoring devices, analysts are monitoring social media and chatter hoping to glean information about any planned disruptions.
Certain to be at the table for Incident Command are engineers and leaders of utility operations to ensure that water and power are not interrupted or corrupted. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, as well as CPD will have to staff and stage for the routine influx of people, any mass casualty event, as well as the normal thousand daily calls, culled from nearly four thousand daily 911 calls.
The Federal Aviation Administration will limit the airspace above the venues, while law enforcement, including a new CPD helicopter, will be watching from overhead. Drones will likely be a part of operations.
One major lesson from 1968 was learned when Mayor Daley rescinded or refused to grant permits for protest areas. Civil rights monitors will certainly be watching to see if First Amendment rights of speech and expression are not squelched as officials attempt to balance safety with freedom to protest. “We want people to express their rights safely and responsibly and we will protect them, but we are not going to tolerate crime, violence and vandalism,” Snelling said. Thousands of officers are getting refresher training on civil liberty and crown management.
Officers on the front line in Chicago this August will be facing the heat of the Midwest summer, the pressure from emotional crowds, and the glare of cameras from the mainstream media and everyone with a cell phone and a YouTube account. Let’s hope a meltdown doesn’t happen.