Anti-Violence Protest Won't Affect Wrigley Field Game: Cubs

CHICAGO, IL — Officials for the Chicago Cubs are telling fans that getting in and out of Wrigley Field on Thursday won't be a problem, despite a planned an anti-violence protest that will march along Lake Shore Drive to the ballpark. But people attending the game are told to avoid the affected roadway.

The demonstration — organized by the Coalition for a New Chicago and Violence Interrupters — is set for 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, with protesters traveling a nearly 2-mile route along the northbound lanes of Lake Shore between Diversey Parkway and Belmont Avenue. At Belmont, the group will move west to Clark Street, then northwest to Wrigley.

The Cubs will be playing the San Diego Padres that day, and the first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. To complicate traffic matters, the first day of Lollapalooza also is Thursday, with the first musical acts set to begin performing at noon on multiple stages around Grant Park.

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"We are advising our guests to avoid Lake Shore Drive," Cubs spokesman Julian Green told the Chicago Tribune.

Although the Cubs have assured ticket holders that access to the stadium won't be a problem, protest organizers haven't revealed what they plan to do once they reach the ballpark. At a Monday press conference at City Hall, the Rev. Gregory Livingtson characterized the protest as "a disruptive force" and said he expected some demonstrators to be arrested, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

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"We do have people who are committed who are ready to get arrested," said the Rev. Ira Acree, another organizer. "And those who don’t, we’ll tell them to stay back. But certainly, there are people who are gonna get arrested. And we have attorneys and people who will provide resources to bail them out."

Along with speaking out against what organizers called "police murders," protesters are asking for the resignations of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson, as well as investing in the South and West sides and reopening 50 schools closed under Emanuel's administration, the Sun-Times reports.

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An anti-violence protest similar to Thursday's planned event was held July 7, and it shut down the north lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway on the South Side. But organizers of this week's demonstration are distancing themselves from the Rev. Michael Pfleger-led protest, which had the support of Emanuel and Johnson.

"We’re not looking for any kind of help from Mayor Emanuel because, Jesus said, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan?’ He’s then divided against himself," Livingston said at the press conference.

More via the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune

Photo via Amber Fisher | Patch