Lake View business owners, community members and police officials said they were largely pleased with security measures implemented during the 46th annual Pride parade on June 29, but all acknowledged more work remains in order to make the after-parade celebrations more orderly.
At a July 1 Town Hall Police District CAPS meeting, police officials and Ald. Tom Tunney ( 44th Ward ) had few answers about the Pride parade's future, and said no talks had yet been held yet about whether events at the 2015 parade warranted its moving in 2016. CPD reported 52 arrests in conjunction with the parade and said at the meeting that the number of alcohol-related citations had not yet been tabulated.
"I think [police] did a tremendous job," Sidetrack General Manager Brad Balof said, adding that he only knew of two significant parade disruptions, caused by protesters and an errant motorist. "I expected things to be through the roof … The police were amazing, clearing the crowds out in a peaceful way. For that many people, there were very few serious problems."
Many other audience members agreed with Balof. But many in attendance also said that crowds were out of hand in the celebrations following the parade.
"What I saw on Halsted was nothing short of riot conditions," said one audience member.
One of the largest challenges facing police during the evening hours was keeping crowds along Halsted Street moving, and dispersing groups causing noise disturbances. They asked some businesses to keep their windows shut, and asked some others to briefly shut down altogether. Audiences questioned whether, even with full police details deployed, the district was adequately staffed.
CPD Sergeant Jason Clark said, "You can give me a million police officers, and we always want more. It's a tough day; it really is. When you've got a bunch of people drinking in one area, it's really hard."
One audience member said that, the night before the parade, she was nearly attacked and that she made a point of leaving the area while the event was underway. "If you think that was an improvement, you guys are crazy," she said.
Northalsted Business Alliance Executive Director Christopher Barrett Politan said that new barriers helped keep the crowd dispersed; Tunney concurred.
"The barricades worked on Belmont," Tunney said. "I think it was an orderly group … This was the best that I've seen Belmont. It [gave] a sense that the police were in control."
City officials estimated that 1 million spectators were out for the parade. Following reports of mayhem after the 2014 parade, residents and officials raised the prospect of moving the event downtown. This year's heightened security measures, including alcohol checkpoints and extra security officers, were implemented in an effort to determine whether Lake View and Uptown can still sustain the safety and maintenance requirements for the event.