May 7

May 7 Alito's Leak II

Chicago, Demonstrations, Protest, Performance, Street, Urban Landscapes

“A bitter debate and a feminine fate
Lie in tandem like two precious babes.
While the former gets warmer, it’s the latter that matters.
Except on the nation’s airwaves.

And custodians of public opinion stayed back after vainly discussing her rights.

Lay hands off her body.
It’s not your fucking life!”

— Bad Religion, Don't Pray on Me, from Recipe for Hate (1993)

Abortion-rights advocates have had five days to digest Justice Samuel Alito’s draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. In countless television appearances, the spokespeople for these groups have been quick to stress that abortion services are still available because the draft opinion has not been finalized, but the writing is nevertheless on the wall.

The pro-choice coalition must deal with this turning of the tables. They are about to spend what will be likely be several decades in the wilderness, hoping for the return of abortion rights across the country. Given that timeframe, Planned Parenthood might consider acquiring what is left of Greyhound, or a low-cost domestic air carrier.

Today, Chicago saw its first major abortion rights demonstration in the post-leak era. At noon, about 1,500 demonstrators gathered in Chicago’s Federal Plaza for a rally and speeches. The speakers included the usual suspects: Gina Rozman-Wendle, NOW member; Kim Smith, SEIU Vice-Chair; Debby Pope, Chicago Teachers Union; Aviva Levine, activist with Party for Socialism and Liberation; Juliana Stratton, Lt. Governor of Illinois; and J.B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois. Mayor Lightfoot, who claims to have the “biggest dick” in Chicago, was absent. Pritzker ‘s presence may explain why: he looms large despite having dropped what appears to be 20 or 30 pounds.

Also absent were Senators Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, members of Illinois’ congressional delegation, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Perhaps they are saving their efforts for next Saturday’s rally in Millenium Park, which unlike today’s rally, will carry Planned Parenthood’s imprimatur.

Just before the noon start time, ten or so pro-life demonstrators were standing in the sunlight on the northwest corner of Adams and Dearborn, surrounded by police on bicycles. Using portable amplification, the counter-demonstrators taunted the abortion-rights activists, doing their fire and brimstone thing. Apparently the noon rally was too early for many in Illinois’ pro-life community, who may have still been in bed, hung over from all of the week’s celebrations.

There were a couple of notable speeches, including Pritzker’s, who was more fiery than I expected, given hedge fund magnate Kenneth Griffin’s massive financial support of Pritzker’s likely Republican rival. (Griffin has already funneled $45 million in campaign contributions to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who hopes to win the Republican primary on a law and order platform.)

For the most part, however, the speeches were boring — in large part because many of the speakers looked down at their iPhones as they read their prepared remarks while holding mikes that obstructed their faces. Not a good look for the television camera operators looking for good sound bites. A two-minute speech, and you can’t bother to practice beforehand so you can make eye contact with the crowd?

But it wasn’t just the speakers. Going tit-for-tat, more than a few in the crowd also looked down at their smartphones, presumably checking their Facebook feeds and watching Tik-Tok videos.

There was no milling about following the speeches. The organizers moved the large banners onto Adams, with the crowd spontaneously gathering behind the frontline, shouting at the pro-lifers as the march headed east toward State Street, where it turned north, then turned onto Washington, marching under under the ‘L’ to Michigan, and finally south to the plaza at Congress, aka Ida B. Wells Drive.

The gathering somehow gained magnetic power as it wound its way through the streets. Immediately afterward the march wrapped up, I ran into the Chicago Police Department’s onsite media relations spokesperson. I leaned in to ask whether he had a crowd count. He responded, “5,000,” which presumably did not include all those attending the Polish Constitution Day Parade running along nearby Columbus Drive.

The pro-life faction tracked the marchers, sometimes in the street, but the police eventually pulled one of the leaders aside, telling him to keep his group on the sidewalk. When the march concluded, the police stood in the street just west of Michigan Avenue, with the demonstrators on the north side of the parkway and the pro-life advocates on the opposite side. Both sides were talking past each other, but neither side is interested in any compromise, so it really doesn’t matter. It’s all street theater led by “excitable” boys and girls. About 20 police officers stood in the street, keeping the sides separate.

Along the parade route, I saw one larger banner calling for the abolition of the police department. The organizers need to do some culling. In 2020, the Democrats failed to gain a potentially fullbuster-proof majority in the Senate largely because there was too much loose talk about defunding the police. If abortion-rights advocates are serious about this cause, they need to sideline the Progressive fringe groups who are totally out-of-step with the suburban voters the abortion-rights movement so desperately needs.

As for the CPD: Historically, they have a checkered past overseeing public protests and rallies. Anyone who was alive in 1968 certainly recalls the vivid images of the police beating demonstrators in Grant Park in what the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence dubbed a “police riot.” Many, particularly those in minority communities, still have legitimate issues with the CPD. Yet, I have photographed dozens of demonstrations over the last 15 years. I see nothing but professionalism on the part of the CPD when managing demonstrations. The bicycle cops flank both the march’s front and rear flanks, working in seemingly choreographed moves to keep the marchers moving while temporarily halting or diverting auto and bus traffic. I have seen the police respond quickly to provocateurs who are looking to interfere with the demonstrators; otherwise the police generally stand off to the side. In short, if a group obtains the proper permit, the CPD works hard to facilitate the rally or march, assuring everyone can safely exercise their First Amendment rights.

I always enjoy watching people taking the time to make public declarations about their beliefs. Next Saturday, many of the same demonstrators will be back for a much larger rally in Millenium Park. I will not be there. Thursday, I fly to Washington, D.C. to cover its abortion-rights march and associated activity. The route has not yet been announced, but I suspect I will find myself in front of the Supreme Court several times over the weekend.

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