Protest groups lose appeal to march near United Center during Democratic convention

CHICAGO - Two activist groups have lost their appeals for permits to march near the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

The groups — both part of the Coalition to March on the DNC — filed for parade permits to march near the United Center during the convention, set for Aug. 19-22. But the city denied them, saying it would tie up traffic and require police officers it could not spare.

The city offered the two groups — the March for the People’s Agenda and Students for a Democratic Society at UIC — an alternate marching route in Grant Park. But groups rejected those routes as being too far and not within "sight and sound" of the convention.

Administrative Law Judge Dennis Michael Fleming ruled Wednesday that the city was not required to provide an alternate route that was visible from the convention hall at the United Center.

The judge affirmed the city’s denial letters, ruling that the city proved it did not have resources to provide security and that the alternate route in Grant Park, more than 3 miles from the United Center, "had comparable public visibility and a similar route, location and date to that of the proposed parade."

The group plans to bring its case to federal court and launch a public pressure campaign, coalition spokesperson Dod McColgan said.

Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army was granted its parade permit last month to march to the doors of the United Center on a technicality. The city missed its deadline to respond to the application and was forced to approve it. A spokeswoman for the group said Thursday that its plans haven’t changed. But the group likely won’t be allowed to march within the Secret Service’s secured zone that could extend a couple of blocks from the United Center.

Another group that applied to march on the Magnificent Mile, Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, had its appeal denied earlier.