Business owners hastened to recover from widespread looting and violence.
Downtown Chicago’s freeways and bridges reopened Tuesday as business owners and emergency services rushed to recover in the wake of widespread looting and violence.
City officials had cordoned off the area, restricting access to residents and business owners, after hours of looting and vandalism that damaged businesses and resulted in more than 100 arrests, according to police.
Thirteen officers were injured, including a sergeant who was attacked with a bottle, and at least two civilians were shot in the riots after midnight Sunday as hundreds flooded the city’s Magnificent Mile and surrounding areas with vandalism and violence, his authorities.
The travel restrictions were lifted early Tuesday morning, but city officials said it would take a while for things to return to normal with broken glass, trash and debris still stumbling across the streets in some areas.
Much of the unrest took place along the Magnificent Mile, one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, where looters were seen stuffing cars filled with chain stores full of stolen merchandise and shopping equipment.
ATM machines were compromised, cash registers were stolen and at least one bank was broken into, police said.
The unrest came as a triple blow to companies struggling to stay afloat amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some companies were targeted earlier this summer by looters in the wake of protests against anti-racism and police brutality.
Lightfoot said this week’s criminal activity had nothing to do with “legitimate” organized protests and described it as “an attack on our city.” Lightfoot has repeatedly called for federal intervention.
“Again, no, we do not need federal troops in Chicago, period, full stop,” Lightfoot told reporters Monday.
Black Lives Matter Chicago claimed that those involved were actually protesting.
About 200 protesters gathered outside a police station in the South Loop on Monday night for a “solidarity rally” for those arrested, noting that they had protested against police brutality.
Investigators acknowledged the unrest began after inaccurate reports online about an unarmed youth being shot by police in the Englewood area. The shooting victim was actually a 20-year-old man who apparently all opened fire on police while they were being chased, authorities said.
“The mayor has clearly learned nothing since May, and she would be wise to understand that the people continue until the [Chicago Police Department] has been abolished and our Black communities are fully invested in, ”Black Lives Matter Chicago said in a statement. “When Protestants attack high-rise shops owned by the rich and serving the rich, that is not ‘our’ city and it is never meant for us.”
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