Several Defendants, participating in Occupy Chicago, were arrested after numerous warnings to vacate Grant Park during hours when the park was to be vacated (from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.), per Chicago Park District ordinance. Ordinance did not restrict their assembly, it restricted their stated purpose to "occupy" and indefinitely remain in a public area to detriment of park district's ability to perform its legitimate functions. The well established time, place and manner federal precedent employed in first amendment review under the U. S. Constitution applies equally to the analysis of a freedom to assemble claim under the Illinois Constitution. Ordinance does not violate article I, section 5, of Illinois Constitution. Selective enforcement of ordinance did not violate equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment, and does not violate article I, section 5 of the Illinois Constitution. (HARRIS and LIU, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Ordinances