Four Wheaton College students are suing the City of Chicago for its violation of their Constitutional right to free speech. The plaintiffs, Matt Swart, Jeremy Chong, Gabriel Emerson, and Caedon Hood, argue that certain aspects of Millennium Park’s rules severely hinder First Amendment rights for all within a public forum.
According to new Millennium Park rules which were made public on April 2, 2019, visitors must secure permits to discuss religion or partake in any other speech or display, and even then can only do so in one corner of the Park, away from central activities. The rules also state without explanation that one visitor may not disrupt another’s enjoyment of amenities or performances in any way, which opens the opportunity for a situation in which essentially anyone can shut down speech or activities they deem offensive.
These restrictions were only officially enacted after the students were repeatedly confronted in and around the public property of Millennium Park by Chicago Park authorities who stopped them from preaching and distributing free religious literature, classifying the acts as “solicitation.”
Mauck & Baker, LLC will be filing a complaint and a motion for preliminary or permanent injunction on behalf of the Wheaton students after giving the City of Chicago several weeks to amend the unconstitutional aspects of the Millennium Park rules. The City never responded to this request.
Since the City of Chicago is currently unwilling to find a compromise that protects free speech, the Wheaton students are asking the court to intervene by ordering the City to revise certain aspects of the Millennium Park rules, as they currently burden speech and serve no legitimate governmental purpose.
