Street Musicians Will Keep Playing on Michigan, State

CHICAGO, IL — A street musician ban on large stretches of Michigan Avenue and State Street has been put on hold at a Wednesday City Council meeting, a day after a civil liberties group warned the changes would leave the Chicago open to a "strong likelihood of litigation."

Ald. Brendan Reilly of the 42nd Ward and Ald. Brian Hopkins of the 2nd Ward were attempting to ban street musicians from Balbo to Cedar on Michigan, and from Jackson to Huron on State.

Reilly said he had a "productive meeting" with members of the street performer community where he committed to find new "performance zones."

"I appreciate the fact that street performers add to the downtown experience and we will spend the next few weeks working to strike a fair balance."

Reilly said he pushed back the vote to allow time to find a "win-win solution" for businesses, residents, performers and all other stakeholders.

"We will work with the Mayor to identify new locations appropriate for musical performances in certain public parks, lakefront locations and CTA platforms in the downtown area," he said.

CTA issues its own licenses to performers and only allows performances in four stations (Red and Blue Lines at Washington and Jackson).

Some areas are already off-limits to street musicians, including Michigan Avenue, between Superior and Delaware, as well as Jackson between Columbus and Lake Shore Drive when a concert is being performed in Millenium Park.

There are further noise limits on any nearby street performances during concerts in the park, and street musicians are always forbidden to perform in Millenium Park or any sidewalk adjacent to it.

A letter to the City Council from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said there were already "serious First Amendment problems," with Chicago's street performer ordinance.

The City ordinance regulates: “Acting, singing, playing musical instruments, pantomime, juggling, magic, dancing or reciting,” all of which are forms of protected speech, according to the letter.

Further, because the ordinance only restricts speech that is intended to entertain—as opposed to political or religious speech—the regulation is "content based" and subject to strict scrutiny from courts.

"We are pleased that action on the proposed ordinance was deferred and hope that it will not be revived,” said ACLU of Illinois Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Glenberg, author of the Tuesday letter.

Top photo: Danielle Scott (CC)