Tell your Story of trying to sell your original Obama creations or any other first amendment protected speech - like CD’s, newsletters, art, buttons, t-shirts, etc…
Did anyone else notice a swarm of paid hawkers selling mass produced t-shirts election night and the police not hassling them but hassling everyone else with original speech products?
I have heard reports that artists and First Amendment workers were kept moving around until many gave up unable to reach the vast audience downtown to celebrate Barack Obama’s - the American people’s - victory speech.
Mo Cahill Reports
Tuesday Evening on Michigan Avenue in Chicago
i was not out there (selling buttons) tuesday night (11/4). i was a judge, then i took a ride around downtown. i saw many button vendors, most of which were wearing their peddlers licenses. all had their buttons on boards of some sort. all were ready to move along. my daughter was down there, and saw a couple of them being moved along by the police.
honestly, i mostly don’t even bother to go out there with the buttons. without a license, it is a waste of time. i can tell you that many, many people like me, who sell buttons, but who DO have peddlers licenses were chased from one corner to the next tuesday night by the cops. one person, presumably someone who leases a storefront on michigan avenue, had a stand set up, tent and all, selling t-shirts, etc. but everyone else was kept moving. lots of stories there.
Thanks Mo Cahill for your report. Who else can add a story here. Your stories can help us paint a picture of how Chicago really works on the street. Once we do that we can move not only the courts of our democracy but also the people. The people can wag the dog by its tale if we can tell them our stories.
My Story (c drew):
I arrived out in front of the Arts Institute by 11:00am. I scouted out the spot near the steps of the Art Institute, shaded by a lamp post. I was looking at the north lion of the Art Institute’s entrance once I set-up.
I printed until 4:45 pm non-stop. People were taking my Obama patches, which I offered for free with donations accepted, as fast as I could print them. It is illegal to sell on Michigan Avenue anywhere even with a Peddler’s License. It is part of the Loop prohibited district outlined in the Peddler’s License code.
Nobody called the cops on me this afternoon. Even if they did come I would have argued my right to give my art away. I am not allowed to sell my work anywhere because I can not afford a peddler’s license nor do I recognize the City’s Speech Permit as a useful substitute for my freedom. So I give my art away and I accept donations.
Around 4:30 I started to pack up. I had to find a bathroom. I needed to head back to the Center to pick up more patch material and fill up on ink.
When I returned about 7:30 pm, wire fencing walled off the north lion. I studied two possible spots to set-up at. Traffic ran heavy around the fencing encasing the lion. On the north side of the lion people gathered to talk on their phones where the foot traffic was pushed closer to the street by the fencing around the lion. This was a possible spot.
South of the lion on the steps of the Arts Institute people lounged with plenty of space. This was the best spot. I first sat on the first step then realized I needed to sit flat or overwork my back. So, I sat on the public sidewalk. I believe the public side walk begins beyond the first step of the Arts Institute. Question - where can you look something like that up?
I got to printing quickly. By the time the cop came to order me gone, I had already given away fifty patches. I had met a friend who was video taping the event. I was not blocking any traffic. I was giving away art patches talking about political substance yet the cop said I had to leave - to move across Michigan Avenue.
“Why?” I countered, “I’m not blocking traffic and I am giving my patches away and I am on the public sidewalk.”
The cop argued I was on private property but was unable to tell me where the private property ended and the public sidewalk began. The cop insisted I couldn’t stay there. He said the Arts Institute and the City did not want any vendors there - that I would have to move across the street.
I said I would move because I was not ready to go to jail and he took off.
I explained to those around me that my speech rights were being violated. They told me to stay where I was. “Will you protect me if I stay?” People around me nodded. Will you protect me with your video camera?” I asked my friend. He nodded. “I’ll stay!” I said.
I printed fast as possible driven by adrenaline. Within ten minutes a cop supervisor came up and offered the alternative of the first location I had scoped on just north of the lion, still next to the steps. This was a compromise that kept me accessible to the flow of foot traffic. I agreed to this “ample alternative.”
The people who were my protectors offered to help me move around the fencing protecting the lion from the public. As soon as I began printing in my new location four or five youth, paid to sell Obama t-shirts printed by the tens-of-thousands, covered me so no one could approach me. I had to rectify that with a smart “Hey sweetheart - give me a break!” The girl in front of me gave me a “sorry” and moved four feet north continuing to repeat like a broken record “11-4 is history - Obama t-shirts” I never saw the cops hassle this crew. They must have been approved from on high. I laughed to myself as the public pushed around these robo-sales persons to beg for my patches. I was printing so fast that I had no time to shoot photos of my surroundings and these t-shirt robo-sales people.
So, apparently, only those who have been approved have their speech rights. It is illegal for me to sell so I have to give my art away. They, however, sold their t-shirts without any hassle at all and no Peddler’s Licenses. Whoever put these kids on the street did not apply in advance for licenses at $165 each. So others who are approved somehow can sell and with obvious abandon without any license. We need to illustrate this amazing fact with stories and investigations to arm ourselves, to build our case to the world and to force change.
Do you have an election night story? E-mail umcac@art-teez.org with “free-speech story” in the subject. Help change Chicago.
