A crowd of about 300 people closed a West Loop intersection overnight as tricked-out cars spun donuts in the street for more than 30 minutes before Chicago police could muster up enough units to address the problem.
The caravan then moved to a nearby Whole Foods parking garage, where at least one person was arrested for throwing fireworks at police.
The so-called “sideshow” began around 1:45 a.m. at the intersection of Clinton and Monroe streets. Officers who went to the scene said that people started kicking their squad cars, so they pulled back and waited for backup from other police districts.
After police dispersed the crowd, some attendees relocated to another popular car meet-up spot, the Whole Foods garage at 1101 South Canal. Cops appeared to be prepared for them. CPD officers blocked the garage exits, trapping a few cars whose drivers were cited.
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One man was arrested for tossing fireworks toward officers.
On July 3, several CPD squads and an Illinois State Police patrol vehicle were damaged by sideshow crowds that jumped on the cars and shot fireworks at cops during similar incidents across the city. At least three officers were injured in those incidents, and three men were charged with felonies for allegedly firing pyrotechnic devices at officers in the Loop.
