Chicago DNC 2024: Live updates on road closures, security, parking, protests and more

Starting on Monday, the streets around the United Center and McCormick Place will be officially closed for the Democratic Party Convention.

Saturday night’s closures in the South Loop include 24th Place to Cermak, Indiana to McCormick and part of 25th Street.

This means increased security measures in the red zone around both locations, and some businesses in the South Loop are preparing for the impact this will have on their business.

“We are excited. You know, this is something very special for the area. We have never done anything like this in this area,” said La Culaccino’s managing director, Marisa Varveris.

La Culaccino is a restaurant in the red zone directly across from Wintrust Arena.

Access to this area will be limited, so the restaurant is hoping DNC attendees will bring enough customers.

The situation is similar at Pizano’s just one block away. Manager Eddie Mendoza expressed concern this week that the security measures could hurt their business.

“We don’t know exactly what’s going on yet. We don’t know if it’s going to be busy or it’s going to be light. So we’re taking it day by day, and if we need to hire more people, we’ll hire more people,” Mendoza said.