City receiving mixed reviews for how it handled Mexican Independence Day celebrations

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Mexican Independence Day weekend gridlock frustrated residents just trying to get home.

In a newsletter, downtown Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins outlined complaints from his ward residents. Hopkins claimed they were unable to get to home due to difficulty with Chicago police officers at traffic checkpoints that were put up in an effort to control the chaos caused by car caravans causing traffic gridlock...

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the weekend was an overall success.

“A couple of years prior to me coming into office, there were a lot of concerns and anxiety around the safety of the celebration,” Johnson said. “Since I’ve been in office, we have put forth measures to have a safe, vibrant celebration.”

Alderman Hopkins said he'd like to see the City create a virtual access pass for residents  to use during events similar to this past weekend.

As for the El Grito Chicago festival in Grant Park, Hopkins told the Chicago Sun-Times it both helped and hurt.

It reduced the number of caravans, but when the festival ended at 10 p.m., there was a “significant spike” in caravans in the Loop. Festival-goers who “didn’t want to go home” opted instead to “flood the streets,” said Hopkins, chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

The city must decide whether to continue El Grito as it grapples with finding “a better way to manage this,” he said.

But some problems are “unsolvable,” Hopkins added. There’s only so much to be done, for instance, when 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles converge on downtown — some from the suburbs and collar counties — with the “intention of driving around in random patterns for hours.

“Once those vehicles arrive, you’ve got chaos and gridlock. It’s just inevitable. And that’s what happened,” he said. “And we haven’t figured out a way to stop these caravans from coming downtown.”

The Chicago Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

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