Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations return this weekend bringing crowds and street closures. The Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) reminds the public of large crowds and security measures in place for the weekend events. OEMC stresses the importance of always being aware of surroundings and reporting suspicious activity to onsite event security or call 9-1-1.

Chicago OEMC App

Residents are encouraged to download the Chicago OEMC app in order to have the latest information on weather conditions from the National Weather Service in Chicago, event information, street closures and more. To download the app, visit Chicago.gov/OEMC or the Apple or Google Play stores.

Chicago will have citywide deployments for the St. Patrick’s Day Weekend to ensure the safety and security of the public. OEMC will monitor weekend events and weather conditions citywide from the Operations Center and coordinate public safety resources with the Chicago Police Department, Chicago Fire Department and City of Chicago infrastructure departments. Residents and motorists should be aware of the following large events:

River Dyeing and Downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Saturday, March 16

The Chicago River will be dyed green beginning at 10 a.m. just west of the Columbus bridge to the east of Orleans before Wolf Point. During the dyeing of the river, bridges will be closed to spectators, however, the Columbus, LaSalle and Orleans bridges will remain open for vehicular/pedestrian traffic. The Chicago Riverwalk will be closed from 11 p.m. on Friday, March 15, through the day on Saturday, March 16 until 6 a.m. on Sunday, March 17. The river dyeing can be viewed along the river from Upper Wacker Drive.

Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will step off at 12:15 p.m. at Balbo and Columbus Drive proceeding north to Monroe Street. The parade will be broadcast live by ABC 7 Chicago. Expect street closures as early as 8 a.m. including Columbus Drive from Roosevelt Road to Wacker Drive and east/west streets in those boundaries. Streets within the boundary of Monroe Street between Michigan Avenue and DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be closed. DuSable Lake Shore Drive or State Street can be used as an alternate route. For additional details, visit chicagostpatricksdayparade.org.

Parade organizers and the city will be postured accordingly to ensure public safety to promote a family-friendly environment. Entry to the parade route along Columbus begins at 11 a.m. and will only be permitted at Jackson and Ida B. Wells Drive (formerly Congress Drive) and all entry points will have security checkpoints where all purses and bags will be checked. Coolers, alcoholic beverages, camelbacks, or personal water bottles will not be permitted along the parade route.

Grant Park and Lakefront Poles Markers/Location Identifiers: For public safety on the lakefront, residents and visitors are reminded to be aware of the numbers attached to the light poles throughout the Grant Park area and along the lakefront. The green signs with white letters and numbers are also located from 5700 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive to 6600 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, and on the lakefront from Oak Street to Fullerton and Montrose to Foster Avenue to help residents reference their location within the park to friends, family and first responders if there is an emergency and you call 9-1-1.

Archer Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Saturday, March 16

The Archer Avenue parade steps off at noon at Archer Avenue and South Oak Park and proceeds south from Oak Park to Archer Avenue; east on Archer to Narragansett; south on Narragansett to 5600 S. Narragansett. The parade is expected to conclude at 2 p.m.

South Side Irish Parade, Sunday, March 17

The South Side Irish Parade steps off at noon at 103rd and Western Avenue, marching south to 115th and Western Avenue. Parking restrictions in the area begin at 8 a.m. and will remain until 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, but anyone parking in the area that day should read signage before parking. Expect parking restrictions on both sides of the street from 103rd to 112th Streets along Western Avenue. The staging area is located on Western Avenue from 99th to 103rd Streets and Bell to Maplewood Avenues. Street closures along the parade route as well as the staging area may begin as early as 8 a.m. The parade is expected to end at 3 p.m., the disbanding area is located on Western Avenue from 115th to 119th Streets. For additional details, visit southsideirishparade.org.

Northwest Side Irish Parade, Sunday, March 17

The parade steps off at noon at Onahan School, at 6634 W. Raven St. proceeding south on Neola Avenue to Northwest Highway and north to Harlem Avenue in the Norwood Park neighborhood. Northwest Highway will be closed to vehicles at 9 a.m. Parking restrictions are in effect along the route beginning at 5 a.m. Both sides of the street on Neola, Raven, Northwest Highway, Normandy Avenue, Imlay, Neva, Palatine and Natoma along the route will be affected. For additional details, visit northwestsideirish.com.

Motorists in the areas where events are happening should be prepared for increased traffic and possible reroutes. Street closures will be in effect for larger events to ensure public safety. Traffic Control Aides (TCAs) will be on hand at events citywide to direct flow and impacts from traffic. Public transportation is encouraged. For more information on CTA services and reroutes, visit transitchicago.com or call 312-836-7000 from any area code/1-888-YOUR- CTA.

Report Suspicious Activity: If You See Something Say Something. The City reminds the public to be aware of their surroundings and to report suspicious activity. If you notice something suspicious, notify onsite security or call 9-1-1. If You See Something, Say

Something™ is a national anti-terrorism public awareness campaign that emphasizes the importance of reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities. For public safety information and tips, visit Chicago.gov/OEMC.

Weather

OEMC advises Chicagoans to be aware of weather conditions, follow instructions and heed all warnings from public safety officials. We encourage residents to check the weather before heading out. For the most up-to-date weather information, please tune into local media or download the Chicago OEMC app.

OEMC will monitor all citywide events through a collaboration with public safety partners and will issue several alerts and notifications to keep residents up to date on weather conditions, street closures and emergencies: · Notify Chicago: Sign up for emergency alerts at NotifyChicago.org

· CHILAKE: For lakefront notices, TEXT “CHILAKE” to 7-8-0-1-5

· CHIBIZ: For alerts affecting businesses, TEXT “CHIBIZ” to 6-7-2-8-3

For additional information on emergency preparedness information, visit the OEMC website at Chicago.gov/OEMC. Follow the Office of Emergency Management and Communications on Facebook (@coemc), Twitter (@ChicagoOEMC) and Instagram (chicago_oemc_911).