A traffic sign stationed near Douglass Park is displaying anti-Riot Fest messages on the day the park was originally supposed to be cleaned and reopened to the public.
The digital sign sat in the grassy area in the 2900 block of South Marshall Boulevard, just north of West Cermak Road and a few blocks south of where the entrance to the park was cordoned off by gates as cleanup extended to Tuesday.
The latch to the computer that controlled the sign sat undone while the messages saying, “Pro riot, anti fest,” “Gentrify GTFO Douglass” and “Go home Yankee” were visible.
The sign is the latest manifestation of residents’ frustrations with the prolonged cleanup and aftermath of the annual festival, which has called the park home for nearly a decade and is contracted through 2027.
The Chicago Department of Transportation explained the sign wasn’t city-owned. Riot Fest declined a request for comment.
On the Riot Fest website, the original 2026 timeline had set Sept. 21-24 for production load-out, cleaning and restoration, with Sept. 25 listed as a date the park would reopen to the public. But completing the load-out has since been pushed to Sept. 29, “weather and ground conditions permitting,” according to the festival site.
On Friday, vehicles were traveling through open portions of the park, where the grounds were still muddy and mangled a week after the fest began.
The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners approved a new three-year deal in April 2025 after the festival briefly planned a move to a sports stadium in the suburbs before ultimately coming back to Douglass Park. It had been held in Humboldt Park for years, but was forced to change locations after complaints of similar damage following the 2014 iteration of the festival.
Park district officials said it will generate roughly $3 million to $4.5 million over the course of the three-year deal via annual permit fees, as the festival has to provide a cut of ticket sales to the city.
From the money raised, the park district has a 30% “give back” policy in place for Douglass Park, meaning $900,000 to $1.2 million is allocated solely for improvements to the North Lawndale grounds. The contract also stipulates Riot Fest will give an additional 10% toward “capital improvements in Douglass Park.”
But residents who live near Douglass Park have long complained of traffic congestion, trash, noise, and interruptions to the area that is also in proximity to two hospitals. Earlier this week, residents told the Sun-Times the events disrupt after-school activities and local youth sports leagues while not actually investing in the community.
Among them is Susan Mullen, who has lived near Douglass Park since 1989.
She said “public spaces should be public spaces, never privatized for profit” and that the streets needed to be clear for the hospitals “where seconds make a difference.”
“I like music. I’m not against Riot Fest. May they live long and prosper somewhere else,” said Mullen, who was kept from seeing William Shatner’s metal band at the festival last weekend because of rain and mud. “But the hospitals aren’t gonna move, so what does? It has to be Riot Fest.”
