Chicago police close several DuSable Lake Shore Drive exits as Memorial Day crowds pack beaches
With crowds packing Chicago's lakefront beaches for Memorial Day, police have closed the northbound exit ramps on DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Montrose Avenue to Hollywood Avenue as the beaches' parking lots have filled to capacity.
Memorial Day weekend is the first weekend of the year that Chicago's beaches officially open for swimming. Lifeguards are only on duty on the lakefront between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
It's common practice in summer months for police to block some Lake Shore Drive exit ramps when parking lots at the beaches fill up, often on Memorial Day and July 4th. Police usually reopen the ramps once people begin leaving the beaches and parking becomes available at the lakefront lots, and close them again if they fill up again.
This Memorial Day, events are planned all around the Chicago area to honor members of the U.S. Armed Forces who died in the line of duty.
The City of Aurora, Illinois, hosted its annual Memorial Day Parade on Monday morning at the intersection of Benton and River streets. The grand marshal, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Jim Butler, will lead marching bands, local veterans' groups, and military organizations.
In west suburban St. Charles, the day started early with a flag raising at 6 a.m. Monday. Boy Scouts then led flag ceremonies through the cemeteries on Fifth Avenue.
The parade down Main Street in St. Charles stepped off at 10 a.m. The city then held a memorial service outside the old police department building, at 211 N. Riverside Ave.
People also clapped for our Armed Forces members at a parade in Elmhurst Monday morning. Residents also got their first look at the Elmhurst 250 bell to honor the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Some service members handed out treats and shook hands with spectators. There were also several bands performing, along with dancers, scouts, and a line of cars carrying veterans waving to the crowd.
In Arlington Heights at the Memorial Day Parade, the village honored Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Sgt. Allen Lynch from the First Cavalry Division.
The parade stepped off at Sigwalt Street and Arlington Heights Road, and ended at Memorial Park at Chestnut Avenue and Fremont Street. After the parade, a ceremony was held at the park.
The Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods commemorated Memorial Day with a ceremony and parade alongside the 49th annual Ridge Run. The run stepped off at 8 a.m. at Ridge Park, 9625 S. Longwood Dr. The parade followed from 110th Street and Longwood Drive, for its 100th anniversary.
Organizations said this was the first time the Ridge Run has been added to the Chicago Area Runners Association racing circuit.
Along the Chicago lakefront, a ceremony was held Monday morning to remember Milton Lee Olive III. In 1965, the 18-year-old fell on a grenade and died in Vietnam in an effort to save others. Posthumously, he was the first African American to receive a Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War for saving the lives of his four comrades.
The ceremony honoring Olive was held at Milton Lee Olive Park, near Ohio Street Beach and the Jardine Water Filtration Plant, just north of Navy Pier. U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Illinois) attended the event.
At the event, elected officials also called on the Trump administration to restore Olive's military file to the U.S. Department of Justice. Officials said President Trump ordered the removal of the files because he believes Olive's heroic actions were the result of DEI.
In downtown Chicago, military and community members hosted a Memorial Day ceremony and march downtown. They gathered Monday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near Wacker Drive and State Street.
The group spoke out against the war in Iran, the conflict in Gaza, and federal funding cuts. Organizers also say they want to highlight the right for military members to say no to illegal wars.
On Chicago's South Side, the 11th annual Commander Robert Davis South Side Memorial Day Parade took place in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. The march started Monday morning at St. Leo's Campus for Veterans, 7750 S. Emerald Ave., and proceeded west on 79th Street to Racine Avenue. It ended at Veteran's New Beginnings, 8140 S. Racine Ave.
On the Near West Side, the Church of the Holy Family, at 1080 W. Roosevelt Rd. next to Saint Ignatius College Prep, held a Memorial Day parade and mass to honor deceased members of the Chicago Fire Department. The ceremonies began with a parade of uniformed CFD members led by the Pipes and Drums of the CFD in front of Saint Ignatius, followed by mass at Holy Family.
After mass, those in attendance gathered around the flagpole at Roosevelt Road and May Street for the raising of the flag, a 21-gun salute, and taps.
In East Lakeview, the WOOGMS Memorial Day Parade stepped off on Wellington Avenue just west of Pine Grove Avenue. The annual Wellington-Oakdale Old Glory Marching Society Memorial Day Parade has been around since 1963, and lives by the motto, "Everybody marches, nobody watches."
The Memorial and Labor Day event invites residents from across Chicago to grab a scooter, a stroller, or whatever they have on hand to take part in the do-it-yourself parade.
The parade had a new route this year — east on Wellington Avenue, north on Pine Grove Avenue, east on Barry Avenue, south on Sheridan Road, east on Diversey Parkway, and north on Lake Shore Drive West.
Chicago's official Memorial Day Parade was held on Saturday.
