Overview
- Chicago police entered the vacant Congress Theater and arrested 16 people ages 13 to 19 for criminal trespassing, with four also charged with reckless conduct and two cited for carrying pellet guns.
- The arrests, which came Friday night, followed a social-media‑promoted rave held inside the shuttered Logan Square venue nearly a week earlier that police had shut down without arrests.
- Ald. Daniel La Spata said participants caused significant physical damage to the building and that repairs and added security will increase the cost and delay the rehabilitation effort.
- Developers planning to restore the long‑vacant 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. have secured a $25.2 million federal loan plus city grants to convert the theater into an entertainment venue with retail, office and housing components.
- The episode is likely to raise security and repair costs for the project, divert police resources from other work, and leave the arrested teens facing misdemeanor charges that could affect local diversion or court outcomes.