Chicago Police Investigate Burning Cross Found in Grant Park After Officers Extinguished Fire

A burning cross was found in Chicago’s Grant Park Tuesday afternoon, and Chicago Police Department officers responded around 2:30 p.m. after the wooden cross was burning in a high-traffic public space.

“CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police released a new photo of a "person of interest" seen fleeing the scene of burning a cross in Grant Park on Tuesday”

ABC

Police said officers extinguished the fire and that an investigation is underway, while Block Club Chicago reported the incident was discovered at 2:38 p.m. in the 600 block of South Columbus Drive toward the south end of Grant Park near Balbo Drive.

ABC

Keinika Carlton, 43, said she saw the cross burning from South Columbus Drive as she drove along Columbus with her daughter and mother-in-law, and she recorded it in a short clip as she passed.

Carlton described the flames as “an eerily controlled fire,” and she said the burning cross seemed to be “a symbol of hate.”

Chicago police released a photo of a person of interest seen fleeing the scene, and CBS News said the image was released after police sought the individual in connection with the cross burning.

Block Club Chicago said the person in the photograph “was observed fleeing from the scene where an object was constructed and lit on fire,” and it placed the incident in the 600 block of South Columbus Drive.

Block Club Chicago

Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the perpetrator’s arrest, and he said, “I think we need to handle it just like we do a swastika.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement that “Hate has no place in our city,” and it added that every Chicagoan deserves to feel safe, protected, and respected while going about their day or enjoying public spaces.

Chicago police said the motives and circumstances of the burning are under investigation, and the Chicago Sun-Times reported that no one was hurt and no one is in custody.

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CBS News

WGN-TV said Chicago police released an image of a person wanted in connection to the arson, and it also quoted the FBI statement that “The FBI is investigating the incident and assessing all potential violations of federal law.”

Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a statement that “Burning crosses, dramatic expressions of hatred designed to terrorize, were once sadly commonplace in our country,” and he added that hate has no place in the city and hearts.

The Faith Community of Saint Sabina offered a $10,000 reward, and Pfleger said, “If the police have no person of interest for the cross burning, The Faith Community of Saint Sabina will offer a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible for the cross burning.”