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Your Lawn Chair Is Blocking My View! Millennium Park's Great Debate

By  David Matthews and Joe Ward | August 1, 2016 6:11am 

 Some moviegoers lament that others bring lawn chairs to see movies in Millennium Park.
Some moviegoers lament that others bring lawn chairs to see movies in Millennium Park.
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DNAinfo/Jen Sabella

DOWNTOWN — Free weekly movies have brought the masses to Millennium Park every Tuesday, but some moviegoers are grudgingly focused on lawn chairs instead of the big screen. 

This year's film series, which kicked off with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" in June, is on track to draw the nearly 100,000 people who came out to catch a flick in the Downtown park last summer, city officials say. 

But some attendees are lamenting lax rules they believe allow others to park big lawn chairs front and center on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion lawn, blocking views for everyone behind them. 

"I was thinking about" bringing a chair, Tetyana Phillips of Roscoe Village said during last week's screening. "But I said, 'Well, I'm going to be that b----.'"

The passive-aggressive chair hate has lasted years, especially on that most passive-aggressive of platforms: Twitter. 

It's unclear what, if anything, park officials could do to curb the practice. Millennium Park, which is run by the city of Chicago, has explicit rules prohibiting things including tents, helium balloons, grills and oversized flags, but nothing about big lawn chairs. 

Instead, the park has a vague rule saying guests "may not engage in conduct that disrupts a performance or event."

"So if a guest brings a very big chair or anything else that our staff considers 'disruptive,' they could be asked to remove it or leave," Jamey Lundblad, a Millennium Park spokesman, said in an e-mail.

That said, some people — like the old and infirm — say they need lawn chairs with their night out in the park.

A Ravenswood woman last week said that chairs, tables and other household items brought to movie nights can be a distraction, but as an "aging" woman herself, she tries not to judge.

"It's annoying," she said last week. "However, as an aging person, I understand a chair at some point is necessary. All people should be encouraged to come."

Laura Henderson, of West Pullman, was with her boyfriend, Chris Adams of Englewood, at the Millennium Park movie night last week. They were sitting in folding chairs and were not about to apologize for it.

"I work all day on my feet," said Henderson, who works at the Hyatt Regency hotel nearby. "Maybe some people can't get off the ground."

Henderson and Adams understand their elevated position could obstruct views, but said that could be avoided if the park isn't too busy. Plus, she said, people who aren't sitting in chairs also cause problems.

"They take up more space when they lay down anyways," Henderson said.

One solution, Adams said, is to have separate areas on the lawn set aside for people in chairs and/or blankets.

"Have them in a certain area," he said. "Maybe the sides. Don't eliminate them, because then some people can't enjoy the moment."

Millennium Park movies continue at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday with "West Side Story."

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