WGN9: Chicago police releases photo after person seen fleeing from burning cross in Grant Park

CHICAGO — An investigation is underway on Wednesday morning after police say a burning cross was found at Grant Park on Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, the “burning object” was found resting on a tree around 2:30 p.m. in the 600 block of South Columbus Drive, at Grant Park, in the Loop.

While police did not confirm that the burning object was a cross, video captured on the scene by Keinika Carlton shows two large wooden two-by-four boards nailed together, engulfed in flames as they leaned against the tree.

Fire crews eventually arrived at the scene and extinguished the flames.

Chicago police released two images of a person wanted in connection with the arson. The man is seen with dark hair, wearing dark pants, white shoes, and a black backpack with no shirt. 

In a statement shared Wednesday morning, Rev. Michael Pfleger announced that the Faith Community of Saint Sabina was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible.

“Yesterday, a burning cross, a symbol of white supremacy and the KKK, was seen in Grant Park.  This bold rise of racism must be condemned by every race, faith community, and Chicagoan as was done with the swastika and treated as a hate crime,” 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.”

Chicago police is investigating it as an arson and have not yet released additional details.

The FBI is also involved in the investigation and issued a statement that said, “The FBI is investigating the incident and assessing all potential violations of federal law with local law enforcement and prosecutorial partners. We take all potential bias-motivated incidents seriously. As always, we urge the public to immediately report any suspicious or threatening behavior to law enforcement by calling 9-1-1, and then filing a report with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or by contacting 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

As authorities work to track down the suspect,  the act has involved deep emotions across the city. People are calling for the person responsible to be charged with a hate crime.

“As a history teacher, I am very familiar about the trauma violence and the terror of a burning cross,” Chicago Teachers Union president Stacy Davis Gates said

“As one older African American woman I spoke to earlier today, she was in tears. She said, ‘This brings up all the stuff from history. It opens a wound again for me,’ Pfleger said.

Cardinal Blase Cupich issued a statement that said, “Seeing a burning cross in one of Chicago’s most-visited public parks was shocking but sadly not surprising. We condemn in the strongest terms this action and affirm that hate has no place in our country, our city and our hearts.”

A statement from CAIR Chicago said, “Anti-Black racism and white supremacist intimidation have no place in Chicago. Hate groups and individuals who traffic in these symbols appear increasingly emboldened, especially under the current federal administration and influence of elected officials, who allow these acts of hate to fester without taking action.”

In the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Virginia v. Black, the court described cross burning as a “symbol of hate.”

While the act of burning a cross is not illegal simply because it occurs, the Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment allows bans on cross burnings when they are intended to intimidate, because the action “is a particularly virulent form of intimidation.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.