“Chicago once knew how to throw a good party.” 9:50 PM · Dec 31, 2025 @RaymondALopez
Slim Pickens on State Street think everybody’s by the Riverwalk hopefully everybody stay safe @SubxNews 6:35 p.m. December 31st 2025
Jan 1 2026 SubX.News® Street Report
Chicagoans expecting a major downtown New Year’s Eve celebration instead encountered sparse crowds, heavy police presence, and an event that never fully came together.
The Chicago Riverwalk — promoted as the centerpiece of the night — was ultimately not used, leaving many questioning what the celebration was supposed to be.
Downtown Chicago was quiet by early evening.
More cops than people in downtown, SubXNews reported at 6:32 p.m.
Minutes later, at 6:35 p.m., conditions on State Street were described as
Slim Pickens on State Street think everybody’s by the Riverwalk hopefully everybody stay safe.
City operations were visible even as crowds were not.
Quite a bit of salt trucks out there and definitely police downtown Chicago at 6:40 p.m.
As reporters reached the event area, a major discrepancy became clear at 6:57 p.m., Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere @TylerLaRiviere reported …
“This event was billed to be on the Chicago Riverwalk, however it’s not being used.”
Inside the secured perimeter, basic amenities were lacking.
Courtney Spinelli @CourtSpinelliTV later confirmed that …
… “the lack of food/vendors inside the perimeter was a key topic of convo,” echoing complaints heard on scene.
We investigated the food trucks, and they are just as empty. We’ve counted 5 and they are empty with bored looking employees in all of them on their phones. Curiously on truck taped over their old prices with new prices. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere@TylerLaRiviere
Even when food existed, access proved inconvenient. At 7:30 p.m., LaRiviere explained …
“There are food trucks available to people if they are hungry problem is they outside the security perimeter so you’d have to exit and go a block or two around and get to them.”
The layout required attendees to leave the secured area and navigate around it, discouraging many from staying.
Disappointment among attendees was openly voiced. At 7:42 p.m., LaRiviere reported,
“Hearing a lot of disappointment from people in attendance. One couple commenting ‘there’s more police then people here, this is lame’ and others commenting how low effort and energy this all feels.”
Questions about turnout followed later in the evening. At 9:56 p.m., he added,
“They said in our email that gates will be open for anyone and everyone until they hit capacity… with the amount of people leaving it was about 1:1 to the amount of people entering.”
Here’s the west entrance. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere @TylerLaRiviere 7:52 PM · Dec 31, 2025
Social media reaction was blunt.
“What a bust” @tnertz summed it up simply at 9:19 p.m.
Viewer frustration extended beyond the event footprint to the broadcast itself. At 12:02 a.m., a Chicago viewer wrote,
“It is 3 minutes to New Years here in Chicago and ABC is blasting commercials… It’s embarrassing for a MAJOR city coverage. SAD!!!!” @KarrieK817
An April cubs cubs game has more attendance but I’m glad more people showed @tnertz 12:04 a.m.
The next morning, another viewer echoed that assessment after watching clips:
“Seen some live clips. They wouldn’t show the crowd… They would show the hosts face up close and wouldn’t pan to the crowd. What total embarrassment for city. Chance had to feel embarrassed. 🤣 What a joke again.” @10GNO70
Some observers pointed out that crowds existed elsewhere, raising questions about planning and placement. At 2:28 a.m., one post read,
“Right idea, wrong location. Put this on Wacker between Columbus and the lake. There were a lot of people there.” @excogito
Others questioned whether restrictions played a role.
“Any capacity limits like he did to the Christkindle Market?” @eeners asked.
Later, Courtney Spinelli noted that conditions shifted somewhat, writing …
“It definitely started to fill up as I was leaving around 9:15… but the weather and food set up certainly caused some woes earlier for many” … at 9:56 p.m.
Context Chicagoans Brought With Them
This New Year’s Eve unfolded against the backdrop of a city already on edge. In the weeks leading up to the holiday, Chicagoans had watched a holiday tree-lighting event end in gunfire, followed reports of a fatal incident involving a CTA train, and tracked coverage of a killing connected to the Pink Line.
Crime incidents — widely discussed and still fresh in public memory — shaped how residents assessed safety, crowding, and whether downtown felt worth the risk.
Against that backdrop, heavy enforcement, curfews, sparse crowds, and an underbuilt event didn’t reassure people — they reinforced hesitation. For many, staying away wasn’t apathy. It was calculation.
Weather may have played a role, but many pointed instead to safety concerns, enforcement posture, and planning failures.
In the days leading up to the event, Mayor Brandon Johnson — who had previously criticized curfews as a “sin of the past” — announced strict enforcement of the city’s long-standing 10 p.m. downtown curfew for minors ahead of the nationally televised New Year’s Eve celebration along the river.
For some Chicagoans, the message landed as too little, too late, signaling concern rather than confidence.
Public reaction grew increasingly cynical as the night went on.
“Pathetic (the event not you). What event company set this up?” @l3otardodavinci
… probably a crony ctu contractor … this is how they did ot at ctu when they took over destroyed every tradition to pass along money to buddies …
The reply that followed captured the prevailing mood:
“Sometimes I wish I was stupider than I already am so I wouldn’t notice all these things.”
For many Chicagoans, the night was defined not by celebration but by absence — an unused Riverwalk, fragmented planning, heavy enforcement, and a broadcast that avoided showing what little crowd there was.
Whatever the intent, the result was a New Year’s Eve that failed to deliver the energy, confidence, or spectacle Chicago once knew how to produce.
SubX.News® On the Spot Reporting
Hearing a lot of disappointment from people in attendance. One couple commenting “there’s more police then people here, this is lame” and others commenting how low effort and energy this all feels. pic.twitter.com/7fN7UfYFd1
