Bill Lyons

Bill was a popular figure in the community, and knowledgeable on a good many subjects. A Democrat, Bill enjoyed his status as maverick in McCook, which he called "A Republican bastion on the banks of the Republican."

His fascination was politics and he read extensively on the merits of the various politicians currently in the news as well as the history of our country's politicians, dating back to the Revolution.

Though Bill was often disappointed by politicians and the results of elections, he fervently backed the democratic process. An instance: One time some in the Congregational Church, of which Bill was a long-time member, decided that the church needed new hymn books. Bill was adamantly against the purchase of the new books, feeling that the old hymnals were adequate and he thought the money could be better used in other areas.

He made quite a speech in the church meeting spelling out his views. When the vote was taken Bill was outvoted. After viewing the results of the vote Bill allowed that the majority had spoken -- and wrote a personal check to the church for the entire cost of the new hymnals.

In 1968, Bill announced that he was going to the Democratic Convention in Chicago. "As a delegate?" I asked. "No, no‚ I might not get elected as a delegate. I am running as an alternate delegate. Hardly anyone runs as an alternate, yet they have the same rights as at the convention as delegates -- have access to the convention floor, get invited to all the parties, talk to interesting people from all over the country, even the press. The only thing they can't do is vote. It's going to be a grand time!"

Bill said that '68 would be an interesting convention, but I'm sure that he had no idea that the four days of the 1968 Democratic Convention, Aug. 26-29, would be viewed as a turning point in American politics, and in America herself.

In April 1968, Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King had been assassinated, and in June Robert Kennedy, who had recently visited McCook on a campaign trip, was fatally shot in a Los Angeles hotel, just after winning the California Primary.

The nation was badly divided over Civil Rights issues and the war in Vietnam. By the time of the convention, protest groups, including Bobby Seale's Black Panthers, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin's Youth International Party (Yippies) and David Delinger and Rennie Davis' Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), had formed a loose confederation and were promoting mass protests at the Convention.

Early in the summer there had been rumors of trouble at the convention, enough so that leaders had approached Chicago Mayor Richard Daley about moving the Convention to some other city, like Miami.

Daley was incensed at the idea. He bellowed, "Miami is not an American city!" He promised to enforce peace and to allow no "outrageous demonstrations" during the convention. Furthermore, he threatened to withdraw his support of frontrunner, Hubert Humphrey if the Convention was moved.

Mayor Daley, a true "Big City Boss" ran his "little empire" with an iron hand. His clout was such that the leaders of the Democratic Party were compelled to listen to him. During the convention, Mayor Daley assigned 11,900 police, 7,500 Army troops, 7,500 Illinois National Guardsmen, and 1,000 Secret Service agents to keep order.

A few months earlier President Lyndon Johnson had appeared to be a shoo-in for a second term. But leading up to the Convention his approval rating had dropped to 23 percent, largely due to his stance on the war in Vietnam. When he announced that he would not seek a second term, his advisors and the Secret Service urged him to pass up the Chicago Convention altogether, citing safety concerns, which he did.

Vice President Hubert Humphrey then became the Democrats' leading candidate. He embraced Johnson's war policies, but he also carried Johnson's majority delegate count to the Convention. However, the backers of Eugene McCarthy, who had run a strong anti-war campaign in the Primaries, were determined to be heard on the floor of the Convention -- and more than 100,000 anti-war protesters (including a good many who were violently so) were determined to protest outside the Convention Center as well.

Bill Lyons said that there was tension at the convention from the start, and rumors ran rampant. Rumor had the number of the protestors varying from 100,000 to 1 million.

Rumor said that Mayor Daley had given orders to "Shoot to kill" if the protesters got out of hand. Some delegates were afraid to go out onto the streets, but not Bill. As a dedicated observer of the human scene he felt compelled to see what was going on, first hand and close up.

The police seemed to have two missions: 1. To keep protesters from illegal areas, and 2. To face up to protesters as they attempted to march to the convention site.

That led to innumerable confrontations -- police in riot gear, with shields, clubs, and guns -- facing young, highly charged protesters, emboldened by their leaders, and in many cases, high on drugs and alcohol -- determined to have the country hear their message.

Aggravating the whole scene were reporters and television crews (whom police viewed as "the enemy"), who recorded the entire sordid spectacle for viewers nationwide.

The confrontations between police and protesters developed into a kind of war. Protesters taunted the police, throwing verbal abuses, which escalated to throwing garbage, stink bombs and bricks.

The police were armed with shields, clubs, guns and tear gas, but lacked extensive training in riot control, and sometimes panicked under the onslaught. Clashes of protesters and police were widespread, leaving reporters, bystanders, and civilian doctors to aid those severely beaten by the police.

After Aug. 29, when the Chicago Police made their report of the carnage, they reported 589 arrests, 119 police and 100 protesters injured (some say many more).

The Chicago demonstrations brought into focus all the conflicts of the decade of the '60s. They had long term effects on the people involved and the country. A Grand Jury indicted eight policemen in connection with the riots.

Eight of the protesters (who became known as the Chicago 8) were the first to be charged under the provisions of The 1968 Civil Rights Act, which made it a crime to cross state lines to incite a riot. All eight were eventually cleared of those charges.

For Hubert Humphrey, Chicago 68 doomed his chance to become President, and at the same time it set off shock waves of reform throughout the government.

For the political left, Chicago 68 hastened the demise of the SDS, the Black Panthers, and other militant groups, but intensified a revolutionary fervor that spawned further violence and bombings in the United States.

For the Media, Chicago 68 created suspicions of the state and its leaders.

For Mayor Daley, the last of the "Big City Bosses‚" his support was weakened, leading to political reforms in Chicago and other large cities.

For Bill Lyons, Chicago '68 provided him with a wealth of stories and further whetted his appetite for politics. Bill was critical of both the Chicago police and the protesters. He felt that advance planning and cooler, wiser heads, on both sides, could have kept the confrontations from getting out of hand.

At the same time he was pleased that he had witnessed a turning point in our nation's history -- first hand and up close.

-- Source: Chicago '68, An introduction.