Person in custody in connection to burning cross in Chicago's Grant Park

Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune on Jun 16, 2026

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CHICAGO — Chicago police said Tuesday an individual is in custody in connection to a cross found burning in Grant Park last week.

Police officers responded to the downtown park around 2:30 p.m. on June 9, where the wooden cross was burning, according to the Chicago Police Department. Officers extinguished the fire and an investigation has been underway, police say.

Police released an image Wednesday afternoon of a man wearing black pants who was observed fleeing the scene. No charges had been filed against the individual as of Tuesday morning, according to police.

On Monday night, NBC 5 reported it had interviewed a man who claimed to be the person captured in the police images and who burned the cross.

The sight of the cross burning sparked criticism and rage from the Chicagoland community and beyond on social media. Both Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker remarked on the act on social media, and the Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church in Auburn Gresham offered a $10,000 reward to help find the perpetrator.

The symbol of a burning cross is widely associated with racism and white supremacy, as it was one of the most prominent hate symbols used by the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1900s, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

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