Thank you to the Tribune Editorial Board for calling out the city’s mishandling of the Christkindlmarket capacity limits (“Chicago’s capacity limits for Christkindlmarket are a terrible idea. Here’s why this issue matters.,” Dec. 2). This is not a minor paperwork tweak but a warning sign about how Chicago is treating some of its most important cultural and economic assets.
What the city did to the vendors looks like a bait and switch. Organizers say they were told about the drastic new capacity cap only about 12 hours before the market opened. That gave vendors no realistic chance to adjust staffing, inventory or travel plans, even though many of them come from overseas and invest heavily to be here. If they had known earlier that their customer base would be sharply reduced, some might reasonably have chosen not to come at all. The timing took that choice away.
Christkindlmarket is one of the engines of the downtown holiday economy. Organizers estimate that it generates roughly $190 million in economic impact each season and supports close to 2,000 jobs. That spending spills into hotels, restaurants, theaters and retail when the Loop badly needs visitors.
There has been no wave of safety incidents at the market to justify an emergency crackdown. What changed was the city’s interpretation of code, not the nature of the event. For nearly 30 years, crowds were simply allowed to flow in and out of Daley Plaza.
More troubling, this is not an isolated misstep. Under the current leadership at the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, we have seen other decisions that undervalue the people who depend on these events. Back in April, more than 140 artists and cultural leaders signed a letter to the mayor describing “dysfunction” at DCASE, with high staff turnover and delayed grants. Taste of Chicago was pushed from July to September to make room for NASCAR, a move widely criticized as bad for business. Grant Park concessionaires have also said they are struggling to survive under the current special events schedule.
If crowding at Christkindlmarket is truly the concern, there are constructive options. Move it to a larger site such as Millennium Park, add additional satellite markets such as the one in Wrigleyville or experiment with timed reservations so families are not stuck in freezing, hourlong lines. Chicago’s holiday economy and its reputation as a welcoming winter destination deserve better than last-minute rules that help no one.
— Brett Barnes, Chicago
Use Columbus Drive
As a 25-year resident of the Loop, I have witnessed Christkindlmarket morph from a festive European-style holiday market held at the base of the city’s Christmas tree in Daley Plaza to an overcrowded event, the hallmark of which is now lines winding around the block for entry and, once in, shoulder-to-shoulder crowds waiting in even more lines to purchase food, drinks and merchandise. In other words, it just isn’t much fun anymore.
A Dec. 3 article laments the problem (“Chicago officials ease capacity limit for Christkindlmarket”). A number of solutions have been proposed, none of which would do anything other than exacerbate the problem.
During the same 25 years, I have also witnessed Maggie Daley and Millennium parks mature into urban oases that provide the city with a veritable winter wonderland, complete with ice skating rink and ribbon. The city’s holiday tree and caroling events have also been relocated to Millennium Park.
Why not move Christkindlmarket to Columbus Drive between the two parks? The city has never shied away from closing Columbus Drive, and in fact, it seems that it is closed for better than half of the summer, usually for private events.
Moving Christkindlmarket to this location would provide the following benefits:
More space for vendors and attendees.
A backdrop of two beautiful parks and the city skyline.
Room to install picnic benches for attendees to enjoy purchased food and beverage.
Nearby parking at Grant Park and Millennium Park garages.
Easy access to Maggie Daley and Millennium parks.
— Catherine Bremer, Chicago
Show some integrity
Once again, the Brandon Johnson administration demonstrated its complete lack of executive functioning skills in its last-minute drastic reduction in the capacity permitted at Christkindlmarket. The Tribune Editorial Board said it best when it referred to the last-minute limitation as “a classic Johnson administration decision entailing a solution in search of a problem.” As it stated further, “the actual solution is not even a solution.” Agreed.
I’m sure I have plenty of company when I say that I’m sick and tired of seeing people suffer the consequences of this administration’s mistakes, poor decisions, you name it! Like any other event of this magnitude, Christkindlmarket required plenty of advance planning and preparation, not to mention the financial investment required of every vendor. The Johnson administration’s decision effectively pulled the rug out from under them.
In my view, the only fair thing to do at this juncture — because the damage has already been done — is to refund whatever fees the city charged these vendors to participate. Frankly, integrity dictates that.
Furthermore, the people responsible for this incredibly poor decision should be the ones to foot the bill. Why should we taxpayers bear the burden resulting from their incompetence and complete lack of concern or consideration for those affected by their decision?
— Paul N. Eichwedel, Chicago
Lessons to be learned
I really like the editorial board’s suggestion to move Christkindlmarket to Millennium Park next year after this year’s capacity debacle. If that is a possibility, the city would have to decide and announce it immediately. I’m sure many of the vendors are already looking for another location for next year and possibly signing contracts.
The questions then become: Will these vendors ever trust this city and its government again? What message does this arbitrary anti-business decision have on others considering setting up a business here? Will it impact future tourism for the people who have had a bad experience here?
There are lessons to be learned. The mayor should not be making decisions without consulting those affected by them.
— Joyce Porter, Oak Park
Why capacity limits?
I applaud the Tribune Editorial Board’s support of expanding the space for Christkindlmarket. What I haven’t seen anywhere and don’t see in this editorial is why the city wanted to reduce the market’s size in the first place. What’s the rationale?
— Scott Pemberton, Evanston
Maybe we’ll return
Well, Christkindlmarket is off our list, and we will save a few dollars we would have spent downtown. My wife and I have taken the trip into the city every couple of years to enhance our Christmas joy. Much like visiting Marshall Field’s as a kid and as an adult, joining the crowd at Christkindlmarket was an event we enjoyed, and the size of the large crowd made it fun.
Yes, it could be crowded. But ask yourself: The times you have been at a party with a few people or the one where people are crowded into every corner, which one was more fun and enticing?
As the saying in Chicago sports goes: Maybe next year, if the vendors do decide to return.
— Jay Murphy, Geneva
Come to Tennessee
A Christkindlmarket is supposed to be crowded! I have been to these markets in England, Germany and other places, and they are crowded. The only time limits placed on crowd size are inside a building or if seating is involved.
The vendors love a crowded Christkindlmarket, as do the people attending. The Christmas spirit is alive at these places, and it is wonderfully exciting! What was the reason for the city’s limit?
Maybe Mayor Brandon Johnson needs to go to the Christmas market and get some Christmas spirit. If you don’t like crowded places, don’t go.
I guess Scrooge and the Grinch have come to Chicago! I never expected that. Even though I don’t physically live there, I still consider the Chicago area my home, and at the end of my life, I will be back. And I do own property in Illinois.
I follow what is happening in Chicago through the online edition of the Tribune. I know that the downtown is not what it was when I lived there and took the bus and the “L” all over. I never worried about flash mobs or shootings there.
If the city has something that is bringing the area back to life, don’t squash it. I wonder if the vendors might want to come to Tennessee? We might not have the cold, but we do have the Christmas spirit.
— Kathie Haber, Petersburg, Tennessee
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/08/letters-120825-christkindlmarket-chicago-capacity-limits/
