Don't get mad at me, but the 1968 riots at the Rat Convention was in Grant Park, across from the Conrad Hilton Hotel. About 6 miles further south on the lake front than Lincoln Park. Still it is unusual to have gun fire in Lincoln Park, but in the past 2 years there are have been a number of highly publicized "wilding" altercations in Lincoln from non-amish "yuts".
The actions at Grant Park were the follow-up to the prior actions of the night before.
The Yippies, Hippies and political factions had gathered in Lincoln Park for a rally or some such thing. No one figured Daley would force them to leave the park at the normal closing time of 11 pm and the demonstrators would just camp overnight. That would have been the wiser course of action.
As it turned out Daley sent the police into the park and forced them demonstrators out of the park where they disrupted the whole neighborhood rather than leave a controlled crowd surrounded in the park.
It was when the media got attacked along with the others that things went ballistic. Collateral Action caused several to be clubbed and injured. It also helped portray the Yippies as having the high ground morally since they were pictured in the media as being cruelly attacked.
Then events switched to Grant Park the next day which is where you picked up. Grant Park extends along the Lake Front and is more convenient to downtown.
I was 17, and looking for fun. That summer was when I learned that if I agreed with an airhead runaway girl's politics, from Stumpjump, Iowa, I could Get Some. The Magic of the Big Lie.