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City quickly removes gang-related graffiti from The Bean

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The iconic sculpture is back to looking like itself

Temporary fencing keeps tourists away from the affected corner.
Jay Koziarz

After its mirror-like surface was spray painted with alleged gang-related graffiti late Monday night, Millennium Park’s famous Cloud Gate sculpture—affectionately known as The Bean—is already back to looking like normal.

City crews acted quickly to remove the illegal tagging and, by late Tuesday morning, the only signs of vandalization were temporary fencing around the sculpture’s southwestern corner and the faint smell of paint removal chemicals.

The Chicago Police Department says it took seven adult suspects into custody in connection to the incident. The Cancer Survivor Wall in Maggie Daley Park was also sprayed with similar “35th Street Crew” graffiti on Monday night.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was “pretty pissed off” when she learned of the vandalization and is considering efforts to step-up security in the area.

“There are some things that should be sacred,” the elected official told the newspaper. “Millennium Park and The Bean have been an important, iconic heart of who we are as Chicago from the time that park opened…. It is unbelievably unacceptable for somebody to be defacing something like that.”

Installed by British-born artist Anish Kapoor in 2006, The Bean quickly became a symbol of the city and is a favorite spot for visiting tourists. The artwork was vandalized with spray paint once before, back in 2015.

Millennium Park

, , IL 60601