St. Patrick's Day Partygoers Pack Into Bars Despite Health Warnings

CHICAGO (CBS) -- All day Saturday St. Patrick's Day partygoers were out in force despite warnings not to gather in large groups.

CBS crews found one River North bar so packed people were waiting in line just to get in the front door.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged people to party responsibly.

"The bars are in a little bit of a dilemma," she said. "This is a big weekend. Even though we cancelled all the official festivities, we knew that people were probably going to unfortunately show up to bars anyway. We want to encourage people to be smart. Go to the local store. Buy a six pack. Go home. Celebrate in small groups."

That advice was clearly not being taken. City officials said they reached out to all businesses with recommendations to cancel large events.

If more than 1,000 people are at any given event Chicago police can step in and shut it down.