By The Beachwood Occupation Affairs Desk
This is what democracy looks like.
1. From The Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism:
“Peace and social justice activists upset at Chicago police harassment of Occupy Chicago and verbal threats against those planning to protest the May 2012 G8/NATO summits will launch a non-violent action dubbed ‘Occupy City Hall’ beginning at 2 PM, Wednesday, October 26 at the intersection of LaSalle and Jackson. The action will include a march on City Hall.
“In light of the City’s arrests of peaceful Occupy Chicago protesters exercising their 1st Amendment rights last Saturday night and the Saturday before that, activists will be demanding that the City drop all the charges against the protesters.
“During and after the arrests, senior CPD officers and other city officials repeatedly remarked that the City’s arrests of over 300 were a dry run for crackdowns on anti-G8/NATO protesters next May.”
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Editor’s Note: That’s the way the media sees it too:
“The small, but growing protests by Occupy Chicago are widely viewed as a test for how the city will handle the much larger group of demonstrators expected to descend on Chicago during the NATO and G8 summits next spring,” Fran Spielman wrote for the Sun-Times last week.
Note how the construction of the reporting places Fran and her newspaper within the perspective of Rahm and the “authorities” instead of the pesky protesters, who only represent a plurality of Americans.
Spielman went on to write:
“That’s apparently why Emanuel is hoping to chart a path with the protesters going forward.
“‘I asked our Police Department and Law Department to see if we couldn’t find a way to go forward so they can continue to express themselves, which is what happens in a democracy, with also respect for the law for everybody involved,’ the mayor said. ‘So, the Police Department and Corp Counsel are working toward that.'”
The view from the other side, in today’s press release:
“On a parallel front, since July anti-war organizers in the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda (‘CANG8’) have delivered letters and attempted to meet with the city regarding respect for the 1st amendment rights of protesters during the NATO and G8 summits that will take place in Chicago in May 2012. Their first communications were met with silence, and then repeated calls to city officials in charge of the permitting process were met with a run-around and then with continued silence.”
Apparently Spielman didn’t ask any of them for their view in her report.
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“For the G8/NATO summits, the protesters are demanding that Mayor Emanuel publicly commit to giving march permits that allow protesters to get ‘within sight and sound’ of the summits, and that Police Superintendent McCarthy cease making threatening statements against would-be G8/NATO protesters.
“‘The G8 and the NATO military alliance are two of the institutions which bear some of the greatest responsibility for the wars and economic violence traumatizing millions of people around the world,’ said Pat Hunt of CANG8. ‘Previous meetings of NATO and G8 in other cities have seen massive violations of civil rights by police, resulting in millions of dollars of successful lawsuits against the host city governments. As such, the City should forthrightly commit to upholding the 1st amendment rights of protesters and rein in the verbal threats coming from police brass.’
“‘In addition to dropping the charges against Occupy Chicago participants, we will also be demanding that the City allow a permanent 1st Amendment encampment for the Occupy movement, just as many other major cities now do.'”
2. From Stand Up! Chicago:
“Today, Stand Up! Chicago coalition members and members of the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United will march and rally to show solidarity with Occupy Chicago, and then gather at the Chicago Board of Trade to shine a spotlight on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s recent efforts to leverage tax breaks from the state.
“Occupy Chicago voted to support and march in the Columbus Day Take Back Chicago mass mobilization organized by Stand Up! Chicago, adding their numbers to the 7,000-person crowd calling for job creation and an end to corporate welfare. Stand Up! Chicago has since joined in multiple Occupy Chicago actions.
“Members of the Chicago and Midwest Regional Board of Workers United, a labor organization holding a convention in Chicago this week, will not only stand in solidarity with Occupy Chicago, they will also provide some winter wear and sleeping bags to help them brave the winter.
“After rallying, there will be a march to the Chicago Board of Trade to protest the CME’s efforts to obtain additional tax breaks from the state.
“CME has a history of padding its profits – recently collecting $32 million in corporate welfare payouts from the city after threatening to relocate and thrust an additional 2,200 Chicagoans into unemployment.
“Today’s action highlights the CME’s efforts to use the same tactics to leverage tax breaks worth $75 million a year from the state legislature, efforts the CME claims are motivated by a desire for ‘fairness.’
WHO: Working Chicago families including Stand Up! Chicago coalition members and members of the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United joining in solidarity with Occupy Chicago
WHAT: March and Rally at Occupy Chicago, with the presentation of union-made winter wear and sleeping bags to Occupiers, followed by a Rally at Chicago Board of Trade to Demand that CME Pay Its FAIR Share of State Taxes
“The Rally at Occupy Chicago will feature Noel Beasly, President of Workers United (an affiliate of SEIU); Richard Monje, Vice-President of Workers United; Juan Campos of Teamsters Local 705; and Susan Hurley of Chicago Jobs with Justice. Speakers at the Rally at the Board of Trade will include community leader Rev. Dan Dale, and Penny Peoples, an unemployed Chicagoan impacted by corporate welfare payouts.”
WHEN: Today, Wednesday, October 26, 11:45 a.m.
WHERE: Beginning at Chase Tower Plaza at 10 S. Dearborn, then Marching to Occupy Chicago at Jackson and LaSalle, and then crossing the street to the Chicago Board of Trade
WHY: To show solidarity with Occupy Chicago in the fight against corporate welfare and to provide hats and sleeping bags to help them brave dropping temperatures.
“And to call FOUL on CME’s Attempt to Obtain Additional Tax Breaks from the State in the name of “FAIRNESS.” CME has already received $32 million in corporate welfare payouts from the city by leveraging threats to relocate.
“Now they’re at it again at the state level, this time framing their demand for tax breaks as a request for ‘fairness’ since other corporations have managed to avoid paying their fair share of state taxes by taking advantage of loopholes.
“Working families are coming together to demand that the CME and the state legislature do what’s FAIR to working families, and fix tax loopholes so that all corporations pay their fair share.”
3. Nurses vs. Rahm.
vs.
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Previously:
* Occupy Chicago. Occupy The Nation.
* The Week in Occupy Chicago
* Occupy America
* We’ve Got The Guillotine!
* Occupying The Hyatt; Trashing Bank Of America
* Why No One Believes The Banks
* Occupy CNN
* RT’s Superior Cable News Coverage Continues With Its ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Reportage
* The Weekend in Occupy Chicago (October 17, 2011)
* Just How Much Can the State Restrict Peaceful Protest
* Blue Ribbon Glee Club Joins The Occupation
* The Week in Occupy Chicago (Oct. 21, 2011)
* The Weekend in Occupy Chicago (Oct. 24, 2011)
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Comments welcome.
Posted on October 26, 2011