Community Corner
12 Arrested During Protest To Shut Down Kennedy Expressway
About 60 protesters were stopped Monday from marching on the highway near O'Hare International Airport by Illinois State Police.
CHICAGO — About 12 demonstrators were arrested Monday during an anti-violence protest that tried to shut down a stretch of the Kennedy Expressway near O'Hare International Airport. Despite the arrests, Illinois State Police said the crowd of about 60 people was peaceful as authorities stopped the protesters from going on the highway, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Rev. Gregory Livingston, interim pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in West Humboldt Park and one of the protest organizers, was among those taken into custody at the Labor Day march, the report stated. Activists were demanding for the resignations of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Supt. Eddie Johnson, as well as urging local lawmakers to invest more in the city's South and West sides and to reopen 50 city schools that have been closed under Emanuel's administration.
Protesters gathered around 11:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 3, at the Kennedy on-ramp at Cumberland Avenue. The march had been expected to proceed west along the expressway for about a mile toward O'Hare and River Road, closing that stretch of highway to holiday traffic.
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About 30 protesters headed toward Cumberland blue line entrance #KennedyShutdown pic.twitter.com/RyoIfdzaZ6
— Morgan Greene (@MorGreene) September 3, 2018
#ChicagoScanner Small group of about 15 protesters are marching west on Higgins with plans to go all the way to O'Hare. #KennedyShutdown#OHareShutdown
— WindyCity Weather and News (@WindyCityWxMan) September 3, 2018
There was no #KennedyShutdown but #Chicago #traffic alert: The Cumberland on and exit ramps are still blocked and closed. #ChicagoTonight @wttw pic.twitter.com/YDQ73pfwmK
— Amanda Vinicky (@AmandaVinicky) September 3, 2018
After being stopped from marching on the Kennedy, some activists headed to the Cumberland Avenue Blue Line Station. Others were continuing along Higgins Road.
RELATED: Anti-Violence Protest Closes Lake Shore Drive, Ends At Wrigley
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Monday's protest was Chicago's third anti-violence protest this summer designed to disrupt traffic along a major street or highway in or around the city. Chicago police estimated around 150 people participated in the Aug. 2 march to Wrigley Field that briefly shut down Lake Shore Drive. Organizers, though, put attendance at about 500.
RELATED: Dan Ryan Shut Down By Hundreds Of Protesters (VIDEO)
On July 7, hundreds of demonstrators led by the Rev. Michael Pfleger marched on the South Side, closing the north lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway. That protest had the support of Emanuel and Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson, something Livingston and organizers of the latest demonstrations have criticized.
No arrests were made at the previous demonstrations.
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