Occupy City Hall -- Wednesday, begins @ 1:30 PM @ Jackson & LaSalle

[lgbtlib...@aol.com]

Since July, anti-war organizers in CANG8 (Coalition Against NATO / G8) 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. Our 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. 

 

The G8 ("Group of 8" of the largest industrialized nations) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (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.  As such, the City should forthrightly commit to upholding the 1st amendment rights of protesters.

 

Occupy Chicago, CANG8 and others will participate in a non-violent action on Wed., Oct. 26 dubbed "Occupy City Hall."  The purpose of the action is to put pressure on Mayor Emanuel to publicly commit to giving march permits "within sight and sound" of the May 2012 G8/NATO summits in Chicago, and that Police Superintendent McCarthy cease making threatening statements against would-be G8/NATO protesters. 

 

ALSO, in light of recent events -- the Mayor’s arrests of peaceful protesters exercising their 1st Amendment rights last Saturday night and the Saturday before that -- we will be demanding that the City drop all the charges against the protesters. 

 

We will be demanding that the City allow a permanent 1st Amendment encampment for Occupy Chicago as many other major cities now do.

 

For more information about the action, email CC...@aol.com