Chicago (CNN) Demonstrators marched Saturday on all five northbound lanes of Chicago's Dan Ryan Expressway, bringing the interstate to a standstill after police officials who'd planned to keep the stretch partially open relented.

onto the highway on the South Side Hundreds of marchers, led by the Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church, crowdedonto the highway on the South Side to protest the city's high gun violence rates . They called for "national common sense gun laws" and, for their communities, more public resources, more jobs, better schools and economic development.

Marchers gained access to all of northbound Interstate 94 between 79th and 68th Streets after a tense encounter with police.

Initially, a line of police officers and their parked vehicles essentially split the northbound highway in half, intending to allow marchers to walk in the right two lanes while keeping two left lanes open to traffic.

But demonstrators, including Pfleger and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, demanded all five lanes.

Read More</s>CHICAGO — Protesters planning to shut down a major Chicago interstate say they’re trying to pressure public officials to address the gun violence that’s claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people are expected to participate in Saturday’s march.

There’s also a historical significance to marching along the stretch of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway. Some believe the roadway was built in the early 1960s to separate white communities and poor, black ones. It was the kind of racial and economic segregation that still exists in Chicago.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest and anti-violence activist on the city’s South Side, will lead Saturday’s march. He said protesters will carry a banner with a list of demands that includes: more resources, jobs, better schools and stronger gun laws.

Illinois State Police said they will allow anti-violence protesters to march along a portion of a Chicago interstate. Police Director Leo Schmitz said in a news release Saturday that an agreement was reached between “all stakeholders” on Thursday. State and Chicago police and Illinois Department of Transportation employees will provide a “safety barrier” between motorists and marchers along a stretch of Interstate 94, he added.

Police had warned earlier this week that any pedestrian who entered the expressway would face arrest and prosecution.

Young men on the city’s South and West Sides told CBS News last year how easy it is to get illegal guns, and why many never leave their homes without one.

“I know people who can’t walk from they house to the store without a gun,” said Aaron Murph. “Because people getting killed left and right. It’s sad.”

“I got shot twice and I could have been gone but I’m still here so, that scar, that’s with me, so,” said Tyshaun Grant. “It’s hell on earth.”</s>CHICAGO — Demonstrators aiming to close Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway to protest gun violence achieved part of their goal Saturday morning, gathering on at least one northbound lane as a line of police officers created a barrier to keep other lanes open to traffic.

The marchers, led by the Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church, are protesting the city’s high gun violence rates. They’re calling for “national common sense guns laws” and, for their communities, more public resources, more jobs, better schools and economic development.

March organizers had said they wanted to march on the portion of Interstate 94 between 79th and 68th streets.

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday along and on that stretch, as well as on a ramp and a grassy berm, video from CNN affiliate WLS showed.

“Shut it down! Shut it down!” the crowd shouted at one point.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, also at the protest, told demonstrators by megaphone: “We will not march on the side of the highway. We’re marching on the highway.”

State police on Saturday morning said they, Chicago police and state transportation department workers would serve as a barrier between protesters and traffic, parking their own vehicles on the highway to separate protesters from the left lanes, allowing traffic to flow behind them. Public workers also stood between protesters and traffic, photos show.

State police director Leo Schmitz told reporters: “Illinois State Police will take necessary steps to ensure we prevent (anyone) from getting hurt.”

“This whole thing is great if no one gets hurt and we can get it done,” Schmitz said.</s>CHICAGO — Thousands of protesters have shut down a Chicago interstate to draw attention to the city’s gun violence and pressure public officials to do more to help neighborhoods hardest hit by it.

Illinois State Police said early Saturday that an agreement had been reached to allow protesters onto a portion of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway. Officers and vehicles lined up, forming a barrier to keep protesters in two northbound lanes.

But the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who’s leading the march, said protesters wanted to shut down the entire roadway. He noted the city closes major roads for parades and other occasions.

After a roughly hourlong standstill police announced they were shutting down all northbound lanes of the expressway and protesters began walking. Pfleger, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson were walking side-by-side among them.</s>Thousands of anti-violence protesters marched along a Chicago interstate on Saturday, shutting down traffic in an effort to draw attention to the gun violence that's claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods and pressure public officials to do more to stop it.

Marchers chanted "Stop the killing" and carried signs reading "We need jobs" and other messages. Some stopped to scrawl on the road with chalk: "Enough is enough" and "Peace." Toward the front of the march the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who organized the protest, Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson linked arms.

The march took place along the northbound lanes of Interstate 94, known as the Dan Ryan Expressway, after a roughly hourlong standoff between police and the protesters.

Illinois State Police, which had warned earlier in the week that any pedestrian entering the expressway would face arrest, said early Saturday that an agreement had been reached for protesters to march on a portion of the roadway. Officers and vehicles lined up, forming a barrier to keep protesters in two northbound lanes, allowing some traffic to pass in other northbound lanes.

But Pfleger and protesters insisted there was no agreement and that they would shut down the entire northbound roadway, with Pfleger noting the city closes major roads for parades and other occasions. The crowd began creeping into other lanes — a situation Pfleger said had the potential to become dangerous.

Illinois State Police, which has jurisdiction over expressways, announced around 11:30 a.m. that they were shutting down all northbound lanes of the expressway. Protesters then began walking northbound along a roughly 1.5-mile route.

"Today we got their attention," Pfleger said afterward. He said the next step is accomplishing the actual goal — an "aggressive plan" to address the violence . Among the demands the protesters listed were more resources, jobs and better schools for their communities, as well as stronger gun laws.

There's a historical significance to marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway — a roadway some believe was built in the early 1960s to separate white communities and poor, black ones. To the west of the new interstate were Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox, and neighborhoods such as Bridgeport, home to then-Mayor Richard J. Daley and his clan. To the east rose the Robert Taylor Homes, a high-rise public housing complex that became notorious for its violence.

It was the kind of racial and economic segregation that still exists in Chicago today.

Chicago police said the city had 252 homicides and 1,100 shootings in the first six months of this year, a decrease from the same period last year. But those crimes have been heavily concentrated in predominantly black, low-income neighborhoods.</s>CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on an anti-violence protest on a Chicago interstate (all times local):

Thousands of protesters have shut down a Chicago interstate to draw attention to the city's gun violence and pressure public officials to do more to help neighborhoods hardest hit by it.

Illinois State Police said early Saturday that an agreement had been reached to allow protesters onto a portion of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway. Officers and vehicles lined up, forming a barrier to keep protesters in two northbound lanes.

But the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who's leading the march, said protesters wanted to shut down the entire roadway. He noted the city closes major roads for parades and other occasions.

After a roughly hourlong standstill police announced they were shutting down all northbound lanes of the expressway and protesters began walking. Pfleger, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson were walking side-by-side among them.

Illinois State Police say they will allow anti-violence protesters to march along a portion of a Chicago interstate.

Police Director Leo Schmitz said in a news release Saturday that an agreement was reached between "all stakeholders" on Thursday.

He says state and Chicago police and Illinois Department of Transportation employees will provide a "safety barrier" between motorists and marchers along a stretch of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of people are expected to participate in Saturday's march. They want to draw attention to the city's gun violence and pressure public officials to do more to stop it.

Police warned earlier this week that any pedestrian who entered the expressway would face arrest and prosecution.

Protesters planning to shut down a major Chicago interstate say they're trying to pressure public officials to address the gun violence that's claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

There's also a historical significance to marching along the stretch of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway. Some believe the roadway was built in the early 1960s to separate white communities and poor, black ones. It was the kind of racial and economic segregation that still exists in Chicago.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger is a Roman Catholic priest and anti-violence activist on the city's South Side who will lead Saturday's march. He says protesters will carry a banner with a list of demands that includes: more resources, jobs, better schools and stronger gun laws.

For the AP's full story on the protest: https://bit.ly/2uesJ9g</s>Demonstrators marched Saturday on all five northbound lanes of Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway, bringing the interstate to a standstill after police officials who’d planned to keep the stretch partially open relented.

Hundreds of marchers, led by the Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church, crowded onto the highway on the South Side to protest the city’s high gun violence rates. They called for “national common sense gun laws” and, for their communities, more public resources, more jobs, better schools and economic development.

Marchers gained access to all of northbound Interstate 94 between 79th and 68th Streets after a tense encounter with police.

Initially, a line of police officers and their parked vehicles essentially split the northbound highway in half, intending to allow marchers to walk in the right two lanes while keeping two left lanes open to traffic.

But demonstrators, including Pfleger and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, demanded all five lanes.

“We will not march on the side of the highway. We’re marching on the highway,” Jackson said by megaphone.

“Shut it down!” and “Black lives matter!” the crowd shouted.

Illinois State Police eventually shut down all five northbound lanes to vehicle traffic along the march route, allowing demonstrators to march along the full width.

One demonstrator, Laura Hussein, told CNN that she, her 18-year-old son and some friends and colleagues marched “because the cost of ignoring gun violence in Chicago is too high.”

“Every week we lose women, children, and especially brown and black boys and men to senseless gun violence,” she said.

‘We came out here to shut it down’

When police closed all five lanes, a long stretch of I-94 behind the closure turned into a virtual parking lot. Vehicles on the highway were lined bumper to bumper, with nowhere to go except for a few exit ramps. Some motorists who weren’t near an exit left their cars for a time.

After the march wrapped up, police reopened the highway shortly after 12:30 p.m. CT, allowing northbound traffic to flow again.

The state’s governor and march organizers exchanged testy words over the shutdown.

State police had said before the march that there was “an agreement” that marchers would take only two lanes.

Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, tweeted after the march that the complete shutdown of the I-94 stretch was “unacceptable.”

“We had clear parameters that allowed the protesters to be heard while respecting law and order. Instead, they chose … to cause chaos,” he said.

“We never negotiated anything,” he told CNN affiliate WLS. “We came out here to shut it down.”

“Gov. Rauner tried to make it chaos. He tried to be an obstruction,” Pfleger told CNN affiliate WGN.

Shortly before the march, state police director Leo Schmitz told reporters: “Illinois State Police will take necessary steps to ensure we prevent (anyone) from getting hurt.”

“This whole thing is great if no one gets hurt and we can get it done,” Schmitz said.</s>CHICAGO — Thousands of anti-violence protesters marched along a Chicago interstate on Saturday, shutting down traffic in an effort to draw attention to the gun violence that’s claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods and pressure public officials to do more to stop it.

Marchers chanted “Stop the killing” and carried signs reading “We need jobs” and other messages. Some stopped to scrawl on the road with chalk: “Enough is enough” and “Peace.” Toward the front of the march the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who organized the protest, Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson linked arms.

“The people won today because the people showed up. They saw this many people out here, black and white and brown and young and old, and saying, ‘We’re tired of the damn violence in Chicago,'” Pfleger said after completing the roughly 1.5-mile route.

“We want the governor, the mayor, the elected officials and the community all to come together and say, ‘We want peace now.'”

The march took place along the northbound lanes of Interstate 94, known as the Dan Ryan Expressway, after a roughly hourlong standoff between police and the protesters. The expressway was fully reopened less than 90 minutes later, after the protest ended.

Illinois State Police, which had warned earlier in the week that any pedestrian entering the expressway would face arrest, said early Saturday that an agreement had been reached for protesters to march on a portion of the roadway. Officers and vehicles lined up, forming a barrier to keep protesters in two northbound lanes, allowing some traffic to pass in other northbound lanes.

But Pfleger and protesters insisted there was no agreement and that they would shut down the entire northbound roadway, with Pfleger noting the city closes major roads for parades and other occasions. The crowd began creeping into other lanes — a situation Pfleger said had the potential to become dangerous.

Illinois State Police, which has jurisdiction over expressways, announced around 11:30 a.m. that they were shutting down all northbound lanes of the expressway. Protesters then began walking northbound along the route.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner took to Twitter to call the shutdown “unacceptable,” saying there had been parameters set to allow protesters to march while “respecting law and order” but that protesters instead chose “chaos.” The Republican also said he was “disappointed” in Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“I am calling on the Mayor to take swift and decisive action to put an end to this kind of chaos,” Rauner wrote.

Emanuel, a Democrat, responded in a tweet : “It was a peaceful protest. Delete your account.”

“Today we got their attention,” Pfleger said afterward. He said the next step is accomplishing the actual goal — an “aggressive plan” to address the violence . Among the demands the protesters listed were more resources, jobs and better schools for their communities as well as stronger gun laws.

There’s a historical significance to marching along the Dan Ryan Expressway — a roadway some believe was built in the early 1960s to separate white communities and poor, black ones.

To the west of the new interstate were Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox, and neighborhoods such as Bridgeport, home to then-Mayor Richard J. Daley and his clan. To the east rose the Robert Taylor Homes, a high-rise public housing complex that became notorious for its violence.

It was the kind of racial and economic segregation that still exists in Chicago today.

Chicago police said the city had 252 homicides and 1,100 shootings in the first six months of this year, a decrease from the same period last year. But those crimes have been heavily concentrated in predominantly black, low-income neighborhoods.</s>CHICAGO — The Latest on an anti-violence protest on a Chicago interstate (all times local):

Illinois State Police say they will allow anti-violence protesters to march along a portion of a Chicago interstate.

Police Director Leo Schmitz said in a news release Saturday that an agreement was reached between “all stakeholders” on Thursday.

He says state and Chicago police and Illinois Department of Transportation employees will provide a “safety barrier” between motorists and marchers along a stretch of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of people are expected to participate in Saturday’s march. They want to draw attention to the city’s gun violence and pressure public officials to do more to stop it.

Police warned earlier this week that any pedestrian who entered the expressway would face arrest and prosecution.

Protesters planning to shut down a major Chicago interstate say they’re trying to pressure public officials to address the gun violence that’s claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods.

There’s also a historical significance to marching along the stretch of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway. Some believe the roadway was built in the early 1960s to separate white communities and poor, black ones. It was the kind of racial and economic segregation that still exists in Chicago.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger is a Roman Catholic priest and anti-violence activist on the city’s South Side who will lead Saturday’s march. He says protesters will carry a banner with a list of demands that includes: more resources, jobs, better schools and stronger gun laws.</s>Thousands of protesters against Chicago's pervasive gun violence on Saturday partially shut down a major expressway in the third-largest US city, which leads the country in murders.

The demonstrators, led by a local pastor known for decades of anti-violence advocacy in Chicago's hard-scrabble South Side, completely closed off one side of the Dan Ryan Expressway for about an hour.

The major artery bisects the city's southern urban core which is home to a predominantly African American population and several communities where gun violence, fueled mostly by drugs and turf wars among small gangs, is a part of everyday life.

"The people won today, because the people showed up... saying we're tired of the damned violence in Chicago," he said.

The midwestern city had 254 murders and 1,114 shootings to July 1 this year, according to police. While murders are down 23 percent compared to the same period last year, Chicago still has the most of any other city in the country.

The killing of 17 people at a Parkland, Florida high school in February helped reinvigorate the national debate on gun control and firearms violence in a country where guns are linked to more than 30,000 deaths annually.

Chicago officials cooperated with Pfleger in corralling protests and eventually relented in allowing all of the northbound expressway lanes to be blocked off.

As they later cleared out, many protesters thanked police for their help, WLS-TV reported.
Demonstrators protesting against gun violence block Interstate 94 in Chicago.