“I honestly think in the long run we got our message across,” Coconate said. “I think it took where this was being held, in ‘cop land’ up here in this part of the city, for people to think about why it’s beautiful up here and why on the West and the South sides things are so bad. … There’s a lot of money that’s really not reaching those neighborhoods.”<doc-sep>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. Reply 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. 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.<doc-sep>Park Ridge resident Annamaria Hallagan said she decided to stop at Higgins and Cumberland out of curiosity and see if the demonstrators would actually make it on to the expressway. She said she was surprised to hear what she called “racist language” coming from some of the white onlookers who had gathered near her on the Park Ridge side of the intersection.<doc-sep>For the third time this summer, activists used major roadways in an effort to shine a light on the violence plaguing Chicago’s South and West Sides. Unlike the July march when protesters took over the busy Dan Ryan, and the August march in which protesters closed off Lake Shore Drive in both directions during rush hour, activists on Monday failed to shut down the Kennedy Expressway headed toward O’Hare Airport. Thanks to our sponsors: View all sponsors And this time, police didn’t let it slide. They arrested 12 people who tried to march on the Cumberland entrance ramp onto the Kennedy. Chicago Police First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio said an important distinction came into play. “We cannot allow an airport to shut down. An airport is a hardened (target). You have to remember an airport is a big terrorist target,” Riccio said at a press conference. “We have security protocols in place. We can never allow an airport to be shut down. There’s federal implications. There’s federal charges involved for anybody that would try to obstruct commerce at an airport or people coming and going.” State police say they’d previously presented organizer the Rev. Gregory Livingston with alternate options and had been clear about their plans going into Monday. “We fully support the First Amendment right to peacefully assemble, so long as it does not put the safety of the public in peril,” state police director Leo Schmitz said in a statement. Illinois State Police as Rev Livingston begins march: "It is against state law to be a pedestrian on the interstate roadway." pic.twitter.com/LrFhf9kA0T — Amanda Vinicky (@AmandaVinicky) September 3, 2018 “We’re inconveniencing some people. I hate to do that. But it’s a sacrifice to inconvenience people. It’s a sacrifice to make them uncomfortable. It’s a sacrifice to be misunderstood and disliked. But I’m a pastor, I’m a minister. This a holy sacrifice because we’re standing in the blood of the slaughter in Chicago,” Livingston said. “So in the tradition of (Martin Luther) King (Jr.) and (Mahatma) Gandhi and (Nelson) Mandela and Jesus Christ I don’t mind – I’ll speak for myself – sacrificing my freedom so someone else can experience a better life.” While the ordeal may have been a hassle for commuters – police blocked the on and off Cumberland ramps before the noon march and kept them blocked until just before 2 p.m. – Illinois State Police Major David Byrd described it as “respectful on both sides” and “professional” on both sides. As an estimated 40 to 60 protesters – surrounded by roughly as many media – walked toward state police lined across the on ramp, one trooper yelled into a megaphone: “This is the Illinois State Police. It is illegal to be a pedestrian on the interstate roadway. Please turn around.” “No!” Livingston said, before leading a short chant of “Ain’t nobody gonna turn us around. Gonna keep on a’ walkin.” He went on to ask allies to remain peaceful, and warned anyone to step aside if they didn’t want to be arrested; he instructed those willing to get arrested to line up, single file. One man held his wrists out to police, but they did not place him in handcuffs. Troopers gave everyone the opportunity to pass off their belongings before taking them into custody. Everyone apprehended was released by mid-Monday afternoon. They received citations for “a pedestrian on a roadway” and had to pay $120 fines. Mary Shapiro was one of the handful arrested about an hour ago for walking onto the Cumberland ramp. Shapiro only wanted to share that she lives in the 41st Ward and is at the #KennedyShutdown out of solidarity; she says it isn't her protest to lead. @wttw #chicagotonight pic.twitter.com/W0iUVLuT8M — Amanda Vinicky (@AmandaVinicky) September 3, 2018 Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson’s campaign in a press release expressed his sympathy for the cause. Wilson’s spokesman said he offered to pay bail for those arrested at the protest, but by the time a campaign surrogate arrived to make good on that promise, it was already too late. Another mayoral challenger, former Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, took the opposite tact, saying in a press release, “This time law enforcement did what it should have done during the previous incidents; they arrested those who attempted to break the law.” “While I support their right to protest, I cannot condone their illegal actions of walking onto busy highways. The truth of the matter, they should not have to resort to this,” McCarthy said in a statement. Getting Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign is one of Livingston’s demands. “End the tale of two cities. Let’s desegregate the resources, let’s desegregate the people. This is killing our people. This is not a fairy tale but it’s reality and facts, that the resources are not being allocated equitably,” Livingston said Monday. “So what we’re saying is, we need to have the right people at the table having transactional conversations with money people like (Emanuel advisor and Grosvenor Capital CEO Michael Sacks), and the mayor of course, to allocate these things in such a way that makes a difference.” Livingston leads the social justice group Coalition for a New Chicago and is a pastor at the New Hope Baptist Church. The delicately choreographed dance between law enforcement and activists went haywire after the arrests, as the remaining protesters took to the sidewalk leading to the CTA Cumberland stop, intent on going to O’Hare Airport. A man who refused to identify himself, but who said he is a college student and is not a Chicago resident, walked in the front but shouted out of sync with the rest of the group. The man said he was there because he disagrees with the tactic of trying to cut off access at O’Hare; when confronted, he said he wanted to engage in serious discussions about anti-violence. Woodland resident Brian Blaze Roberts challenged him, saying his actions at the protest were totally disrespectful. “This is real. People out there shooting, you understand what I’m saying? We don’t have grocery stores.<doc-sep>
CHICAGO (CBS)–Police arrested 12 anti-violence protesters this afternoon, but the march never made it onto the Kennedy Expressway as planned. About 50-60 marchers had planned to block traffic in and out of O’Hare, but did not get past the Cumberland onramp, police said. Chicago police disbanded “several hundred officers,” according to First Deputy Superintendent of Police Anthony Riccio. Illinois State Police added another 250 officers and the city of Park Ridge also had a police presence. The media and police heavily outnumbered the protesters. Riccio said the event’s proximity to the airport prompted police to beef up security. “We cannot allow an airport to be shut down,” Riccio said. “It is a big terrorist target, and there are federal implications and charges involved for anyone that would try to obstruct commerce. We had a holiday weekend in place and were not going to let the airport get shut down.” The march was led by Reverend Gregory Livingston of New Hope Baptist Church in West Humboldt Park, and was patterned after two other anti-violence protests that took over the Dan Ryan Expressway and Lake Shore Drive. “We’re going to continue to protect the First Amendment rights of those people who want to protest, and that was a big part of our function out here today, but we have to balance that against the rights of people who want to get to the airport–who use these expressways to drive down the street,” Riccio said. Illinois State Police Major David Byrd said that despite the arrests, conflict was kept to a minimum. “When arrests did occur, there was no resisting,” Byrd said. “It was appreciated by all law enforcement on the scene.” Protesters were demanding action from the city to address Chicago’s gang violence epidemic. They also called on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign. The protest comes just a few days ahead of the murder trial of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014. Van Dyke is the first police officer charged with a fatal on-duty shooting in decades. By 12:30 p.m., police had asked protesters to leave their gathering place at the Cumberland entrance ramp and the group had cleared out a short time later. Monday’s protest is the third of its kind in recent months, and is being held to bring attention to Chicago’s violence problem. Kennedy protest Dan Ryan Protest (Credit: CBS) Lake Shore Drive Protest (Credit: CBS) People are tweeting about the protest with the hashtag #ohareshutdown. I’d would rather see my people marching on the expressways than dying in the streets #OHARESHUTDOWN pic.twitter.com/GcETNE2rtd — Gregory S Livingston (@gslivingston) September 2, 2018