Protesters have taken their anti-violence message to the North Side, shutting down Lake Shore Drive before eventually marching toward Wrigley Field.

Protesters are chanting “16 shots and a cover-up”–referring to the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke, who has been charged with murder. The demonstrators have been on Lake Shore Drive for a longer period that originally planned.

Other protesters, including anti-Trump and Pence demonstrators and members of the Communist Party, USA, were joining the march.

The city of Chicago has shut down Lake Shore Drive for an anti-violence protest.

The protesters assembled at Belmont and inner Lake Shore Drive around 4 p.m.

The group of protesters are taking over a portion of Lake Shore Drive, shutting down northbound and southbound traffic.

The group congregated on the west side of Belmont Harbor and will proceed west on Belmont Avenue to Clark Street, then north to Addison Street. Police said the protest is supposed to disband nearly Wrigley Field.

Anti-violence protesters are demanding the Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Supt. Eddie Johnson resign.

Organizers of the march said they chose their route in order to make residents on Chicago’s North side open their eyes to violence on Chicago’s South side. </s> Demonstrators on Thursday blocked two miles of Lake Shore Drive, the main road that runs alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan in Chicago, for over two hours, during a march against endemic gun violence that has claimed more than 300 lives this year in the neighborhoods where African-American communities live.

The protesters - not more than 200 people according to the police - chanted slogans to demand the resignations of the Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the superintendent of Chicago Police Department, Eddie Johnson. </s> CHICAGO—After days of speeches and anticipation, about 150 protesters took over Lake Shore Drive near Belmont Avenue on Thursday for an anti-violence demonstration designed to disrupt the evening rush hour. Chicago police shut down both the northbound and southbound lanes of the drive for a time, although northbound traffic resumed within an hour of the march’s start. Protesters shouting “Shut it down! Shut it down!” walked from the grassy area west of the drive onto the southbound lanes about 4:15 p.m. as dozens of police officers looked on.

Protest organizers are calling for the resignations of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. “There are too many killings in Chicago, there are too many police-involved killings in Chicago,” said one of the demonstration’s organizers, Tio Hardiman. “It’s time to change the narrative in Chicago.” Demonstrators wrote messages in chalk onto the asphalt of Lake Shore Drive. City snowplows blocked traffic on the drive in the vicinity of the protest. Traffic was at a standstill as motorists were forced to exit the roadway. Curious onlookers and media members also converged on the scene.

By 5 p.m., the drive was reopened to traffic. After protesting on the lanes of Lake Shore Drive, the demonstrators were proceeding to Wrigley Field. As the protest neared its start time, the grassy easement leading to the southbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive began to fill with demonstrators, many of whom brought signs condemning police shootings and overall gun violence. Nearby cars continued to zip by as bike cops lingered farther back in silent formation. Still, there were a number of nearby residents and onlookers who watched as the numbers grew. Julie Swislow, a Lincoln Park resident, arrived to the meeting place because although she didn’t plan on participating, she wanted to show her support despite the minor inconvenience for her and her neighbours. “It’s good to be a little uncomfortable. It’s one day of discomfort, not a lifetime of discomfort,” she said, referring to violence on the South and West sides.

A man wearing a Grateful Dead shirt and riding a bike yelled from a distance, “Influence children in a positive way!” After having words with a protester, the cyclist rolled away, saying, “Get out of my face and raise your kids!” Early arriving demonstrators unfurled a blue-and-white banner with the message, “#ResignRahm: End the Tale of Two Cities. Justice for ALL Chicagoans!”

In the park nearby, Grant Harmon, 35, sat with his 7-month-old daughter Charlotte near where the march was set to launch. Harmon said protesters have valid concerns, pointing out that he’s able to play with his daughter at a park without worrying about his safety. He lives about two blocks from the lakefront green space. “If I was a parent on the South Side, it’s fair to want the same thing,” he said. About two hours before the protest was set to begin, a middle-aged Lakeview man relaxed on a shaded bench at Tescler Playground watching his 4-year-old son play just outside of where protesters began gathering. The man, a Cubs season ticket holder, sold his seats for Thursday’s game in anticipation of the protest but said he was supportive of the demonstrators if they remain nonviolent. “I think it’s a great idea,” said the man, who declined to give his name because he didn’t want to receive hate mail. “You can protest for a decade on the South Side without getting any attention. Come up here, you can reach people untouched by violence. “You got a lot of rich who’re people who, it’s not their problem. I guess you can make it their problem.” Protesters, including one man who held a raised fist above his head while carrying a red, black and green Pan-African flag, began arriving about 2 p.m. to the area around Belmont Avenue and the drive. A news conference was planned before the march, which was organized by the Rev. Gregory Livingston, Tio Hardiman and the Rev. Ira Acree. Livingston has been organizing and speaking at marches, rallies and demonstrations for years. At a May Day rally for labourers in 2005, he elicited encouraging shouts from the crowd during a passionate speech at the memorial to the 1886 Haymarket Riot. “Don’t let nobody tell you what you can have,” Livingston said. “And don’t let anyone tell you what you be.” In the 13 years since that speech on the Near West Side, Livingston has spoken out about the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, led a march on Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile to protest the Laquan McDonald shooting and confronted the mayor at a Roseland news conference about police patrols. The latest demonstration may be Livingston’s most high-profile yet. “We are going down commercial strips, and if people are upset about us disturbing their entertainment and their cafe life, human life is more important than recreation,” Livingston, a pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in West Humboldt Park, said last week. “We all need to recognize that.” </s> Protesters seeking Thursday to draw attention to the problem of gun violence in Chicago briefly shut down the city's famed Lake Shore Drive, which runs along Lake Michigan.

The Chicago Tribune reported that while the protest was not large, about 200 marchers achieved their aim of disrupting traffic for thousands of motorists.

Organizers said they were marching to demand the resignations of Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel for failing to lower gun violence.

FILE - Protesters arrive at Wrigley Field to deman Protesters arrive at Wrigley Field to demand more government action against gun violence, Aug. 2, 2018, in Chicago. Protesters arrive at Wrigley Field to demand more government action against gun violence, Aug. 2, 2018, in Chicago.

Organizers said they brought the protest to the heart of the city's more affluent enclaves to "redistribute the pain" of gun violence and economic blight plaguing some of Chicago's black and Latino communities.

The protest came during a busy tourism week for Chicago, with the annual Lollapalooza music festival starting Thursday. The Reverend Gregory Livingston, one of the march's lead organizers, called on the festival performers to stand with protesters and cancel their performances. But none of the artists appeared to comply.

Chicago has recorded more than 300 homicides so far in 2018, more than any other U.S. city, but a 23 percent decline in killings compared with the same time last year. </s> Anti-violence protestors took to the streets of Chicago to march for the “forgotten” people as tensions continue to rise in the troubled city.

Also at issue, protestors have called for Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, to step down for their handling of racial incidents in communities of color.

Hundreds of protestors rallied to bring attention to the prolific gun violence in the city and marched through the city’s South and West sides, shutting down traffic before taking up residence outside of Wrigley as fans filed in to the stadium for a Cubs game.

—True Crime: Mom arrested after throwing 4-year-old autistic daughter into a river—

The march took place outside of the baseball field, “bringing the pain of so many forgotten residents to the affluent areas,” said organizer Rev. Gregory Livingston, the Chicago-Sun-Times reports.

“We came here to redistribute the pain in Chicago. People in this neighborhood don’t feel the pain we feel every day, so we brought it to their doorstep,” said activist and organizer Tio Hardiman.

Last month, thousands of anti-gun violence protesters, led by Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church, crammed onto the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago and shut it down, carrying signs and chanting “Stop the killing” to protest the city’s gun violence epidemic and demand change.

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This time, the protestors are trying to send a message that wasn’t quite delivered during last month’s march, said former CPS Principal Troy LaRaviere, who is running against Emanuel for Mayor.

“We need to remove this administration.”

Chicago had 650 homicides in 2017, the most in the nation, according to USA Today. And as the weather gets warmer, gun violence has reportedly been on the rise in the city. So far, Chicago has had 252 homicides and 1,100 shootings in the first six months of this year. </s> CHICAGO (AP) — About 200 demonstrators briefly shutdown Chicago's Lake Shore Drive as they marched through one of the city's more affluent neighborhoods Thursday to draw attention to gun violence in the city's poorer areas.

Organizers hoped the march would draw attention to violence, corruption and the lack of economic investment in the city's African-American neighborhoods. The protesters are also demanding the resignation of police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel for failure to stem gun violence.

Johnson has asserted in recent weeks violent crime in the city has declined, attributing it to new police tactics. However, he conceded more has to be done in the neighborhoods where much of the violence takes place.

"There are too many killings in Chicago, there are too many police-involved killings in Chicago," said Tio Hardiman, one of the demonstration's organizers. "It's time to change the narrative in Chicago."

City plows and garbage trucks blocked traffic on Lake Shore Drive in the vicinity of the protest. It brought traffic to a standstill as motorists were forced to exit the roadway.

After protesting on Lake Shore Drive, the demonstrators marched to Wrigley Field as fans were arriving for a Chicago Cubs game, snarling traffic and attracting onlookers. Chicago police performed rolling street closures as the march progressed, creating traffic headaches across the North Side.

The protesters marched through a crowded neighborhood of high-rise condominiums and multi-story townhouses and apartment buildings.

Rochelle Sykes told the Chicago Sun-Times she was marching for a 15-year-old nephew, Demetrius Griffin, whose body was found burning in a West Side alley in 2016.

"I'm glad folks can afford to live up in the penthouse, but there's bad stuff going on here on the ground floor," Sykes said.

The number of protesters appeared to grow to about 400 people once the marchers arrived in front of Wrigley Field, where the Cubs were hosting the San Diego Padres. The demonstrators waved signs demanding Emanuel's resignation and chanted "one city, one Chicago" and "Rahm has to go," as fans watched from inside the park.

Harold Gatewood, a neighborhood resident, pointed out streets in his neighborhood that are blocked off regularly for street festivals and activity at the ballpark.

"It's nice to have the script flipped for a more important cause," Gatewood said.

Several hundred police officers watched over the marchers, with officials saying they were there to protect the protester's rights as well as public safety.

The demonstration came almost a month after anti-violence protesters shut down traffic on a Chicago interstate.

At least a thousand people participated in the July 6 march, led by Roman Catholic priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who said he couldn't support Thursday's march because the organizers were advocating the resignation of Emanuel and Johnson. He said that would do nothing to stop the violence. </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 — Chicago officials have issued parking bans and are warning motorists of rolling street closures ahead of a rush-hour protest march along the city's busy Lake Shore Drive.

The march is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Thursday on Lake Shore Drive near Diversey Parkway. Protestors plan to walk on Lake Shore Drive to Belmont Avenue to Clark Street and on to Wrigley Field where the march will end. The Chicago Cubs have a home game at 7:05 p.m.

Organizers say they are marching to press demands for the resignations of Police Supt. Eddie Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. They claim the officials have failed in efforts to lower gun violence.

A San Diego Padres-Chicago Cubs game is scheduled Thursday evening, and it's the first day of the Lollapalooza music festival in Grant Park.

Organizers say they believe the march in the affluent neighborhood will draw attention to violence, corruption and the lack of economic investment in the city's African-American neighborhoods.

The demonstration comes almost a month after anti-violence protesters shut down traffic on a Chicago interstate. </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.
Anti-violence protesters take to the streets of Chicago to draw attention to the problem of gun violence in Chicago, which briefly shuts down Lake Shore Drive. Protesters also call for Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down for their handling of racial incidents in communities of color.