Police arrest 175 Occupy Chicago protestors

WBEZ91.5 ^ | Oct. 16, 2011 | Associated Press

[mdittmar]

Chicago police arrested 175 members of a group protesting corporate greed early Sunday after they refused to take down their tents and leave a city park when it closed.

About 500 members of Occupy Chicago set up camp at the entrance to Grant Park on Saturday evening after a protest earlier in the day involving about 2,000, the Chicago Tribune reported. Occupy Chicago is an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that started last month in New York City and has inspired protests nationwide.

The Chicago demonstration entered its 24th day Sunday with protesters at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, organizer Rachael Perrotta said. She said organizers also were meeting protesters who had been arrested as they were released from jail.

Chicago police said they gave protesters repeated warnings after the park closed at 11 p.m. and began making arrests when they refused to leave. Officers also asked protesters to take down their tents before beginning to cut them down to clear the area, police said.

[mdittmar]

Protesters say the arrests signify a new phase of civil disobedience for Chicago's wing of the movement. Twenty-two-year-old David Orlikoff of Chicago was among those arrested. He says the protesters don't want to be confrontational, but will use civil disobedience when the group feels "it's appropriate."

He says he's disappointed Mayor Rahm Emanuel didn't intervene to allow the protest to continue at an entrance to Grant Park.

Me thinks rahm got a call from The White House;)

[VanDeKoik]

There is nothing in it for Rahm to let them stay. His position is absolute and he doesn’t need their vote.

Chicago power is not to be ceded to usurpers.

[pallis]

They should go camp out on Obama’s lawn.

[NoLibZone]

They will still get paid.

They are paid to protest.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/gov/2618821815.html

[Truth29]

But what is the penalty for these arrests? Is it something like a quick trip downtown and a $50 dollar fine paid by some leftist group? If that is accurate, these arrests are just a badge of honor and the demonstrators are back for of the same in a few hours. The revolving door system is no deterrent. These people need to be locked up long enough to put them out of action for at least a little while.

[Paladin2]

They need to go and occupy Zer0 and Rahm’s houses.

[vaudine]

All these "organizations" are communist front entities. I have been reading up on some of them and the one in DC, being ALLOWED to unlawfully camp in the park belong to a modern resurrection of Bil Ayres Weatherman, advocating overthrow of the government

Ironically, the Communist organizations died down the most during McCarthy's socalled witch hunt. The man was a loudmouth drinker, but he had the communist influence and infiltration dead on. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

I wish other cities would enforce the laws on camping out. It would be discouraging because these people are not going to travel back and fiorth to "demonstrate". They want to camp out, drug out, booze out, talk out in squalor and filth and be darlings of the media, while holding out their hands for all they can get.

vaudine

[mdittmar]

There is nothing in it for Rahm to let them stay

But there is something in it for obama if they raise to much hell.

[VanDeKoik]

Then I think the question who holds the stronger machine.

And strange as it sounds, Rahm seems to have it.

He has the police, the “law and order” civilians, and is very popular.

Obama has always been a proxy puppet. An easily manipulated nobody.

[Logical me]

Water the lawn! Then pick up what is left for at least 4 days in jail and a $2000 fine. Records should indicate a communists sympathizer.

[blondee123]

It’s rainy, cold & a north wind here in Chicago, they won’t stay long. By Wednesday, N.Y. should have the cold temps too. Wonder if Soro’s & the Nazi & communist organizations are going to provide solar heaters for the bums?