Monday night I peered out my window at the little Mexican restaurant across the street as the sunset in Chicago. There were a couple of kids hanging out on the corner in front of the place, but not a single soul inside. Like every other restaurant across Illinois, they shut the lights out later that…
Author: aaroncynic
Let Them Eat Wall
Frigid temperatures didn’t stop federal workers and others from showing up to Federal Plaza in Chicago on Thursday to protest the continuing shutdown of the government over President Donald Trump’s border wall. The shutdown, which began before Christmas, entered its 22nd day on Saturday, and is now the longest in American history. “Federal workers and…
Chicago Anti-Violence Activists Shut Down Lake Shore Drive
Chicago anti-violence activists shut down Lake Shore Drive Thursday afternoon before marching to Wrigley Field to draw attention to gun violence, crime, and other issues afflicting resource-starved neighborhoods in the city. “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…
Chicago Police Accountability Activists Score Temporary Victory as City Council Postpones Vote on Cop Academy
The Chicago City Council postponed a planned vote on building a new $95 million police academy on the City’s West Side on Tuesday amid a contentious City Council meeting that saw hundreds of protesters in and outside the building. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the construction of the “public safety training” campus in July of 2017,…
Chicago Marches For May Day
Hundreds rallied and marched in Chicago Tuesday to commemorate May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. May Day, which sees millions of workers and others march across the globe, has deep roots in Chicago. Workers in the late 19th century—many of them immigrants—built a movement demanding an eight-hour workday, better working conditions, and changes in…
Video: Vermin Supreme at AmRen 2018 Protest
Co-Founder Aaron Cynic was in Burns, Tennessee this weekend to cover protests of AmRen, an annual gathering of white supremacists in a local state park. While there he caught up with artist, activist, and presidential candidate Vermin Supreme, who talked about why he traveled to stand with anti-racists and anti-fascists, the dystopian police presence, and…
Chicago Rallies For Stephon Clark
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in Chicago Monday evening in response to the shooting of Stephon Clark by police in Sacramento, California, along with the hundreds of others killed by police. “It’s 2018 people. It’s 2018 and young black people, young queer people, young brown people, young immigrants, and people who are not so old are…
Tens of Thousands of Chicagoans Join the March For Our Lives
Tens of thousands of Chicagoans joined the millions around the nation for the “March For Our Lives,” a youth-led movement calling for stricter regulations in the wake of a seemingly never-ending series of mass shootings across the country. “March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who…
Chicago Students Join The National Walk Out Against Gun Violence
Thousands of students in Chicago and across Illinois joined millions of other young people that walked out of their classrooms Wednesday as part of a nationwide protest against gun violence. Walkouts in Chicago began as early as 8:00 a.m., with many timed for 17 minutes – one for each student that was killed at the…
Chicago Unions Rally For International Women’s Day
Hundreds rallied at the Thompson Center in the Chicago Loop to celebrate International Women’s Day and call for equal pay and respect for women on the job. “I’m fighting for a future where my children and grandchildren don’t have to worry about harassment on the job,” Genoveva Ramirez, a janitor and member of the Service…