Lake Shore protester vows to shut down O’Hare traffic on Labor Day
Labor Day travelers returning to Chicago or trying to leave could have a tough time getting into and out of O’Hare Airport.
The leader of a small group of protesters that shut down rush-hour traffic on Lake Shore Drive on Aug. 2 vowed Wednesday to paralyze Labor Day traffic on the Kennedy Expy. or I-190 leading into and out of O’Hare.
The protest is set for “around 11 a.m. or noon” on Sept. 3.
The Rev. Gregory Livingston refused to say precisely where the protesters would gather or how many there would be.
But he boldly predicted that he would have enough of a crowd to make it awfully inconvenient for Labor Day travelers.
“It’s something that we need to get Rahm’s attention with. We’re really following Gandhi’s pattern. Gandhi said, ‘First they ignore you. Then, they laugh at you. Then, they fight you. Then, we win,’” Livingston said.
“We’re not asking permission again. But we’re looking for the same cooperation that Pastor [Michael] Pfleger got on the Dan Ryan . . . . What’s the difference between blocking the Kennedy and blocking the Dan Ryan? If there is no real fundamental difference, I would love for them to talk to us about how they could help us do that.”
Standing alone outside the mayor’s office, Livingston reiterated the demands he made before the march to Wrigley Field that saw a small group dwarfed by police and news media.
The resignations of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Supt. Eddie Johnson; justice for “police murders;” “de-segregation of economic investment, education and health care assets”; resources for “black-led antiviolence initiatives” and the “reopening and repurposing” of all of the record 50 Chicago Public Schools closed by Emanuel.
Livingston was asked what it would take — short of Emanuel’s resignation — to convince him to call off the O’Hare march.
“We have to sit down with the mayor — not his messengers — and have a real conversation about real numbers and real figures and give the people a win now. There is no waiting period when people are literally dying around us. And there are wins that we can get right now that would make a difference in the community,” he said.
Emanuel’s communications director Adam Collins said it is “beyond ironic” that Livingston would declare his desire to “shut off access” to O’Hare to press his demand for more jobs in inner-city neighborhoods one day after Emanuel showcased a concession makeover at Midway Airport that generated 700 jobs “filled by residents in Englewood, Humboldt Park and beyond.”
“Mr. Livingston’s plans would only harm thousands of people living in neighborhoods across Chicago who earn a good paycheck working at our airports on ground crews, at restaurants, as airline employees and beyond,” Collins wrote.
“We all share the goal of continuing to build more jobs in our neighborhoods, but rhetoric that ignores reality won’t create a single job.”
Mayoral challenger Garry McCarthy has accused the CPD he once led of “facilitating criminal behavior” — and setting a dangerous precedent — by allowing a Livingston-led group of protesters estimated at 150 to shut down Lake Shore Drive during rush hour. “You give an inch, they take a mile,” he said. Wednesday, Livingston said he considered McCarthy’s statement the ultimate compliment and that he would welcome being arrested.
“It’s an honor that the former police superintendent would want to arrest us. We stand in great, great company — with the Mandelas, with the Gandhis, with the Kings, with the Apostle Pauls, with the Jesuses,” he said.
Livingston explains his motivation for traffic event