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Protesters Shut Down Chicago Expressway in Call to End Gun Violence

“We came out here to do one thing: to shut it down. We came here to get their attention.”

Hundreds of demonstrators shut down part of Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway on Saturday to demand city officials take action against gun violence. Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church led the march, having earlier vowed to push ahead with the event despite warnings from the Illinois State Police. Police had initially tried to restrict the march to two lanes of northbound traffic, but demonstrators refused to budge and ultimately got their way, bringing a busy stretch of the interstate to a standstill for about an hour. “We came out here to do one thing: to shut it down. We came here to get their attention. Hopefully we got their attention. … Today was the attention getter, but now comes the action,” Pfleger told the crowd. Rev. Jesse Jackson joined Pfleger in the march, which organizers said was meant to push city officials for “common sense gun laws,” as well as more public resources and better economic development.