NOwhere! . . . NOtime! . . . NOhow!
A new ordinance -- originally billed as pertaining to the three day period during which the NATO/G8 summit will be held in Chicago in May, 2012, but now known to be PERMANENT and WITHOUT LIMIT -- would impose drastic restrictions on freedom of expression and dissent in Chicago.
Have we got your attention yet?
Action Steps
The Ordinance
Contact Your Alderman on Twitter!
Key Background
ACTION STEPS
You CAN make a difference and protect free speech in Chicago, but it will take ACTION:
(1) Attend the Tuesday, January 17, 1 p.m. hearing in room Room 201A before the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation. Your in-person support is vital. Be prepared to speak about why YOU oppose the ordinance.
Join the event page on Facebook "Defend our right to dissent: Jan 17 Chicago City Council Hearings" and click on the button to invite friends
(2) Protest at City Hall when the ordinance comes before City Council for a vote on January 18.
Join the event page on Facebook "Chicago City Council: Stand up for our rights! January 18" and click on the button to invite friends
(3) Lobby your alderman. Call or write your alderman to tell him/her that this ordinance is INTOLERABLE to you. (Want to make some noise? Most Chicago aldermen are now on Twitter, so you can tell them in public!)
Check out the group on Facebook "Tell Your Chicago Alderman: We Want Our Liberty!" to find out about specific aldermen meetings and tell your friends!
(4) Tell your friends! Email, Facebook, Twitter, you know the drill! (Just think about the impact if each person who opposes this ordinance told just ten friends!)
(5) Mobilize your organizations! We need organizations in Chicago to come forward with resolutions to emphasize:
* this new ordinance is an intolerable encroachment on the civil liberties of all Chicagoans.
* this new ordinance constitutes a direct interference in the work of YOUR organization, and the work of its constituent organizations and individuals.
* your organization resolves to oppose this and all encroachments on dissent.
* your organization calls on its constituent organizations and individuals, and the general Chicago community, to actively work between now and January 18 to defeat this ordinance.
THE ORDINANCES
Read the detailed critique of Chicago's anti-liberty ordinance changes by Andy Thayer, published January 6, 2012. Highlights:
* 20-fold increase in fines for violations. "The maximum fine would double to $2000 and potentially include 10 days in jail."
* "Resisting arrest" defined as by language stating "'resist' shall mean passive as well as active resistance" [for instance, going limp].
* Micro-control of all assemblies, including requiring the registration of constituent groups participating in protests, restrictions on sidewalk protests, and prohibitive insurance requirements.
Additional details of the ordinances are provided below:
O2011-9742, “Amendment of various sections of Municipal Code regarding parades, athletic events and public assemblies”
*Empower McCarthy to forge agreements with “public or private entities concerning placement, installation, maintenance or use of video, audio telecommunications, or other similar equipment.” Participating agencies and their personnel would be “held harmless.”
*Empower the mayor or his designees to purchase “goods, work or services” needed to host the event without City Council approval, so long as there’s no existing city contract that could be used;
*Loud noise, amplified sound and music at parades, athletic events and public assemblies would be allowed only between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Rules on the use of sidewalks and streets also would be tightened.
SO2011-8863, “Amendment of Municipal Code regarding various fines and fees.”
CONTACT YOUR ALDERMAN ON TWITTER!
1st - Joe Moreno @Alderman_Moreno
2nd - Robert Fioretti @FiorettiChicago
3rd - Pat Dowell (not on Twitter)
4th - William Burns @Ald4_WillBurns
5th - Leslie Hairston (not on Twitter)
6th - Roderick Sawyer @RoderickTSawyer
7th - Sandi Jackson @SandiJackson1
8th - Michelle Harris (not on Twitter)
9th - Anthony Beale (not on Twitter)
10th - John Pope @AldermanPope
11th - James Balcer (not on Twitter)
12th - George A. Cardenas @ald12
13th - Marty Quinn (not on Twitter)
14th - Ed Burke (not on Twitter)
15th - Toni Foulkes (not on Twitter)
16th - JoAnn Thompson (not on Twitter)
17th - Latasha Thomas (not on Twitter)
18th - Lona Lane (not on Twitter)
19th - Matthew O’Shea @mattoshea19
20th - Willie Cochran @ALDERMANWBC
21st - Howard Brookins Jr.(not on Twitter)
22nd - Ricardo Munoz @AldermanMunoz22
23rd - Michael Zalewski (not on Twitter)
24th - Michael Chandler (not on Twitter)
25th - DanielSolis @AldermanSolis
26th - Roberto Maldonado (not on Twitter)
27th - Walter Burnett, Jr. @AldermanBurnett
28th - Jason Ervin @AldermanErvin
29th - DeborahGraham (not on Twitter)
30th - Ariel E. Reboyras @Ald_Reboyras
31st - Ray Suarez (not on Twitter)
32nd - Scott Waguespack (not on Twitter)
33rd - Richard F. Mell (not on Twitter)
34th - Carrie Austin (not on Twitter)
35th - Rey Colon (not on Twitter)
36th - Nicholas Sposato @AldermanSposato
37th - Emma Mitts @EmmaMittsAld37
38th - Timothy M. Cullerton (not on Twitter)
39th - Margaret Laurino (not on Twitter)
40th - Patrick J. O'Connor @40thWard
41st - Mary O’Connor @OCONNORfor41
42nd - Brendan Reilly (not on Twitter)
43rd - Michele Smith @MicheleSmith43
44th - Thomas M. Tunney @AldTomTunney
45th - John Arena @johnarena445
46th - James Cappleman @jamescappleman
47th - Ameya Pawar @alderman_pawar
48th - Harry Osterman (not on Twitter)
49th - Joseph A. Moore @joemoore49
50th - Debra Silverstein @Debra4Alderman
Names in red are members of the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation.
KEY BACKGROUND
Chicago Tribune: Parade ordinance power grab: City Hall proposal for new rules and harsher penalties for violations, allegedly occasioned by anticipated NATO and G-8 protests, would restrict all future demonstrations in Chicago By Kristen Mack
Chicago Tribune: Emanuel admits he erred on describing G8, NATO parade rules as temporary By Hal Dardick and Kristen Mack
Chicago Tribune op-ed: Reining in those pesky protesters: Ironies of history and lessons for the future by Marilyn Katz
Related posts
Emanual has now introduced changes in local law to sharply limit the rights of Chicagoans and others to express dissent.(See Welcome to Chicago! You're Under Arrest. )
Rahm has a simple formula for free expression:NOwhere!
NOtime!
NOhow!
(Got a problem with that?)
(See Rahm's Three "NOs" )
Guantanamo
and Chicago '68 live in the public's subconscious, where they lurk in
the shadows, threatening anyone who has a dissenting thought. It's time
we dragged those images out into the open, forcing people to consciously
address the way people are being intentionally terrorized by our
government. Only if we can do this -- put a name to the threat -- will
the ordinary Chicagoan wake up and say, "You expect me to be
intimidated? HELL NO!"(See Twin Specters of Repression in America)
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