Events Calendars
June 16: Press Conference: 11AM — Next Round in Legal Battle to Protect Anti-war Protesters’ Constitutional Rights
June 19: Forum: 7PM — Survivors, Activists Gather to Jumpstart New Effort to Battle Police Violence
June 25-28: Chicago Arabesque
CIMC Radio and TV
Chicago Independent TV in June - Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (details)
Mayday March, Nakba Awareness, and more M20 Actions
Features
Featured news by and for the local community
News :: Labor
Congress Hotel Strike Marks Fifth Anniversary
![We're still here!](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/6/cityroom_20080612_cmitchell_110_large.png)
They expressed their solidarity with UNITE HERE Local 1, the labor union local which marked the fifth anniversary of their strike against hotel owners who froze employee wages and cut employee benefits.
The strike, which began on Father's Day 2003, stands as the longest-active labor strike in America.
Coverage: Press Release | Video Dispatch
Additional Resources: Congress Hotel Strike website | Progress Illinois Coverage
Past CIMC Features: 2003 | Civil Disobedience on Labor Day | First Anniversary | Second Anniversary
News :: International Relations : Labor : Protest Activity
Tens of Thousands March on Mayday for Immigrant Rights, Labor Rights
![Si se puede!](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/6/large/005._crowd5.jpg)
Two main threads of the march and of the holiday — immigrant rights and labor rights — were more explicitly connected in 2008. The scale of the protest evokes the massive marches and rallies in 2006 and 2007.
Videos: Video posted of Immigrant Rights March | Mayday March for Immigrant and Labor Rights | Video Flyer
Photos: Pics of LGBT contingent in Immigrant Rights March | Photos of May Day March Day Laborer Contingent
News :: International Relations : Media
Palestine Films on Display in Chicago
![abeer.jpg](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/8/thumb/abeer.jpg)
This year's selection includes filmmakers from Palestine, Norway, USA and Japan presenting motion pictures covering the Palestinian experience in the Palestine, Israel, the US and even Cuba. The program has a mix of features and documentaries, including shorts, that are screening until 8 May when it closes with Mohammad Alatar's Jerusalem: The East Side Story.
According to festival director Benjamin Doherty, the PFF exists "to share new views of Palestine with Chicago audiences." Houston festival organizer Sousan Hammad says the "festival hasn't been around very long but we have a small pool of great filmmakers so we definitely have the potential to get on the international cinema circuit," and compares the Palestinian filmmaking situation to that of Iran in that with concentrated support from abroad, the profile of Iranian films has risen steadily despite an oppressive government. In addition to supporting films about Palestine and by Palestinians, Hammad states that it can help advance the cause of Palestinian liberation as "the camera can be used as a tool to reveal the conflict," and can help dispel "notions or assumptions that have polluted the understanding of Palestine and the wider region."Read more
Interview with Susan Hammad & Benjamin Doherty | PFF reviews by CIMC
News :: Protest Activity
Peace Activists Stage Dramatic Easter 'Die-In’ at Holy Name Cathedral to Protest Anniversary of Iraq War
![marcher](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/4/2_easter_action_016.jpg)
Donations still urgently needed.
March 23 – Six members of the anti-war group “Catholic Schoolgirls Against The War” staged a dramatic die-in during the 11AM Easter mass at Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago’s most prominent Catholic parish – and the home of one of the nation’s most conservative church leaders, Cardinal Francis George
The action was staged in the Gold Coast cathedral’s parish center, an auditorium where mass is being said while the main cathedral undergoes renovation. Easter services at Holy Name are traditionally one of the most heavily attended masses of the year, and this mass was no exception, with people packed wall to wall for today’s Easter morning holiday service.
The group of young men and women, dressed in their Easter best, sat through the 11AM mass until George reached the homily. A few seconds into the cardinal’s main holiday message, the protesters rose from their seats, turned to address the hundreds of parishioners in the auditorium, and talked about the continuing death of both Iraqis and Americans in Iraq as the war enters its sixth year. The group also decried George's January 7 meeting with Mayor Daley and President Bush — and his failure to publicly raise opposition with Bush against the war.
The police have slapped the six peace activists with both felony and misdemeanor charges , and supporters are working to raise bail funds for what is anticipated to be significant bond for each arrestee. They've also denied one arrestee access to his medication. Read More.
DONATE to the Holy Name Six Legal Defense Fund.
Photos: [ 1 | 2 | 3 ] | Video: [ 1 ]
News :: Civil & Human Rights
Chicago to warmongers: five years of war is five too many
![marcher](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/10/m20-08montageupload.jpg)
Activists set aside March 20 for a day of direct action and guerilla theater, with more than a dozen actions throughout the city. Locals kicked the day off with an early morning action at the Millenium Flame off the Kennedy Expressway to honor the memory of Malachi Ritscher, who burned himself to death in late 2006 in the tradition of Buddist monks a generation earlier to oppose the war.
Columbia students brought the reality of waterboarding home with street theater. Peace activists staged a lockdown at the office of congressman Rahm Emanuel, one of Congress's biggest boosters of war and occupation. The question of the day at this action? How many cops does it take to unchain a congressman's office.
Other actions included a penny poll — and sit-in — at the Federal Plaza, a banner drop and protest at the local headquarters for Boeing, a protest against a Raytheon-affiliated research lab at UIC, and a protest at a local recruiting center.
More Photos: [ 1 | 2 ] Labor Beat/CIMC joint video coverage: [ Part 1 | Part 2 ] | Audio from M19 rally in Federal Plaza | One of many banner drops
News :: Civil & Human Rights : Peace : Protest Activity
Chicago Peace Activists Win Key Legal Victory Over 2003 Protest
![The people united…](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/11/march_20_2003_br_0197.jpg)
Quoting a newswire post: "In response to a class action suit brought by hundreds of anti-war protesters who were illegally arrested that night, the City of Chicago took the unusual step of counter-suing against the demonstrators."
An attempt to have the counterclaim dismissed was itself dismissed, but U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall dismissed the class action request in the countersuit. The city claimed that activists were "liable for the expenses incurred by the city in responding to such alleged legal violations as failing to obtain a permit for the march, obstructing traffic and jaywalking.".
This setback marks the latest in a series of legal setbacks by the city and the police efforts in the wake of the 2003 protests. All charges against protesters were dismissed, and a lawsuit against the city by some 500 peace protesters itself won class-action status. Read more
Additional Resources: Chicago Free Speech Zone Coverage | National Lawyers Guild - Chicago chapter | The Emmy nominated film: "Where We Stood - Chicago's Resistance Against The War In Iraq", 2, 3
News :: Civil & Human Rights : Globalization : International Relations : Protest Activity
Sanctuary for Immigrant Rights Begins Anew in Chicago Church
![Si se puede!](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/10/flor.jpg)
Crisóstomo's decision follows in the footsteps of fellow activist Elvira Arellano, who herself took sanctuary and defied a deportation order for more than a year before leaving sanctuary to embark on a nationwide speaking tour. In the course of the tour, Arrellano was seized, arrested, and deported.
Crisóstomo, a Mexican citizen driven to the U.S. because of NAFTA-driven economic policies, commented about the difficulty of also addressing xenophobic anti-immigrant policies in the U.S.: "They say they expect us to self-deport, but we cannot leave because of what U.S. economic policies have done to destroy jobs in our home countries. That is why the current policy will not end the system of undocumented labor. It will only drive us into worse and worse jobs."
Crisóstomo and Arellano have a shared history of activism besides sanctuary. The two activists also participated in a successful month-long hunger strike to win an immigration continuance.
Read more.
Past coverage: Two part interview with Elvira Arellano on Chicago Independent Television - part one | part two
News :: Civil & Human Rights : International Relations : Peace : Protest Activity
Hundreds Brave Chicago Blizzard To Protest For Palestine
![Free Palestine!](http://web.archive.org./web/20080617171524im_/http://chicago.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/8/large/rallyphotofeature.jpg)
The protest — which included many Chicago-area Palestinian, Arab-American, and progressive Jews — considerably outnumbered the meager IDF turnout and counter-demonstration.
The protesters called an end to the latest Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip, which forced more than 500,000 Palestinians beyond the border into Egypt desperate for food and supplies, and has been referred to as "the biggest prison break in history."
Read more | Additional photos | Video: Stop the Siege on Gaza Now
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