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Initially, hundreds of demonstrators marched along two of the
freeway's four northbound lanes watched by lines of police. Some
carried crosses and others banged drums as they marched,
chanting slogans including "Black Lives Matter!" Later, the
protesters blocked traffic on all four lanes.
Illinois State Police said agreement was reached with organizers
of the protest to allow the demonstrators restricted access to
Interstate 94, known as the Dan Ryan Expressway, "to march
peacefully for their cause."
By mid-afternoon there were no arrests, police said.
Chicago leaders have long struggled to bring down its high
murder rate. Even though homicides fell 16 percent last year,
the third largest U.S. city still ranked No. 1 in murders, with
more than the combined total for New York and Los Angeles, the
two largest cities.
"This is not about just a march," one of the organizers of
Saturday's protest, Father Michael Pfleger, told a news
conference this week. "This is not about just an interruption of
traffic. This is about the violence in the city of Chicago."
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and civil rights
activist Jesse Jackson were among those who joined the march,
which was supported by the city's mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who said
on Friday that it was important to raise awareness.
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said on Saturday that the protest
had caused "chaos", and he called on Twitter for Emanuel to take
"swift and decisive action" so that Chicago residents could feel
safe.
Emanuel responded in a tweet: "It was a peaceful protest. Delete
your account."
(The story was refiled to fix a typographical error in the
second paragraph)
(Reporting by Miesha Miller in New York; Editing by Daniel
Wallis, Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)
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