Thousands of Chicago motorists had their right to free passage revoked on Saturday due to yet another leftist public temper tantrum.

Anti-gun activists with an assist from the Reverend Jesse Jackson successfully blocked off all northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway in a show of force that had the tacit blessing of Mayor Rahm Emanuel despite the inconvenience to his citizens. It was the latest example of how the political left has embraced punitive tactics against innocent people to intimidate officials into caving to their demands.

The expressed purpose of the highway blockage was to make a statement about the city’s horrific murder rate which has been driven by black on black violence and street gangs. Had it only been a protest to call for a stop to the bloodshed it would have had a legitimate basis (but no reason to block a major roadway) but as is so often the case with the organized weekly temper tantrums of the post-Obama era, there were demands for more “resources” for communities of color as well as better schools and more jobs although it stopped short of a call for reparations.

The protest was at least initially to have only blocked a part of the road but city officials caved and the entire northbound section was temporarily impassable. The marchers were bussed in for the occasion.

Michael J. O'Loughlin
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@MikeOLoughlin
Anti-violence protesters led by Father @MichaelPfleger march north on the Dan Ryan Expressway toward downtown #Chicago, chanting “Shut it down!” They want a meeting with young activists and Gov Rauner and Mayor Emanuel to discuss jobs, schools and gun violence #DanRyanShutDown

9:46 AM - Jul 7, 2018
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According to the Chicago Tribune “Protesters march on Dan Ryan, shut down all northbound lanes”:

Anti-violence demonstrators marched on the Dan Ryan Expressway on Saturday morning, eventually shutting down all northbound lanes after reaching an agreement with police on the scene.

Marchers initially occupied only the right lanes, with traffic able to travel past in the left lanes. But demonstrators stopped near 75th Street, where the Rev. Michael Pfleger and other organizers pressed the Illinois State Police for access to the entire expressway.

About an hour after the march began, at 11:30 a.m., police allowed protesters access to the entire expressway. Pfleger and fellow activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke with Chicago’s top cop Eddie Johnson and commanders with the Illinois State Police on the expressway near 75th Street, stating their desire and intention to shut down the entire expressway. The march morphed into a stationary protest as they waited for word on a resolution, chanting and banging drums.

Eventually, the line of Illinois State Police and Chicago police officers allowed the marchers access to the entire expressway, completely blocking northbound traffic.

AND

Before the shutdown, cars were allowed to pass through using the two outermost lanes and in some places, the single outermost lane.

Protesters were expected to march on the highway for about a mile and a half to 67th Street, but as the demonstrators marched north in the right lanes of the expressway near 75th Street, they came to a stop about 11 a.m. and expressed a desire to shut down the entire roadway.

Earlier, demonstrators gathered near 79th and State streets. Some hoisted signs that read “NO MORE DRUG WAR” and “NO GUNS,” with an illustration of a handgun crossed out. Another sign read “They Don’t Care About Us,” with pictures of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Bruce Rauner on each side. Some of them held up signs with the names of homicide victims. One person banged a drum.

The crowd also consisted of several elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, whose 15-year-old grandson Javon Wilson was shot and killed on the South Side in 2016.

That would be the same Rep. Danny Davis who praised hatemonger Louis Farrakhan as an “outstanding human being”

Governor Bruce Rauner took to Twitter to express his displeasure and singled out Mayor Emanuel.

Governor Rauner
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@GovRauner
This is unacceptable. We had clear parameters that allowed the protestors to be heard while respecting law and order. Instead, they chose instead to cause chaos.

10:00 AM - Jul 7, 2018
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Governor Rauner
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@GovRauner
· 4h
This is unacceptable. We had clear parameters that allowed the protestors to be heard while respecting law and order. Instead, they chose instead to cause chaos.

Governor Rauner
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@GovRauner
I’m disappointed in the Mayor. There was an agreement in place. I am calling on the Mayor to take swift and decisive action to put an end to this kind of chaos. I will work with him in good faith and urge him to do his job so that the people of Chicago feel safe.

10:00 AM - Jul 7, 2018
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Emanuel was defiant:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel
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@ChicagosMayor
It was a peaceful protest. Delete your account.

Governor Rauner
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@GovRauner
Replying to @GovRauner
I’m disappointed in the Mayor. There was an agreement in place. I am calling on the Mayor to take swift and decisive action to put an end to this kind of chaos. I will work with him in good faith and urge him to do his job so that the people of Chicago feel safe.

10:50 AM - Jul 7, 2018
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But the mob was praised by Parkland punks David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez, both of who have been getting a lot less airtime lately.

David Hogg
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@davidhogg111
.@GovRauner should care about the guns coming in from other states considering most guns used in Chicago crimes are found to have been trafficked in.

Illinois is more strict on fireworks than guns and the youth are the ones paying for it. @GovRauner help save lives #DanRyan

Shannon Watts
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@shannonrwatts
.@GovRauner - When will you sign the Combating Illegal Gun Trafficking Act? It’s the least you could do in light of today’s protest on the Dan Ryan: https://act.everytown.org/sign/act-now-stop-illegal-guns-illinois/?... … #twill https://twitter.com/govrauner/status/1015586081067192321 …

9:53 AM - Jul 7, 2018
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https://twitter.com/Emma4Change/status/1015620000491753472

According to one of the organizers, Rev. Michael Pfleger:

“When people keep ignoring you, you take it up a notch. … We are going to continue to take it up a notch until we get responses.”

The response may not be what Pfleger is anticipating because you can pretty much guarantee that every driver who was made late for work or an appointment as well as businesses won’t be voting Democrat as long as the intimidation of the mob is what the party endorses.

downtrend.com/donn-marten/leftist-mob-shuts-down-portion-of-major-chicago-highway/