Chicago officials said Thursday they approved the first parade permit to protesters ahead of meetings set for May of the leading industrial nations and sought to quell critics' concerns that proposed changes to city laws will step on demonstrators' First Amendment rights.
The back-to-back G-8 and NATO summits will be held in Chicago May 19-21 – the first time in more than three decades a city has hosted both meetings – and tens of thousands of protesters are expected to greet the expected 7,500 delegates from up to 80 nations. Costs for the event could reach $65 million, officials said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's challenge is to keep order and showcase the city to the world, while also allowing protesters with varying agendas to have a voice. Top aides to the mayor promised Thursday that the city would protect protesters' freedoms and even go so far as to provide plenty of portable toilets and sound amplification systems to them.
"As the city of Chicago issues permits for these events, we stand is strong support of the applicant organizations' First Amendment right to protest," Emanuel said in a statement.
...
So far, two groups have submitted four requests for permits for protest events, and Emanuel's office announced the approval of the first such permit Thursday. It went to the Coalition Against the NATO/G-8 War and Poverty Agenda, also called CANG8.
City officials said Thursday they'll approve two other permits soon, one for a rally planned by CANG8 and another for an event planned by National Nurses United, the nation's largest nurses union. A fourth permit request, also from the nurses group, will be denied because it conflicts with CANG8's Daley Plaza event, officials said, but they'll work to find the nurses an alternative site.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/nato-g8-in-chicago-more-d_n_1203429.html?ref=chicago
= new reply since forum marked as read
