Tea Party Chicago: Hundreds Of Tax Day Protesters Rally Downtown (VIDEO)

HuffPost has comprehensive coverage of the Tax Day Tea Party protests. Click here for the latest photos and video from protests around the country. Scroll down to the end of the AP article for UPDATED VIDEO from the Chicago Tea Party.

Click here to read about the Chicago Young Republicans' reenactment of the Boston Tea Party on a Lake Michigan tall ship.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Two years ago Peggi Huiskens was laid off from her advertising job and since then has only found part-time work. On Wednesday, she and her husband joined hundreds of other protesters in Chicago, decrying what they called excessive government spending since President Barack Obama took office.

"I'd like to see no more taxes," the 49-year-old from Evanston said. "Stop spending. Give us a break for a while."

On the day income taxes were due, hundreds of people attended rallies across the state, from Chicago and its suburbs to Peoria and Marion in far southern Illinois. They were modeled after the original Boston Tea Party and planned across the country, promoted by FreedomWorks, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington.

In Chicago, the crowd cheered, waved American flags and chanted "USA! USA! USA!" as speakers talked about high taxes and government bailouts.

Laura Kotelman, 37, a Chicago business developer, said Cook County's high sales taxes brought her out for the protest. Shoppers in Chicago pay a cumulative 10.25 percent levy - the highest of any major U.S. city.

"It's a huge burden on regular people," said Kotelman, who says she will sometimes shop in the suburbs and Wisconsin to avoid the levy. "People are out of work and the every-day things they need to buy are being taxed."

Ronald Boetto said he drove 75 miles from Marseilles in LaSalle County to participate in the Chicago rally.

"What made this country great is capitalism and we're moving away from that direction," he said.

Angel Garcia, 32, an investigator from Chicago, held a sign that said "No more bailouts! No new taxes!"

"I'm still young enough that these policies will affect us for generations to come," Garcia said. "I hope politicians will listen and see that we're serious."

About 500 people gathered on the steps of City Hall in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, some wearing tea bags pinned to their clothing or tied around shirt buttons.

"I'm doing all the right things and I feel like we're getting punished," said Pat Fee, 54, president of the Naperville Area Republican Women's Organization, which sponsored the rally.

In Bloomington, protesters shouted, "Stop spending now." In Peoria, rally-goers sang "God Bless America" and said the Pledge of Allegiance.

Just under 400 people rallied on the steps of the state Capitol in Springfield, where speakers asked protesters to call lawmakers and speak up whenever they could about their spending and political views.

"I know in my house when we run out of money we have to stop spending," said rally attendee Terri Miller, 35, of Hillsboro. "I really wish we'd run the government like we run our homes."

Even federal lawmakers turned out for the protest. After attending the "tea party" in Springfield, U.S. Rep. John Shimkus - a Collinsville Republican - said Obama and congressional leaders "have crafted a budget that spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much."

"Today's tea parties exemplify what's great about the United States - citizens gathering peacefully to express their dissatisfaction with their government," Shimkus said. "I join them in saying no to outrageous spending and never-ending debt."

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Chicago Democrat, said in a statement that the protests were "an effort to mislead the public about the Obama economic plan" and called them "a shameful political stunt."

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Associated Press writers Andrea Zelinski in Springfield and Jim Suhr in St. Louis contributed to this report.

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Video from the Chicago Tea Party

Mancow Addressing The Crowd

Comments

[concerned60654]

10:48 PM on 04/16/2009

I noticed that they all forgot their white pointy hats at home.

[jhoski]

10:23 PM on 04/16/2009

Chicago police reported 2500, it looked bigger on TV.
Alanta over 20,000.
Austin over 20,000.

Conservative estimates for the nation range on the low side at 350,000.
Hundreds of cities.

Mainstream media is reporting low numbers trying to dismiss the opinions and burying the stories which is news in and of itself. They put 100 man rallies on the front page all the time if it aligns with their politics.

Can't wait till Forth of July!

[BushBites]

05:22 PM on 04/16/2009

Hundreds?

Out of a metropolitan area of 9 million?

If they were a band, they'd be Flock of Seagulls.

[dynwitch]

03:42 PM on 04/16/2009

If these guys were really that concerned about passing on debt to the next generation, they would all be screaming for a tax increase. How else do they think we'll pay off G eorge W. Bus h's $11trillion national debt? It's not going to magic ally disappear when Har ry Pot ter waves his "tax cut" wand. The fiscally responsible (and pat riotic) thing would be for all of us to pay more taxes now so our kids don't have to pay later.

[Tom Justice]

04:44 PM on 04/16/2009

Better yet, spend less in the first place.

[Tom Justice]

05:01 PM on 04/16/2009

Better yet, spend less in the first place.

Obama was, if you'll recall, a member of the legislative body that proffered the 3 previous pork laden and irresponsible budgets. The assertion that he has no fault in the current economic climate is simply a fallacy.

Bush v1, Clinton, Bush v2, Obama and the congressional bodies serving during their respective administrations share equal guilt.

[joebftsplk]

03:32 PM on 04/16/2009

I would agree that Texas should secede and all those silly uninformed protesters go there, except that would make it easier for the gun trade with Mexico.

[stav506]

04:29 PM on 04/16/2009

Nah, we'd jsut build the biorder fence along the OK-TX border instead. It's much smaller than the TX - Mexico one. They can build there own fence w/ Mexico.

[BushBites]

05:30 PM on 04/16/2009

They can have Oklahoma too.

[deermudra]

03:31 PM on 04/16/2009

I read a semi-prominent conspiracy theory site (mainly for the UFO "news", guilty pleasure...) and the right-wingers have been wildly upset ever since the election. Most of them seemed pretty unhinged, I'm relieved if some or all of them have found a non-violent outlet for their displeasure.

I may not get the whole tea bag thing but I think it's very nice for them to have a place to express themselves publicly without hurting anyone.

[Tom Justice]

03:15 PM on 04/16/2009

San Jose Tea Party.

Never been to a protest before.

I was pretty excited about this in the days preceding but on the way started having doubts. "What if there are only 7-8 angry old white dudes? ", "Well what if a bunch of the Code-Pinkos or those anarchist knuckleheads show up to cause trouble?”

Turns out my misgivings were totally unfounded.

The event was held at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose, right at the intersection of downtowns busiest streets. The event ran from 5-7. The event began at five because quite frankly, most people upset about excess taxation and reckless Government spending have jobs. Despite starting at the peak of south bay traffic I'd guess 700-1000 people came out. Not a bad turnout.

It was cool, everyone was well behaved, there wasn't the slightest hint of any kind of hate speech or or the kind of silliness we've come to expect from protests over the last few years. Contrary to Speaker Pelosi’s comments this was not partisan and it was not Republican it was a broad mix of Americans joining together to peacefully voice their displeasure with the State of our Union, excessive punitive taxation, reckless spending and the erosion of liberty.

I submitted this writeup and photos earlier, I hope they get posted. The signs and the faces tell the story best.

[Lakeview Greg]

03:09 PM on 04/16/2009

I should say this. If people want to protest, fine. This is Chicago, where protests and rabble rousing speeches are a time honored way of life. And when a protest is organized over a long period of time, as this was, there are usually a lot more people showing up. Hell, the anarchists draw a few hundred every year on May Day. Not much worse than Fox and this. And pretty good for the anarchists, since they are not really organized.

So, all in all, by protest standards, this one was a flop. Just a flop.

[mergina]

02:51 PM on 04/16/2009

So much asinine hatred.

[RedEric]

02:37 PM on 04/16/2009

Why this revolt? Short answer: politicans are addicted to power. We the People are conducting an intervention. Meanwhile, the Left is aghast their Chosen One is not universally loved, and so they counter attack, in the most vile ways. Obviously, when the Left claims the moral and intellectual high ground, the rest of us laugh.

http://allanerickson.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/just-when-you-think-the-left-cant-go-any-lower/

[Y3rMawm]

02:31 PM on 04/16/2009

You are watching clips that the media is spoon feeding you, of only "conservatives." The idiotic ones mostly. The guy with the Hitler/Fascist sign was way out of line, and couldn't even define fascism. There were plenty of folks present from various walks of life in various locations throughout the country. Had you bothered to attend, and get involved, you might have noticed the general unity against government.

We are broke, and more debt to fund inefficient monopolistic govt programs will never fix the problem. What govt provides, govt sets the rules of use. You want Healthcare? It won't be free, and neither will you. They WILL TELL YOU what you can/cannot eat, drink, or smoke.

Tax Breaks? Oh boy $400, that you will have to pay taxes on at the state level? That makes sense. Wouldn't you rather keep the money in your pockets in the first place? You could afford to pay for a good school that would teach what you want your children to learn. You could afford to pay for medical care by doctors that understand nutrition, rather than drug co peddlers.

Govt is not the solution. Individuals getting involved, and asserting their rights is.

[stav506]

02:44 PM on 04/16/2009

Do you have proof that the government will tell us what we can't eat or drink and that we can't smoke? Or is that some thing the "voices coming from the radio box" have told you.

The medical companies already tell our doctors what they can provide for us based upon the cost. Some bean counter is telling my doctor what is the cost effective way to treat me, not my doctor giving me the best treatment available. And that's if you're lucky to have insurance.

[mjtaylor22]

02:20 PM on 04/16/2009

we just had 8 years of no governance, do nothign government, always on vacation government.
remember katrina, remember the mississippis floods, and pls remember galveston tx is still in shambles.
that is no /less govt for ya
ALL THESE FOLKS GOT THEIR TALKIGN POINTS FROM FOX NEWS.
IT IS SO OBVIOUS RANTING N RAVING SPEWING HATRED FOR NOTHING BUT SOUND BYTES

[mjtaylor22]

02:13 PM on 04/16/2009

without the bailouts citi and bof a and aig
would have destroyed our economy, they have their hands in everything. previous deregulation allowed them to get too big to fail. i do not like propping up the banks but our nations economy is so dependent on credit instead of actual incomes, that wages went down the last 8 years while the credit markets defrauded the public into shady credit contracts, mortgage borkers made unethical loans, adn the banks bought them then insured agaisnt default via AIG.

[stav506]

02:12 PM on 04/16/2009

I've seen more people in the area around the Picasso for the holiday booths set-up during Christmas time, and that's in zero or below weather.

[howcome]

02:06 PM on 04/16/2009

Jim Houlihan , one of your beloved Democrats in Chcago just proposed raising the sales tax ON FOOD AND SERVICES .