Illinois Senators Disagree Over 'Occupy' Protests, Kirk Calls Movement 'Unintellectual'
Illinois' two U.S. senators this week addressed the continuing Occupy Wall Street demonstrations that have only continued to grow in their home state in recent weeks. Expectedly, the two have differing perspectives on the protests.
Republican Senator Mark Kirk said on Monday that the ongoing series of Occupy Chicago demonstrations, which this weekend led to a reported 175 arrests in Grant Park, "feels like undisciplined, unfocused, unintellectual anger," as WBEZ reports.
Kirk further warned that, if the occupiers' demands were met by Congress, the country "would have a deep depression and millions of Americans would be out of work."
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin had a very different take on the protests. Durbin told the Chicago News Cooperative that while the protests "are unfocused in terms of an agenda," he felt "they’ve tapped a public sentiment that is concerned about the inequality of wealth in America and the struggles of working families as well as the power of Wall Street."
Durbin still added, however, that it is "a difficult task to draw together all of this emotion and all of this political sentiment into an agenda."
Meanwhile, Occupy Chicago demonstrators are on the lookout for a new home as they vow to continue their protests beyond their original base, the Federal Reserve Bank on the corner of LaSalle and Jackson, where they have been forced to maintain a consistently mobile presence. They are hoping to identify a location allowing them to campout, particularly as colder temperatures begin to work against them.
On Monday, more than 200 protesters marched to Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd)'s Ward service office, as Fox Chicago reports. The demonstrators are requesting 24-hour access to Grant Park and other parts of the city's downtown area. Fioretti has remained mum on the issue, except for describing the protesters' request for a permit as part of a "very interesting Ward Night" on his Facebook profile.
The protesters have also reportedly reached out to the billionaire Pritzker family, asking if they would allow protesters to set up their camp in Pritzker Park, across the street from the Harold Washington Library, according to Michael Sneed in the Chicago Sun-Times. No word yet on the Pritzkers' response.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who previously said that although he felt the ongoing protest was "understandable," he did not agree with its solutions, addressed the 175 weekend arrests at Grant Park via his Facebook page on Monday. The mayor said that police continue to be in constant communication with police, who warned protesters they would be arrested if they stayed in the park beyond its closing time. "It is the obligation of police to enforce the law," Emanuel continued.
Tuesday marked the 26th day of Occupy Chicago's ongoing protest. View photos from Saturday evening's massive Grant Park campout below:
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First Posted: 10/19/11 12:35 PM ET Updated: 12/18/11 05:12 AM ET