Chicagoans Occupy D.C., Representatives' Offices; Officials Avoid Demonstrators (VIDEO)

200 Chicagoans representing the Stand Up! Chicago coalition in Washington, D.C. visited Illinois representatives' offices in groups, seeking an audience to discuss issues including tax breaks, workers' rights and income inequality. Several elected officials, including Rep. Joe Walsh, Sen. Mark Kirk and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, refused to meet with the visiting Illinois residents, in some cases going to extremes to avoid confrontation.

In the video released by Stand Up! Chicago , Sen. Mark Kirk can be seen hiding in a copy room, Rep. Don Manzullo closes an elevator door on demonstrators and Rep. Joe Walsh leaves his office down a back staircase, ignoring questions and comments even though his staffers had promised he would meet with visitors, according to participants. Walsh later tweeted about the encounter:

"My office was invaded by Occupy Protesters & all I saw were $1000 laptops & vomit on the carpet. Thank God for #febreze."

Chicago's involvement was matched by representatives from 46 states who visited the offices of 99 Congressmen to discuss inequality issues in alignment with the Occupy movement, according to a Stand Up! Chicago release.

The ongoing "Take Back the Capitol" movement involved sit-ins in the offices of officials who were unresponsive, teach-ins on issues pertaining to the Occupy movement and a march down K Street, where private interests have often lobbied for Congressional support.

On Wednesday, more than five dozen protesters were arrested after K Street was shut down, the Associated Press reports. Sixty-one demonstrators were cited for obstructing the highway and one participant was charged with a misdemeanor for assaulting a police officer.

Many Chicagoans participating are unemployed. Andy Gebel, 56, who has been unemployed for over two years and formerly worked at a call center, has been living on Social Security disability benefits after running out of unemployment insurance shortly after undergoing a liver transplant last year.

"I'd like to see some kind of commitment from [Rep. Walsh] to not cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid," said Gebel, who is unable to afford medical insurance and hopes to receive Medicare benefits in the future. "[Congress] needs to start caring about the majority of the people, not the majority of the money."

 

 

Comments

[James George]

12:00 AM on 12/10/2011

When the Occupy movement wakes up to the reality that these non-value producing paper shufflers have no control over anything is when they can start to understand what has really happened. We have our politicians left with nothing but a printing press, they have driven all those who produce and create jobs out of the country with their over burdening laws and unions. They are powerless to change or do anything to bring us back home, and Honestly... We have no interest in being infested by a bunch of American parasites. Americans must wake up to the new reality... one where a guy with a PHD in India is very happy to work a 60 hour week for $500.00 a month and meanwhile the corrupt American Education system will sell you a PHD for the nice tune of $150,000.00 and you will be paying $500.00 a month to pay it off for the next 25 years, but with what job? So Americans better go back to the drawing board, wake up out of their religious fantasy land and LEARN to deal with the new World Reality.

[Rjchinook]

11:08 AM on 12/10/2011

I think you need to wake it to the fact that we aren't powerless and we are in the process of changing your so called hopeless reality.

[ChicagoKnowsBest]

11:17 AM on 12/09/2011

As many life time politicians have told me, once you start actually believing your own BS you are toast politically....case in point Joe Walsh. Vote Raja!

[occupythepress]

08:35 AM on 12/09/2011

When representatives ignore those who they are supposed to represent, they are not doing their job.

[olliesmom115]

10:29 AM on 12/09/2011

They haven't been doing their job for YEARS. It's time to do away with congress altogether.

[Payned]

05:21 PM on 12/08/2011

At last they're actually going somewhere that has something to do with their problems. It's about time, because they spent yesterday making life miserable for all of us. Do more of this, and less crippling of our infrastructure. Why aren't you Occupying Southern Winnetka? Or Occupying Kenilworth, for crying out loud? Why our city? Go home and plague the 1% who live in your #2 most exclusive neighborhood in the country!

[blurredmolly]

05:24 PM on 12/08/2011

huh?

[Payned]

06:08 PM on 12/08/2011

To spell it out clearly: The #2 most exclusive, opulent neighborhood in the US is a Chicago suburb. And yet a flood of Chicago hooligans came here and made life miserable for the working folk in DC rather than Occupy the wealthy areas in their own state. They crippled our infrastructure and they are monopolizing our police force, destroying our parks, and wrecking local businesses, rather than actually taking their complaints to anyone who has anything to do with their problems.

They should be taking their state government to task, it is their state representatives that are involved in lawmaking, not the people who live and work in the DC metro area. DC doesn't even have any representation in Congress.

[mondogarage]

04:30 PM on 12/08/2011

Joe Walsh won't even pay court-ordered child support for his own flesh and blood, what makes anyone think he have even a whit of compassion for anyone else? His name is rightly pronoucned "Joe Welsh".

That his office is covered in vomit speaks to how he makes his own office staff feel having to come to work for him every day.

[Katie Wray]

04:09 PM on 12/08/2011

"you stepped on me earlier, you know"
that sums up a lot about the current state of the US Gov't.

[ChicagoDMT]

04:03 PM on 12/08/2011

Joe Walsh will be making an announcement as to which district he'll be running for Congress at 7:00 p.m. tonight at the Cubby Bear bar at 1059 W. Addison, Chicago.

If you're in the area why not stop by and ask him what he thinks about men who shirk their parental responsibilities.

[race1840]

05:30 PM on 12/08/2011

So is Cubby Bear bar in either of the districts he is thinking about running in?

[Romano54]

03:28 PM on 12/08/2011

All politicians want is your vote and then for you to go away! Blago was the only one that liked to talk - a lot! All that got him was a jail stint. Perhaps we can get him a roomate from our group of local, state and national elected officials.

[amerifun]

03:23 PM on 12/08/2011

These are not representatives of the people. They work only for the 1% er's.

[Martha Fair]

03:09 PM on 12/08/2011

Run Run Run cowards run. Hurry...call your brokers at lunch and tell them to buy in to both shopping carts and high-end residential alarm systems.

[tonewheel]

02:49 PM on 12/08/2011

OK ®'s. YOU put these people in office. Proud of yourselves?

[2manchew]

02:46 PM on 12/08/2011

It took them long enough to find out the correct place to be protesting.

[Kommonman]

01:52 PM on 12/08/2011

Of course they ran or avoided the protestors....While I am uncertain as to their political leaning it is obvious from the video they wanted no part of the demonstrators or their questions...What ever their affiliation this should be boradcasted in Illinois over and over to show the electorate just what kind of men these legislators are...When the common man has no access to the halls of power...to call into account his or her elected representative then the nation falls to the tyranny of the corrupt...Go OWS Protestors go..Make the politicians uncomfortable everyday. Make them see you faces....your voices...your votes, as only you can force them to act on our collective behalf.

[stav506]

05:15 PM on 12/08/2011

Here's a clue as to their political leanings . . . think Chamomile, English Breakfast, Earl Grey . . .

[Humanitari Leandro]

01:29 PM on 12/08/2011

so lovely to see cowards run away

[pmc617]

01:27 PM on 12/08/2011

Our courageous elected officials! Kirk has not cast a single "independent" vote in the Senate, nor will he for the next 5 years.