Occupy Chicago, City Lawyers to Discuss Home Base for Protests

By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 27, 2011 2:30PM

With police taking a more assertive role engaging Occupy protests across the nation, including an increased presence at the Federal Reserve Building in the wake of First Lady Michelle Obama's visit to Chicago, Occupy Chicago's legal representation and Chicago's Corporation Counsel are set to meet today to discuss a permanent site of operations for Occupy Chicago.

A press release from Occupy Chicago sent to media reads:

“Last Friday, our General Assembly voted to empower our legal representatives, the National Lawyer’s Guild (NLG), to meet with City authorities, says Cathy “Sugar” Russell from Occupy Chicago. “We have seen comments from City Hall in the press, claiming we refuse to work with them. This is not true. Last week, we invited the Mayor and his staff to attend our General Assembly, and they declined. We are dedicated to open discourse, and securing a permanent home for our movement.”

One of the objectives of Occupy Chicago's marches to Grant Park the past two weekends has been to secure a permanent base of operations. But framing the need for a permanent base as a First Amendment rights issue has led some observers to contend the Occupy movement is losing sight of their protest. We see that as an improvement over initial reactions to the Occupy movement as not having a cohesive message. What a difference a month makes, eh?

As Aaroncynic noted in his post yesterday, a meeting between the two sides is long overdue. With eyes across the nation on the harsh reaction of Oakland Police to Occupy Oakland, where an Iraq War veteran was critically injured by a tear gas canister, a resolution that establishes a permanent base of operations for Occupy Chicago can be seen as a positive for solidarity movements across the nation and, for a fleeting moment, deflect the spotlight away from a Chicago Police Department that has so far not made headlines for using excessive force on the protesters.