Activists Stage Sit-In At Kluczynski Federal Building

By aaroncynic in News on Nov 10, 2012 9:00PM

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist

Yesterday 19 demonstrators were arrested at the Kluczynski Federal Building for staging a sit-in in both Senator Dick Durbin's office and the lobby of the building. Hundreds of people marched from Pritzker Park and rallied outside the building to support more than three dozen demonstrators who were in the lobby. A coalition of several groups, organized by an umbrella organization called IIRON, were seeking a meeting with Senator Durbin to demand opposition for another extension of the Bush tax cuts and support for the passage of HR 6411, the Financial Transaction Tax (known as the “Robin Hood Tax”).

Pastor Michael Russell of the Jubilee Faith Committee in Country Club Hills said, “Now that the elections are over, Congress will be going back to Washington D.C. to address what we call a fiscal cliff. The U.S. fiscal cliff refers to the effects of a series of recent laws which if unchanged, will result in tax increases, spending cuts, and a corresponding reduction in the budget deficit.”

“This is the choice we face...the choice of revenue from those who can afford to pay versus cuts to our communities,” said Toby Chow from Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL). “We have encountered this choice before. Time after time in this country the interests of the wealthy few have triumphed over the needs of the many. Is this what you voted for on Tuesday?”

Senator Durbin refused to meet with any of the demonstrators, and those who chose to stay in the lobby and his office were arrested, processed and issued citations.