RAVENSWOOD — The protest wasn't as large or as loud as Tuesday night’s, but activists chanting outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house gained at least one new supporter as they continued to press for police reform and for Emanuel to step down.
The protesters, who were small in numbers, chanted the slogans heard at other protests such as, “16 shots and a cover up,” “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Rahm’s got to go” and “CPD, KKK, How many children will you kill today?” among others Wednesday night in front of Emanuel’s Ravenswood home.
Lincoln Park resident Bryan Young said he saw footage of Tuesday night’s protest online and decided to come out to voice his opinions about Emanuel.
“I think Rahm is the wrong choice for the city. I think he’s only interested in feeding his own delusions of grandeur,” Young said. “Any talk of reform is just false talk. Any talk of changing things for the better is not possible with his leadership.”
This guy came out tonight because he got inspired by last night's protest. @DNAinfoCHI pic.twitter.com/4kZoknqv2L
— Evan F. Moore (@evanFmoore) December 30, 2015
While some stood in front of the mayor’s home, others headed to the alley behind it, where they believed the mayor would be returning home. Some of the protesters exchanged words with the police officers stationed in the alley, though it was a peaceful protest.
Behind MRE's house.@DNAinfoCHI pic.twitter.com/m8WXsvfzy8
— Evan F. Moore (@evanFmoore) December 31, 2015
George Alcorn was one of the protesters who spoke with the police in the alley. He also said that he had watched the mayor’s news conference earlier Wednesday afternoon detailing new police reform initiatives, including the doubling of the number of Tasers available.
“We’re tired of the babies dying and we got mothers answering the door and getting killed,” Alcorn said. ”The press conference was a bunch of baloney. [Emanuel] only started to care once we started to apply pressure.”
Edgewater resident Therese Quinn says she attended several other protests recently including the Black Friday protest. She believes the protests are gaining traction as time has gone on.
“I’ll keep coming until Rahm resigns,” Quinn said. “There’s a small group tonight. I’m not surprised because of the weather, but last night, there was a lot of energy and a lot of people showed up.”
During the protest, controversial teenage activist Lamon Reccord, who tweeted out Emanuel’s address to his Twitter followers, used his usual technique of staring down police officers — but this time, a minor scuffle ensued. Reccord was asked several times by police officers not to encroach onto private property. The teen has merited some support but also disagreement amongst activists who say his techniques are too confrontational.
Police/protesters have words with each other in front of MRE's house. @DNAinfoCHI pic.twitter.com/FiTT5NSBaJ
— Evan F. Moore (@evanFmoore) December 30, 2015
“It’s for Rahm to know how serious we really are. If it takes for me to go up on his property and go against the police, by all means, I will do it,” Reccord said. “He don’t take us serious enough. And now that’s why we’re out here fighting and protesting, shows that we want him out of office.”
Before that, he made several attempts to hug police officers as they took turns trying to stay warm in a nearby squad car, which at least one officer laughed off. He also said that he and other protesters plan to show up in front of the mayor’s home 14 more days to commemorate the 16 times Laquan McDonald was shot by police officer Jason Van Dyke.
“Now that we’ve come to his house, we’ve made it personal,” Reccord said. “You best believe we’ve got a part three, a part four, and a part five.”
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