Illinois Capitol Building Served Eviction Notice by Occupy Groups

[Willinois]

Several Occupy Illinois groups came together Saturday in Springfield for Occupy Your State Capital Day. I've been to enough protest rallies that it gets routine, but this event had some of the most exciting, energetic moments I've seen at any grass-roots political event.

A WAND TV reporter posted a short video that gives a feel for the day.



It started with reading a proclamation from Occupy Wall Street. Then several Occupy groups from central Illinois, including Occupy Peoria, were given a chance at the mic. Bloomington-Normal brought a large delegation and had someone sing a great song on banjo.

Next came the first reading of an eviction notice delivered to the lobbyists for the 1% and their servants in elected office who currently occupy the Illinois Capitol Building. It reflects that the same issues raised by the Wall Street Occupiers exist in Illinois state government. Rather than a request for temporary fixes, it's an indictment of a broken, corrupted political system that's largely unresponsive to the 99%.



The group then went on the march by downtown Springfield banks, including Chase, Bank of America, and US Bank. I started taking lo-fi cell phone picks as they arrived back at the Capitol grounds.



They marched to the front steps of the Capitol Building to deliver a notice of eviction at the door.



The eclectic crowd included union members, boomer hippies, young veterans, and everyone in between. The eviction was read again by a representative from AFSCME using "the people's mic."



After the reading, an energized group marched up the final steps to leave the notice at the door. It was a beautiful moment of the people demanding government represent them again. I wasn't sure what would happen next when a few people knocked on the door as the crowd shouted, "Who's house? Our House!"



The group eventually went back to the Lincoln statue for an open mic period. Occupy BloNo went up front as a group for another statement.



The whole event lasted almost three hours altogether. Radio show host Greg Bishop has a longer video with some highlights. It starts with Occupy BloNo's awesome banjo song. The reading of the eviction notice before the crowd stormed up the Capitol steps starts at the 7:45 point.



Saturday night, Occupy Springfield began a physical, round the clock occupation in view of three national bank offices. Stop by and see them on the South side of the Old State Capitol Plaza.

[JeffR]

Nice job capturing the feel of the event in words and pictures. The videos help too. Best wishes to Occupy Springfield!

[jaxx]

Very effective Occupy Springfield! The eviction notice against the door.....huge.

Thanks Willinois, for the post and the presence at the rally.

[Willinois]

(10-30-2011 07:27 PM)jaxx Wrote:  Very effective Occupy Springfield! The eviction notice against the door.....huge.

Thanks Willinois, for the post and the presence at the rally.

It was beautiful political theater and a moving moment. People loved it.

[There Is No Spoon]

I like the eviction notice. It nicely encapsulates the theme of the OWS movement while incorporating specific examples related to this particular non-functional legislature. Our system is so corrupted by money/lobbyists (AKA, Republicans) that it can no longer function as required by our Constitution.