CHICAGO (AP) — The early morning arrests of 175
members of a group demonstrating against corporate greed signified a new phase
of civil disobedience for Chicago's wing of the movement, organizers said
Sunday.
The arrests came after hundreds of members of
Occupy Chicago refused to take down tents and leave Grant Park near the city's
lakefront when it closed at 11 p.m. Saturday. Organizers did not seek a permit
to be in the park after hours, saying they stayed because they need a home base
for the growing movement.
"It was very much a choice and
calculated," said Randy Powell, a 27-year-old student at the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago who was arrested. "I feel like I had to."
Those arrested were cited with violating municipal
code — being in the park after hours — and will have future court dates, police
said. Several released from jail rested at a downtown church Sunday morning,
taking a few moments to sleep or drink hot tea before heading back to a protest
in the city's financial district.
Similar groups nationwide have set up bases in city
parks with officials often working to accommodate them.
Occupy Iowa members reached a deal with Des Moines'
mayor Friday to move from the state Capitol to a city park, avoiding arrests.
Plans to temporarily evict New York protesters from a park so the grounds could
be power-washed were postponed at the request of political leaders.
But Chicago protesters said they've had no such
luck with Chicago officials. Some organizers said they haven't had encouraging
conversations with city officials, but they haven't applied for permits either.
"We believe we have the right as an
international movement to secure a space where we can interact with the public
and grow our occupation," organizer Rachael Perrotta said Sunday.
A message left for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's
office wasn't immediately returned
Occupy Chicago began its protest more than 20 days
ago as a spinoff of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City. The group
started small, with about 20 to 25 people a day holding homemade signs outside
the U.S. Federal Bank building.
The group has since grown steadily, with about 100
to 150 people attending the group's daily general assembly meetings, and
protesters say thousands attended some of the larger rallies. A website informs
members about upcoming meetings, marches and other events. It has a Facebook
page with more than 23,000 likes, and a Twitter handle with more than 14,000
followers.
The group's sudden growth has made volunteers
revamp their organization in recent days. They have committees that handle
issues ranging from dwindling supplies to housing concerns.
"If we're going to continue this we need to
stake out a home base," said protester Karen Looney, 26.
The movement has spread to other parts of Illinois.
Demonstrations were held Saturday in Peoria and Springfield, where hundreds
chanted and marched through downtown streets. The mostly liberal Peoria group
included some supporters of Texas Republican and presidential candidate Ron
Paul, a favorite of libertarians.
The scene in Chicago late Saturday night was
described as energetic after a demonstration that organizers say drew at least
2,000 people earlier in the day. Protesters linked arms to form a human chain
and yelled "The whole world is watching!" as the event was streamed
online and tweeted.
Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said there
were no reports of violence.
Police offered individual protesters the choice of
leaving or being arrested. The arrests started shortly before 2 a.m., and
without enough police cars and wagons, officers put protesters on Chicago
Transit Authority buses to take them to jail. Most were released by Sunday
morning.
David Orlikoff, 22, of Chicago, was among those
arrested. The Columbia College student said the group doesn't intend to provoke
a confrontation but will use civil disobedience "when we feel it's
appropriate."
He said he's disappointed Emanuel didn't intervene
to allow the protest to continue. When police reached him, Orlikoff said he had
to make a decision.
"I thought that I believed in it and I was the
one who was there doing it and who else was going to get arrested but me?"
he said.
Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson
contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
