Chicago police spokeswoman JoAnn Taylor says about 5,000 people marched through city streets Saturday to protest the war in Iraq. The Chicago war protest was just one of many protests taking place in U.S. cities on Saturday, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In Chicago, the thousands of protesters gathered at the Union Park and marched to the Federal Plaza. The streets were filled with labor and union members, retired military and veterans, clergy, parents and spouses of fallen soldiers, and citizens of all walks of life.
I'm thrilled that so many people are hitting the streets. Altogether, nationally, over 40,000 citizens were involved in organized anti-war protests on Saturday alone.
We have no business running around the Middle East like uncontrollable and inhumane bullies while our own children have inadequate education - and, our own healthcare system is underfunded and unavailable to one out of every six Americans.
One thing caught my attention from a speech made in the Chicago rally. According to estimates by the American Friends Service Committee there, money spent on just one day of the war -- $720 million -- could fund 12,478 elementary-school teachers, 1,153,846 school lunches and health care for 163,525 people.












