Anti-violence protesters want to shut down Chicago freeway

CHICAGO (AP) – Protesters planning to shut down a major Chicago interstate say they’re trying to pressure public officials to address the gun violence that’s claimed hundreds of lives in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

There’s also a historical significance to marching along the stretch of Interstate 94 known as the Dan Ryan Expressway. Some believe the roadway was built in the early 1960s to separate white communities and poor, black ones. It was the kind of racial and economic segregation that still exists in Chicago.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger is a Roman Catholic priest and anti-violence activist on the city’s South Side who will lead Saturday’s march. He says protesters will carry a banner with a list of demands that includes: more resources, jobs, better schools and stronger gun laws.

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