Mike Schramm

"Today is a war protest," Sixth District Police Commander John Doty says, gesturing towards the gathering of activists and signs gathered in Washington Park on the second anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. Police in riot gear have set up in groups on all four corners of the park, and state troopers wearing Kevlar and toting wooden truncheons file in to create barricades around the protest. Protestors had planned to march at noon on Michigan Avenue, but that permit was denied (to uphold "the normal flow of traffic," explains Doty), and they are only allowed as far as Walton and Dearborn. Still, the police are prepared, and Doty isn't worried: "It was bigger last year."

Soon a larger march of protesters reaches the park, escorted by a fleet of cops on horseback and a caravan of buses labeled "Illinois Department of Corrections." The police stand stoic as signs are toted around and photographed: "Let's bomb Texas, they have oil, too." "Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam." Chants come and disappear from all directions--one group yells "Whose streets? Our streets?" From another direction, there's "Kiev! Beirut! They didn't have a permit!"

At 1pm, one of the protesters gets up on a streetlamp with a megaphone and addresses the crowd of 200 or so. "This," he says to the assembled, "is what democracy looks like!" Now their decision is to either wait here to see if they can get on State Street, or continue back south to the legal protest at the Federal Building. An informal vote is held by shouting, and through all the commotion, it seems that the crowd can't figure out what they want to do. "This," the man laughs again through the megaphone, "is what democracy looks like."

(2005-03-22)

Also by Mike Schramm

Belting the Maintenance Blues
It's National Manufacturing Week at McCormick Place, and in between a demo of an industrial compactor and a booth that bills itself as "America's Leading Bearing Supplier," a man stands in front of a laptop and sings
(2005-03-15)

Game over?
The MSI's "Game On" exhibit has plenty of great video games on display, including "Adventure" on the Atari, the original version of "Pong" (with paddles), a six-player setup of "Bomberman" and one of three existing versions of the only Communist-created arcade game, "Poly Play." But here are four hard-to-find games you won't see at "Game On," or anywhere else unless you're lucky
(2005-03-08)

Spam and Cheese
In the Gallery Cabaret in Bucktown, about thirty people are making sculptures. Out of Spam
(2005-03-01)

Serving Kurtwood Smith
I went gaga over, of all people, Kurtwood Smith
(2005-02-22)

Not too many cooks
(2005-02-15)

Go West
(2005-02-15)

Curtain Call
(2005-02-08)

Cheap inspiration
(2005-01-11)

Umphrey's McGee
(2004-12-21)

Susan Werner
(2004-12-21)

Play with horses
(2004-12-14)

Game boys
(2004-12-07)

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