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* Please keep it Illinois-centric and be nice to each other. Thanks.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:02 am

Comments

Rich, the password doesn’t seem to be working. Sorry.

Comment by Lt Guv Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:05 am
Kudos to Danville, IL. Peaceful protest. No property destruction. No looting. Great job.

Comment by Downstate Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:07 am
A few of thoughts…conservative friends have expressed frustration that people can gather in legitimate protests but cannot gather for large celebrations. A few moderate friends have expressed interest in becoming gun owners for the first time. And liberal friends are frustrated that their valid message is being hijacked by professional looters.

Comment by Suburbs Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:28 am
There is either a massive wave of COVID hospitalizations in 2-3 weeks in IL or there won’t be and we can move to stage 5 based on all the activity over the weekend.

Comment by Logical Thinker Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:38 am
Please pray for our city and region. For those of us who live here and love it, a functional Chicago is essential both for our present and for our children’s future.

Comment by Responsa Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:41 am
There are a lot of places where I’m really glad I don’t live right now.
Our neighborhood civil unrest last night was a raccoon looting the bird feeder and the noise of a neighbor baling hay with a tractor and a noisy baler until after 9pm.

Comment by Tequila Mockingbird Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:53 am
“be nice to each other”

Respectfully, anyone who singles out looters and completely ignores the root cause, the never-ending callous institutional police brutality and racism against African-Americans, helps perpetuate the problem

Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:54 am
I agree with Grandson

Comment by Cheryl44 Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 9:58 am
This was the worst weekend for America that I have ever seen (middle aged). Everyone lost. Peaceful black protesters were hijacked by anarchist of many skin colors. Everything piled on the media over the past three plus years showed up in one fateful weekend being targeted by police.

The cops lost. Good ones (the majority) can’t make up for the ones who egg protests on and fire rubber bullets at clearly marked media members and folks on their porch. Not to mention the wanton killing of black citizens over the years.

I don’t know if this is what part of the 60’s looked and felt like but its hard to believe in american exceptionalism right now.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 10:06 am
Here in Central Illinois, Danville and Springfield had peaceful, large protests. It was beautiful. I almost cried, watching it on the news.

Champaign had looting at the mall and N. Prospect shopping district. In the early news footage, I think I saw some Unit 4 teachers trying to calm things down.

Rantoul police, in “an abundance of caution”, closed every establishment in village limits.

In Champaign and Urbana, all grocery stores closed before 7 p.m. Target announced they were paying all employees whose shifts were cancelled because of looting.

In Urbana, we had 8 Sheriff’s cars around the courthouse, and the deputies were out on the sidewalk. 2 30-something women were on the sidewalk north of the courthouse with their kids, engaging in peaceful protest. An officer was stationed on top of the downtown jail.

A small group (students?) marched down Green Street at 10 p.m. They shut down various intersections.

Both towns had curfews.

Savoy Walmart closed by mid-afternoon. They must have been scared about the folks from Tolono, because they’ll arrest 10 black people who try to gather in Savoy, no matter how peaceful they are.

Comment by Lynn S. Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 10:07 am
== Here in Central Illinois, Danville and Springfield had peaceful, large protests. It was beautiful. I almost cried, watching it on the news. ==

I watched a live Facebook video feed while also listing to the police scanner. Everybody deserves credit for keeping the lid on.

But … while acknowledging the protests were mostly peaceful and nothing like the violence a lot of cities saw, there were some minor incidents in Springfield by a few troublemakers; a bit of scattered vandalism / a few attempted and successful car break-ins along the protest route, and 2 people shot at a large block party that may not have been associated with the protesters.

Comment by RNUG Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 10:17 am
It would be great to get a list of black-owned businesses in Springfield. Would like to support

Comment by Jagged Little IL Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 10:25 am
This is a watershed moment for our country. It should be. What we did in the past obviously failed, if we keep repeating the same or similar injustices, over and over.

Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 10:35 am
Just be safe. Treat others with the same respect you want.

If enough people strive for the right change, and work together, we can be better and live up to the ideas of a United States. It starts at the individual and grows to all of us.

Comment by FormerParatrooper Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 11:19 am
This is what I was afraid of … 1968 redux.
In the 1968 Chicago King riots, they burned their own neighborhoods down and many never recovered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCZ-m6CWraU

This time is different. There are definitely at least two groups here - the peaceful protestors and the “others.”
The question is: who are the others?

Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 11:32 am
“”I don’t know if this is what part of the 60’s looked and felt like”"

Yes

Comment by walker Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 11:38 am
Eric Zorn put it well: “It feels like the US. is experiencing 1918, 1929, and 1968 all at once.”

Comment by Proud Papa Bear Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 11:45 am
I feel great sadness. Thought we were past this.

Police need to police themselves. Until the police get rid of their bad apples, this will continue.

Peaceful protesters need to stop the trouble makers in the crowds. Police have been ineffective.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 12:50 pm
I’d go along with Zorn nailing it.

And the saddest part of all this?

The kids who didn’t pay attention in history class and who bragged about how much they didn’t learn are holding lots of levers in D.C.

Comment by Lynn S. Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 1:27 pm
I heard Springfield was not all that quiet. People tried to get into Walmart on South 6 and a group busted a door/glass at a bank on 11th. A bunch of places locked down early.

Comment by Peanut Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 3:53 pm
===I heard===

Get. Off. Facebook.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Jun 1, 20 @ 3:55 pm