Chicago, IL – “Not another Libya! Hands off Syria!” chanted the crowd as they picketed against war June 26. The protesters mobilized in response to the events of recent days, such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s lie about Russia sending attack helicopters and then Turkey’s convening of a NATO meeting after a Turkish fighter jet was shot down over Syrian territory.

State’s Attorney refuses again to present evidence

Chicago, IL – Three of the young men arrested in the days before the NATO summit appeared in court here, June 12. Charged with “material support for terrorism, possession of an incendiary device and conspiracy,” Jared Chase, Brent Betterly and Brian Jacob Church have been held for nearly a month on $1.5 million bail each. They expected to be able to see the evidence against them, such as police reports, a search warrant and an affidavit.

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced June 1 that union members will take a strike authorization vote starting on June 6. The bargaining committee for the teachers is looking for at least 75% of the CTU members to vote yes. This will deliver a powerful message to the Board of Education to actually negotiate with teachers.

Chicago, IL- Cathleen Jensen is an occupational therapist at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center and she is on strike.

Chicago, IL – On May 23, 4000 Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members gathered for a historic rally inside the Auditorium Theater. Outside, there was an overflow outdoor rally beneath the Bowman sculpture at Congress Drive and Michigan Avenue that included 1500 more, including parents, students and community members.

“Call States Attorney to demand their release!”

Fight Back News service is circulating the following call to action from the Committee Stop FBI Repression. Joe Iosbaker is one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted by the FBI and was one of the organizers of the 15,000 person anti-NATO protest in Chicago.

Chicago, IL – Over 230 Filipinos from across the U.S. and the Philippines joined over 15,000 demonstrators here, May 20, to march in protest against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit taking place just blocks away in McCormick Place. It was the largest outdoor anti-war demonstration in the U.S. in years.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the followings statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression

“The people are more powerful than the cops, the mayor, or NATO”

Fight Back! interviews Joe Iosbaker, the Chicago spokesperson for the United National Antiwar Coalition and a leader in the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War and Poverty Agenda, on the massive May 20 protest at the NATO Summit. Fight Back!: Please talk some about what happened at the march on the NATO Summit and who was there. Joe Iosbaker: 15,000 people rallied and marched against the war makers’ summit on a scorching hot day here in Chicago. It was a very broad gathering, involving the Iraq Veterans Against the War, National Nurses United and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. We had music by Tom Morello, Rebel Diaz, David Rovics and Outer National. Carlos Montes came from Los Angeles, straight from the political persecution trial he is facing. Students came from Utah, Florida and all over the Midwest.

Chicago, IL – In the largest anti-war protest ever held in Chicago, 15,000 people took to the streets marching against the NATO military summit. Inside McCormick Convention Center, politicians, generals and bankers discussed the faltering U.S./NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan. They also forged agreements that set the stage for destabilizing and overthrowing independent governments in places like Syria and Iran.

Chicago, IL – Over 300 people gathered on Saturday, May 19 in a Chicago park to demand healthcare, not warfare. Protesters gathered outside a CTA train station and then rallied at Horner Park on the North Side. Protest leaders gave speeches opposing the war and poverty agenda of the NATO and G8 summits. They demanded money for healthcare and ending homelessness here at home, not for the war in Afghanistan.

Chicago, IL – Angered by a police raid and arrests of Occupy protesters in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, 1500 protesters marched and rallied here May 19. The protest marched from the Federal Reserve Bank, the main protest site for Occupy Chicago, up to Daley Plaza. A roar went up when the march stepped off with hundreds of young people taking to the streets, chanting, “This is what democracy looks like!” and “No war for oil! NATO off Afghan soil!”

Chicago, IL – In the first large demonstration of the NATO summit, 4000 nurses gathered in Daley Plaza at noon on May 18. National Nurses Union members and supporters demanded an end to the bailing out of Wall Street and for a tax on its profits.

Veterans to return medals

Chicago, IL – NATO opponents debated NATO apologists at the Pritzker Military Library in the Chicago Loop on May 17. The debate was sponsored by the National Strategy Forum. Reflecting an attempt to respond to anti-war protests and mass democratic movements like the Arab Spring, the debate was titled, “Social Responsibility and National Security: Towards a New NATO.”

Say no to NATO! Oppose war and poverty!

Fight Back News is circulating this statement from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, on the occasion of the May 20 anti-NATO protests in Chicago.

Fight Back! is circulating the following press release from the National Lawyers Guild.

Chicago, IL – Dozens of U.S. military veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan plan to return their medals to the commanders they served under on Sunday, May 20. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) will lead thousands of anti-war protesters from Grant Park to the site of the NATO summit in downtown Chicago. Outside McCormick Place, the veterans and service members will return their medals to NATO commanders. Veterans of the U.S.-led NATO war and occupation in Afghanistan will march side by side with the group Afghans for Peace at the head of the march organized by the Coalition Against NATO/G8.

Chicago, IL – People from around the world are coming to Chicago to protest NATO and the G8 on May 20. On May 17, international spokespeople gathered at the 8th Day Center for Justice in the Chicago Loop for a press conference in support of the protest against war makers and bankers.

Chicago, IL – Over 150 marchers gathered at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago May 16, to march against home foreclosures and evictions. They chanted, “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!” and young people from Occupy Wall Street held signs saying, “No more foreclosures.” The protesters marched through the streets, stopping outside corporate banks that benefited from the Wall Street bailout, but which continue to foreclose on working people’s homes.

Chicago, IL – While the eyes of the world are on Chicago and the upcoming NATO summit, 40 protesters spoke out May 16 against the FBI frame-up of Carlos Montes, demanding the charges against him be dropped. Montes is a prominent Los Angeles Chicano civil rights and immigrant rights activist and a leader in the anti-war movement.