The Week in Occupy Chicago

And what a week it was.

1. Meet the new HQ at 500 West Cermak.

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2. Hey, wouldn't 50,000 visitors be great for the local economy?

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3. "In Chicago an organizer with SEIU who wished to remain anonymous called the Occupy movement 'a game changer,'" Arun Gupta reports for Salon. "He said his union 'recognized that it can no longer focus just on what happens in the workplace. Our members who work in a hospital go home to a community that is being devastated by foreclosures and school closures.'

"The SEIU co-founded Stand Up! Chicago, which kicked off last June with a protest against a convention for CFOs of major corporations. When Occupy Chicago formed it coincided with Stand Up! Chicago's week of actions last October in the financial district. Occupiers were maintaining an around-the-clock protest at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The organizer says, 'We had this great synergy because we were doing actions in the financial district and Occupy Chicago was right there and would join us. They helped us get the attention of the press in a way we wouldn't have otherwise.'"

4. "Occupy Chicago took to the streets in solidarity with Occupy Oakland against police brutality. Occupy Chicago protesters were met with aggression from Chicago Police. Live streamer, Keilah Becker, 'Pie Chi' or Occupie Chicago was grabbed and shoved onto the sidewalk. Police Officer Osbourne (badge # 11774) pinned Keilah against a fence and called her a 'b*tch.' Osbourne had to be restrained and taken away by another officer. The footage of the assault and an arrest was later seized and deleted via the Illinois Eavesdropping Act."

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5. "Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says he supports the video and audio recording of police officers who are on the job," ABC 7 reports.

"McCarthy talked to ABC 7 Monday about his position on the state's eavesdropping law, which makes the recording the audio of officers without their knowledge a felony.

"McCarthy's comments come as a state representative works to change that law. Like many citizens, McCarthy did not know the specifics of the eavesdropping law.

"The superintendent learned - much to his chagrin - that the eavesdropping law in Illinois is much more restrictive than what he was used to back east. It is his job to enforce the law as it stands, but this is clearly a law he is not fond of, and his voice as the head man of the state's largest law enforcement agency carries significant weight in this debate.

"If you pull out your smart phone and record a police officer making an arrest on the public way, you are legally allowed under Illinois law to record the video, but recording the audio without police permission is a felony.

"'This is a foreign concept to me,' McCarthy said last week.'

"Chicago's police superintendent said at a seminar at Loyola University last week that he was unaware of the audio restriction in the Illinois eavesdropping law until after the Occupy Chicago arrests. He said Monday that it is a provision in the law that he does not see as particularly helpful."

6. Tactical Briefing #25.

7. AdBusters' Call For Chicago Occupation Rankles Some In Movement.

8. Occupy U: Roosevelt Offers Class On Social Movement.

9. Rahm's Crackdown Aims At Occupy.

"Is the Chicago mayor protecting his city? Or his former boss?"

10. AdBusters Calls For Mass Bank Withdrawals Before NATO/G8.

"There is something we can all do to set the stage for Occupy Chicago."

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