The Obama Administration recently announced the G8 summit would be moved from Chicago to the secluded Camp David. For most of Chicago, the announcement was confounding. The city had been preparing for months and now, just over two months before the summit was to take place, Mayor Rahm Emanuel lost the privilege to host the [...]

In a ruling that could be considered good news for citizen journalists or live streamers planning to cover the G8/NATO summit protests in Chicago in May, a Cook County judge in Illinois ruled the state’s eavesdropping law is unconstitutional. According to a Chicago Tribune report, Judge Stanley Sacks found the law is unconstitutional because it has [...]

These days Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy sounds like an exception to the rule, a head of a police department who shows an unusual understanding of what can happen if police violate citizens’ civil liberties. As the NATO/G8 summits near, he is a sober voice, who appears to be trying to calm down local reporters [...]

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration has purchased “new face shields” for Chicago police officers that will be used during the NATO/G8 summits in May this year. The “face shields,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times, will ”fit comfortably over gas masks and include a seal to prevent officers from being blinded by liquids thrown at them.” The [...]

A contracting firm that specializes in anti-terrorism and force protection training, consulting and management services has been hired to train Cook County Sheriff’s Police in the run-up to the NATO-G8 meetings that are to be held in Chicago in May of this year. The firm, Controlled FORCE Inc., bills itself as a “woman-owned small business” [...]

(update below) This past Sunday Occupy Chicago held a march in solidarity with Occupy Oakland after Oakland police fired various crowd-dispersal weapons at them and arrested hundreds. They marched in the evening through downtown. Like other Occupy groups, they had a person live streaming the action, Keilah [@OccupieChicago]. Keilah ran into harassment when the march [...]

The selling and marketing of upcoming G8 and NATO meetings has fully commenced. The slogan has been unveiled for the meetings: “The Global Crossroads.” The meetings will be all about taking the “global stage.” But, as the host committee for the meetings and business organizations, which plan to promote the event, try to convince media [...]

The following is a guest post from Andy Thayer and Christine Geovanis, who are both working with the Coalition Against NATO/G8 (CANG8). The post is on Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s new protest ordinances, which The Dissenter has covered, and were passed in “preparation” for the NATO/G8 meetings that will be taking place in May. Their perspectives [...]

(update below) The city of Chicago has finally awarded Chicago groups seeking to organize a demonstration during an upcoming NATO/G8 meeting a permit, but the city now claims the parameters of the permit awarded depend on the federal government. Additionally, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed two ordinances that will come up for a vote [...]

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (photo: lloyd89) The Chicago Tribune has an article posted that indicates what one largely expected would happen with the NATO/G8 meetings: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel would like tighter restrictions for protesting during the meetings that will be happening in May of 2012 at McCormick Place. Hal Dardick and Kristen Mack report: [...]