Chicago Women's March Set To Step Off Saturday
By Yolanda Perdomo, CBS Chicago Digital Producer
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thousands are set to descend on Chicago's Grant Park to take part in the Women's March Chicago event.
In 2017, more than 250,000 people participated in the Women's March On Chicago that circled through Grant Park and throughout downtown Chicago.
On Saturday January 18, marchers will start in Grant Park and gather at Federal Plaza. The organization said a planned hiatus took place in 2019, but that they're ready to take action this election year.
"Women's March Chicago is back in action and ready for 2020," said Graciela Guzmán, WMC board member. "Once again, Chicago-area women and their allies will gather en masse and raise their voices for the causes that matter to them most."
For this year's event a "Gallery of Issues" will be set up along the route to showcase "critical topics" to highlight: climate change, gun violence prevention, women's health rights/access and efforts to get out the vote in November.
"Due to Chicago's unpredictable weather, we wanted our marchers to learn, mobilize and activate while on the move," Guzmán said.
Organizer Harlene Ellin, while it's hard to estimate how many people will participate on Saturday, she said she's optimistic for a big turnout.
"We hope it will be in the tens of thousands! This is our kickoff to 2020, which is going to be a critical and busy year and we want people to get energized for all that is ahead," Ellin said.
The gates are set to open at Grant Park at 9:00 a.m. People with disabilities can enter through Columbus Drive. There are Wayfinders designated to help marchers with disabilities. Marchers will step off at 11:00 a.m. at Columbus Drive and Jackson Street and the procession will be lead by marchers with disabilities.
It's set to wrap up at Federal Plaza.
"People are excited to march. Our marchers are passionate about many issues. The March offers them a place where they can raise their voices - and their signs - and speak out about the things they care about the most," Ellin said.
