Hundreds March To Springfield In Demand For A State Budget
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A couple hundred people began marching Friday afternoon to Springfield to demand that the legislature pass a budget - one that has more money for social services.
Before the march, they demonstrated at the Thompson Center. WBBM's Steve Miller reports.
One of the speakers, Martese Chism is a longtime nurse at Stroger Hospital.
She told the crowd her great-grandmother marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, received death threats and testified at a justice department hearing.
"On her way back home, she was murdered by Klan terrorists who ran her car off the road. She and her 78-year-old mentor were decapitated," Chism said.
Chism said she is marching for seven days of the 15-day march.
"My great-grandmother felt compelled to march," she said. "Now it is 50 years later and I feel compelled to march."
Organizers expect about 10 people to march the entire way to the state capitol.
