Rahm slams Rauner for Dan Ryan shutdown tweet

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Thousands of anti-violence protesters pour into the inbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway, led by Father Michael Pfleger, Saturday morning, June 7, 2018. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wanted none of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s post-Dan Ryan protest tweets.

Rauner had tweeted that he was “disappointed” in the mayor for the “chaos” after protesters pressured Illinois State Police into closing all inbound lanes for their anti-violence march.

Emanuel went to Twitter to give the governor some advice regarding social media:

A spokesman followed up with a statement after Emanuel’s tweet.

“The mayor’s hope is that today’s march may make someone realize they shouldn’t pick up a gun to settle a dispute, and if that happens the peaceful march the governor called ‘chaos’ will unquestionably be worth it,” Emanuel spokesman Matt McGrath said in an email.

Twenty-five minutes later, Rauner sent another tweet commending officers for a “great piece of community police work.”

The Saturday afternoon protest was planned to call attention to heartbreaking gun violence that has affected parts of the South and West sides of the city.

​An attempt to keep half of the Dan Ryan open to traffic fell apart as protesters demanded the inbound expressway be shut down.​

Illinois State Police officials relented and agreed to close off all inbound traffic for about an hour — a decision that enraged Rauner.

St. Sabina pastor Michael Pfleger chided Rauner earlier in the morning after the governor’s office released a statement saying organizers had agreed to stay on the shoulder of the expressway.

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