Activists, politicians rally against Kavanaugh at Federal Plaza

A quickly pulled together rally opposing the elevation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court drew outraged activists and some of the state’s leading politicians downtown Friday.

“This has always been a bad nomination. Now, a number of credible women have come forward with their stories, and we need to believe them,” Democratic gubernatorial nominee J.B. Pritzker told the crowd at Federal Plaza. “Now, we’ve seen that Brett Kavanaugh does not have the temperament to sit on the Supreme Court. He’s got to go.”

Pritzker was joined by mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot, City Clerk Anna Valencia, state Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

Biss urged attendees to support Pritzker –– his opponent in the heated 2018 gubernatorial primary. In the battle over Kavanaugh’s nomination, the Republican party showed its typical sense of entitlement and unaccountability, Biss said.

“Its about the assertion of power by a collection of people who can’t envision a world coming some day when they will only get their fair share,” Biss said. “They’re asserting their power, and there’s one day every two years when the power of the people can be heard. That is a Tuesday in November.”

Friday’s rally was put on by a coalition of groups organizing around women’s rights and other progressive causes.

Nick Uniejewski, an organizer for NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the rally had been organized over-night, after Thursday’s heated Kavanaugh hearings had ended.

Similar rallies were held across the country, focusing especially on the offices of senators who might still be persuaded to block Kavanaugh.

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