Chicago’s climate strike, walkout: Where, when and what time it’s happening

Seven walkouts planned in Chicago join others from over 150 countries in taking the streets to demand climate action.

By Alice Bazerghi

Teen Activist Greta Thunberg Joins Climate Strike Outside The White House — Teen activist Greta Thunberg joins a protest outside the White House.

Walkouts all over the city are scheduled on Friday in conjunction with the student-led Global Climate Strike movement.

Seven walkouts planned in Chicago join others from over 150 countries bringing advocates into the streets to demand climate action ahead of a UN emergency climate summit happening Monday. In the U.S., 1,000 protests are planned, according to Climate Strike’s website.

The strike effort was galvanized by students who have been walking out of school on Fridays over the last year to demand climate justice. Much inspiration comes from Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist who crossed the Atlantic on a sailboat to attend the Monday summit.

Now, students are inviting everyone to join in on this Friday’s demonstration. If you plan on participating, here’s what you need to know:

Where

There are seven walkouts planned in Chicago, and others in suburbs like Oak Park and La Grange, but the biggest is the Chicago Youth Climate Strike, which meets at Grant Park at the intersection of South Columbus Drive and East Roosevelt Road. The group will march to Federal Plaza.

When

The Chicago Youth Climate Strike meets at 11 a.m. Others are planned throughout the day, from as early as 7 a.m. to the afternoon.

Weather

Friday will be mostly sunny with temperatures ranging from 84 degrees to 68 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Traffic

It’s hard to project participation numbers, but more than 1,000 people have RSVP’d to the Grant Park rally event on Facebook. Considering the nature of the event, it’s safe to assume more commuters will be traveling via public transit than by car, so plan for increased congestion in the late morning through the afternoon.

Skipping class?

Chicago Public Schools says students are allowed to leave class to participate in the 11 a.m. walkout but will be given an unexcused absence if they don’t come back to school afterwards. The Grant Park rally is expected to last a few hours, so it may be impossible for students to stay the entire time and still return to school to avoid an unexcused absence (especially considering the aforementioned traffic issue).

Hashtags

Strike participants will be using #ClimateStrike on social media.

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