An estimated 15,000 (at least) antiwar protesters rallied and marched through Downtown Chicago on Thursday, March 20 in the wake of outright escalated hostilities in Iraq.

The Chicago protest began with a packed--totally packed--rally in Federal Plaza at 5pm. The rally ran for about an hour, then the march began (at the strongly voiced suggestion of ex-death-row-inmate Aaron Paterson).

After the rally, the crowd split in two: one portion travelled south on Dearborn, then moved east on Jackson. A second portion moved east from Federal Plaza on Monroe. It appeared (to me at least) that the two portion remerged at the corner of Michigan and Monroe, then continued east until it arrived at Lake Shore Drive.

In an extraordinary disply of mass action, the flood of protesters moved north perhaps a mile or more on Lake Shore Drive, quite literally taking over the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive, and eventually making its way past at least two blockades set up by Chicago Police on Lake Shore Drive.

Police mobilization throughout the event was massive. I counted 15 police on horses, plus what must have been hundreds of police in riot gear. Police paddywagons were also "escorting" the protest, and were involved in some of the blockades. According to some estimates within the crowd of protests, about six districts dispatched police to the protest.

The protest moved west to the corner of Michigan and Lake Shore Drive. Yet another police blockade emerged at this point, horses supported by an array of paddywagons. Sentiment with the protest crowd aimed toward moving the march down through Michigan avenue.

The blockade, which began around 7:15pm central time, became a standoff which lasted more than an hour. Some in this crowd began to disperse somewhat at the point, as dozens and then hundreds of protesters wound their way around the standoff to rendezvous at Michigan avenue.

The main body of protesters at this point evidently backtracked on Lake Shore Drive, heading south to Chicago avenue, then moving west in a different trajectory to get to Michigan.

The police were there waiting. Another standoff began and lasted for perhaps a half-hour, but thereafter sizeable arrests apparently began. At least four buses meant to hold arrestees were placed near that interaction. Arrests were undeniably sizeable. Corporate media outlets report preliminary estimates of the number of arrested at anywhere from 1000 (noted by CNN) to 3000 (noted by WGN Radio). Meanwhile, dozens of protesters on the "sidelines" were interacting--often vociferously--with a much smaller number of anti-anti-war protesters ("USA! USA!" "Support our troops! Bring them Home!" "Stop another 9/11!" "So stop the war!").

Note: This report is preliminary and subject to independent confirmation and/or revision. Confirmation or refutation of any point of the above narrative is welcome.

Here are some of the slogans written on signs carried at the protest.

Bald for Peace (written in marker in the back of the head of a young woman who shaved her head bald)

Bring Our Brave Troops Home--Now!

Democracy My Ass

Democracy Not Hypocrisy

George Walker Bush: May God Have Mercy On Your Soul

God Bless Forgive America

Grants Not Bombs

If someone bombed us for every act of terrorism we've committed, there'd be no America left

International War Matters, This War is Criminal

Keep Peace, Make Peace, Build Peace.

Let's Change the "News" (accompanied by a photo of the front page of the Chicago Tribune)

Make Money, Not War

No No No No War No

No World War W

Occupation is not Liberation

SUV Owners Against The War

Sanctions are the Real Weapons of Mass Destruction

Save Lives: Stop The War

Supersize my French Fries

This war is brought to you by Haliburton

Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes

U.S. to Bush: We Give You 48 Hours

Wage War in the Name of Peace? Have you no shame?

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength: Dubyathink

These and more than 230 other slogans can be found at the Protest Slogans Database at the Chicago Media Action website.

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