Chicago, IL—Seventy protestors, representing the Stand Up! Chicago coalition, attended a Scott Walker breakfast presentation this morning on “Taxpayers, State Budget Reforms and the New Realities,” in order to deliver a reality check to the Wisconsin Governor made infamous by his union-busting and job-killing policies.

Attendees of the event, held by the Union League Club of Chicago in the Loop, were greeted at both entrances to the Club by another 100 or so community protestors, including members of Occupy Chicago. The protestors both inside and outside the building denounced Walker’s pro-big-business, anti-working-family approach to what he terms “budget reform.”

The 70 protestors attending the breakfast comprised almost half the total number of attendees. They were on hand to disrupt the Governor’s speech, and to call him to account for his attacks on the working families of Wisconsin—and denounce similar attacks on Illinois families. And after settling into breakfast, and listening to the Governor’s opening remarks, the protestors did just that, reading a prepared statement amplified by the “human mic”—having one speaker deliver a sentence or phrase at a time was then repeated by the crowd.

“ It is an outrage and a shame,” the statement began, “that we sit at this fancy breakfast to listen to someone who has wreaked havoc on the lives of working families. Governor Walker has vilified unions and insulted the 99% who depend on living wages and adequate benefits to support their families, while on the payroll of the right wing billionaire Koch brothers.”

Walker called upon the rest of the crowd to drown out the voices of the protestors with loud clapping, but their voices—and their message—remained loud, clear and unified in its theme of protecting the interests of struggling families over the greed of the 1%.

The statement referenced Walker-esque efforts in Illinois by “corporations and bought-off politicans (who) clamor to find ways to grant a $100 million tax break to the Mercantile Exchange, one of the most profitable companies in the state, while social services are being slashed, while workers’ pensions are threatened, and homelessness, poverty, and joblessness continue to rise.”

The crowd of protestors successfully completed their statement, with some unexpected support from other attendees, before complying with the request that they leave. Upon exiting the Club, they joined their numbers with those of the protestors outside, and bolstered the rally that continued for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Stand Up! Chicago is a coalition of dozens of community and labor organizations and working families standing up together to demand good jobs and a strong investment in our community's schools and neighborhoods.

The coalition was behind the massive Take Back Chicago mobilization that brought 7,000 marchers to the Loop on October 10 to Take Back Our Jobs, Homes, and Schools.

We're committed to defending Chicago families against the wealthy banks and corporations that have taken our tax dollars through tax breaks, bailouts, and corporate welfare payments. By reclaiming these funds for meaningful job creation and investment in strong schools and communities, we can secure a brighter future for Chicago's working families. More information is available at StandUpChicago.org.

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Video

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