(The Center Square) – Thousands of protesters gathered across the state on Saturday to demand more accountability for police officers after the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minneapolis.
In Chicago, an estimated 20,000 people gathered in Union Park and marched through the streets. Smaller gatherings were held in cities across the state, according to media reports.
Earlier in the day, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other politicians participated in an event to call for changes.
“Who here is in favor of a fair tax in Illinois?” Pritzker said at the start of his remarks on Saturday at the South Suburban Day of Action in Calumet City.
Pritzker is pushing for a progressive income tax that would have higher rates for those who earn more. Voters will decide whether to change the state’s constitution to allow for a progressive income tax at the ballot box in November.
The governor said the event was about more than George Floyd’s death.
“People say that we are here today because of the murder of George Floyd. And yeah, that’s one reason, but it’s also about the murder of Breonna Taylor, it’s also about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it’s also about the murder of those whose murders by police officers were never filmed. Nobody ever saw them. And so there wasn’t a march on their behalf,” the governor said. “This, this is the gathering on their behalf. All the protests over the past week are about them, about the unsung.”
At the same event, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul called for police officers to be licensed by the state like other professions such as doctors, hairdressers, nurses, teachers, cosmetologists and locksmiths.
Police officers cited repeatedly for misconduct could lose their licenses and be unable to work in law enforcement under his licensing plan, Raoul said.
“We need consistency, the type of policy change we need that will bring real consequence to bad actors that will get around collective bargaining agreements, get around provisions that we have in local and state law that make it such that people are afraid to report incidents on police,” he said.
Protests were held across the country with large gatherings in most major U.S. cities along with demonstrations in other countries, including England.
