Bank Protesters Converge Downtown
"The bankers got bailed out. We got sold out."
Tuesday's was one of the largest protests so far in the wake of the federal banking bailouts, but the industry reps say the anger is misdirected.
Police estimate about 2,000 protesters, joined by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, marched to demand banking reforms Tuesday morning in downtown Chicago.
The protesters marched on Michigan Avenue to a hotel where a meeting of the American Bankers Association was being held. Many chanted "the bankers got bailed out, we got sold out." Organizers included labor unions, community and religious organizations.
Top on the list of demands from the union members and community activists: to stop foreclosures and make renegotiating the terms of troubled loans easier.
The ABA says the protesters were focusing on the wrong group of people. The group says its members are in Chicago to learn how to better serve customers and rebuild the weakened economy.
Jackson said the marchers aren't just concerned about the bankers, but also about government policies.
On Monday, angry protesters converged on the Chicago headquarters of Goldman Sachs, demanding the bank to donate its entire bonus pool -- projected to total $23 billion -- to help prevent every foreclosure in America.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Chicago
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