Homeowners sandbagged their doors and tourists trying to get out of town jammed the airport Friday as Tropical Storm Barry began rolling in, threatening an epic drenching that could test how well New Orleans has strengthened its flood protections in the 14 years since Hurricane Katrina. With the storm expected to blow ashore early Saturday near Morgan City as the first hurricane of the season, authorities rushed to close floodgates and raise the barriers around the New Orleans metropolitan area of 1.3 million people for fear of disastrous flooding.
Police were responding to a group of students who were attempting to shut down a traffic outside the Art Institute of Chicago, according to a news release from the group and Sky 5 footage of the scene.
Traffic was moving again on Michigan Avenue about 5:10 p.m. after some activists could be seen being taken into custody, including one who was carried away by police.
“Led by students from Chicago area universities, Moral Mondays Illinois activists are blocking the intersection of Michigan Ave. and Adams St., outside the Art Institute of Chicago, demanding museum trustee Ken Griffin stop funding Rauner’s political agenda to gut funding for public higher education and other vital state responsibilities,” the news release states. “As a trustee of the Art Institute and other universities, Griffin should push for free, fully funded public higher education, funded by taxes on corporations and the rich.”
Some the cap and gown clad protesters were chained together stretching across Michigan Avenue. Police could be seen talking to the protesters before they eventually moved them into a police van.
The group said it organizes for "racial, economic, and gender justice at Chicago area universities and in the broader community.”
