Organizer: Chicago 'Sanity' Rally Will Go On
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM) - A Chicago woman says she plans to host a local "Rally to Restore Sanity" in Grant Park, despite being denied a permit by the City of Chicago.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Mary Frances Bragiel Reports
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The local version of the Restore Sanity Chicago is in conjunction with a Comedy Central-sponsored rally in Washington D.C.
"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart is hosting the rally in the nation's capital on Saturday. He has billed it as an event for people too busy with their normal lives to go to other political rallies.
Nearby, fellow Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert is planning a "March to Keep Fear Alive." The host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" is encouraging participants to bring an overnight bag and five extra sets of underwear.
The Chicago event is to be held simultaneously in Butler Field in Grant Park.
For the Chicago event, organizer Angie McMahon says so far, $18,000 have been raised. But McMahon admits she has encountered difficulties meeting the permit requirements on such short notice.
The Park District, in a letter, denied the permit citing insufficient documentation to approve the request.
McMahon says the rally will go on, citing the First Amendment right to assemble.
If informal Facebook RSVPs are any indication, a crowd of 3,000 or more Stewart and Colbert fans could show up to watch televised rally coverage, ideally on a JumboTron.
Comedian and radio commentator Aaron Freeman has been picked as the headliner for the Chicago rally.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Mary Frances Bragiel contributed to this report.
