Damn - what a scene. Check out the image here via Instapundit. In Illinois?
Breaking news from New Lenox/Joliet, IL… the sheriff’s office is reporting to us that the crowd estimate for the rally here is 10,000+ and they are shutting down a portion of Interstate 80 for traffic control do to the massive influx of people.
Here’s a few pictures from my camera phone of a small slice of the audience…
There's a photo gallery here.
Billed as a protest against taxes and government spending, the national Tea Party's stop in New Lenox became a gathering of local conservatives and a call to action on national political issues.
"As much as we say the system failed us, maybe we failed the system as well," said Joliet resident Tim Kraulidis, who helped organize Monday's event. "We can't complain ... that our legislators are doing things we don't want them to do and then we don't engage the system."
CNN provides a slightly more inside politics view. Looks like it's on to PA.
"What we did was take a map of the United States and then we went head and pin pointed the members of congress that merited our attention and then we looked at those that might be politically vulnerable," said Joe Wierzbicki, a strategist with the conservative PAC Our Country Deserves Better, who are organizing the cross country Tea Party Express tour.
Topping the group's target list in the Senate is current Democrat, and former moderate Republican, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. The Tea Party Express makes four stops in Pennsylvania later this week.
You missed the big one in Cincinnati/Dayton with 18,000 on Saturday. President Obama then came to Cincinnati on Monday and only had 4,500.
Posted by: Mike Wilson | Tuesday, September 08, 2009 at 02:16 PM