Police arrested five people who scaled the Chicago Board of Trade building in the Loop and unfurled a banner Wednesday to protest the destruction of the world’s rain forests.
The protest caused rush-hour gridlock for about 45 minutes on the streets below the Board of Trade building, Jackson Boulevard and LaSalle Street, as police and fire crews cordoned off the area and dozens of bystanders strained to get a better look.
The demonstrators, members of the Rainforest Action Network, used climbing gear to scale the side of the 45-story building before the start of the day’s trading and display a 50-foot banner protesting three U.S. agriculture companies.
The display was part of a campaign to “halt agribusiness expansion in the rain forests of South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific,” according to a statement by the group. The protest targeted agribusiness firms Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill.
Police Officer Marcel Bright said four of the demonstrators made it to the 23rd floor before unfurling the sign. A fifth person acted as a “coordinator” on the street, Bright said.
The Fire Department helped police cordon off the area and had paramedics on the scene in case any of the protesters fell, Cmdr. Will Knight said. The four suspects in the air eventually were corralled by police and brought in through windows.
The protesters — four men and a woman — each were charged with criminal trespassing, reckless conduct and criminal damage to property, Bright said. They were identified as John Otter of Chicago; Mary Armour of Wilson, Wyo.; William Busse of St. Paul; Robert Maness of Columbia, Miss.; and John Watterberg of New York.
The stunt came one day after the rain-forest group ran a full-page advertisement in the Tribune allegeing that agribusinesses are slashing and burning rain forests to expand soy and palm oil plantations.
