Watch It Again: Chicago Women's March Draws 250K

CHICAGO, IL — With organizers estimating the crowd at around 250,000, the Women's March on Chicago was one of the largest of the hundreds of post-Inauguration Day demonstrations held around the country Saturday, behind only events in Los Angeles (750,000) and Washington, D.C. (500,000), U.S. Uncut reports.

In fact, that size — well beyond initial predictions — led the Chicago Police Department to change the march to a rally because the route west on Jackson Boulevard to Federal Plaza at South Dearborn Street could not support that many people.

But the announcement didn't deter demonstrators, who began marching at around 11:15 a.m., 15 minutes before the planned start time. The crowd created its own route around the Loop, continuing past Federal Plaza and winding around other downtown streets.

Organizers originally estimated 22,000 people would attend the event, later revising that to 50,000 -- an increase that forced a change of venue. By 1 p.m., sources and organizers were estimating the crowd at more than 250,000, which, coincidentally, was around the same attendance for President Donald Trump's inauguration Friday, Jan. 20.

WATCH the Women's March on Chicago and find out why a teacher in her 70s thinks it's important for women to speak out now:

As the crowds continued to swell Saturday morning, Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Grant Park was at capacity, and the event — now a rally, not a march — would end at 12:30 p.m.

But a half hour later, the crowd still was marching north on Michigan Avenue from Randolph Street, where police set up barricades after the front of the march had filed east to return to Grant Park. And the marchers didn't stop at Michigan Avenue as the demonstration moved west along Wacker Drive and then north again, up State Street.

Mirroring Friday night's rally protesting Trump and his administration's plans for the country, the Women's March participants gathered in the middle of Wacker Drive to use Trump International Hotel and Tower, 401 N. Wabash Ave., as the backdrop to deliever their own message to the newly inaugurated chief executive.

WATCH marchers gather on Wacker Drive and hear why a Chicago nurse participated with her two daughters:

The event Saturday was a "sister march" planned in conjunction with the Women's March on Washington, planned in response to Trump election campaign rhetoric concerning women.

RELATED: Inauguration Day Protests: Demonstrators March in Chicago

"We will mobilize as women and supporters of women to protect our rights and civil liberties," the Women's March on Chicago Facebook page states. "We stand in solidarity with other women’s marches planned across the country and the world on January 21. WE WILL BE SEEN AND HEARD by the new administration."

Like Friday night, police presence was high around Trump Tower. Wabash Avenue again was cordoned off between Wacker and Hubbard Street, and officers blocked off pedestrian access to the building — including walkways from Michigan Avenue and State Street.

WATCH more videos from the Women's March on the Chicago Patch Facebook page.

UPDATED (1:33 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22)

ORIGINAL STORY:

Thousands of participants filled Grant Park on Saturday morning to be a part of Women's March on Chicago, one of hundreds of processions being held around the country that are designed to highlight women's issues and speak against President Donald Trump's potential White House agenda when it comes to those concerns.

The event will begin with a rally at 10 a.m., and the march will start at 11:30 a.m. and move west on Jackson Boulevard to Federal Plaza on South Dearborn Street. The parade route and some streets around the park will be closed until 2 p.m. for the demonstration.

The Women's March on Chicago is one of more than 250 "Sister Marches" around the world that are connected to the Women's March in Washington, D.C., which will also be held the day after Trump's inauguration. More than 200,000 people are expected to march in D.C., and Illinois U.S. Reps. Luis Gutierrez and Jan Schakowsky — both Democrats — are participating in that event. Illinois "Sister Marches" include protests in Carbondale and Urbana.

CHECK OUT the following map for the march's route and roads that will be closed because of the event (march route is orange; closed streets are purple):

Saturday morning's march comes a day after thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of downtown Chicago to protest Trump's inauguration Friday. Although smaller than the crowds for the Women's March, the rally and march, which started in the shadow of Trump International Hotel and Tower at Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue, still disrupted traffic throughout the night and drew a large Chicago police presence.

Go to the website for Women's March on Chicago for more information.

image Women's March on Chicago

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Photos: Demonstrators on Wabash, just south of Van Buren/Steve Wyatt, Chicago resident; Photos of demontrators stepping off from Grant Park/Patch - Joe Vince