CHICAGO, March 19 (UPI) -- Police Friday offered alternative march routes to thousands of anti-war activists to mark the one-year anniversary of the Iraq War.
March leaders are upset a permit to march on upscale Michigan Avenue was denied by city officials. Last March 20, more than 800 people were arrested as some 15,000 people staged an impromptu march downtown onto Lake Shore Drive snarling traffic.
Police say there will be no repeat of the illegal march and mass arrests Saturday.
Anti-war activists expect several thousand people, including the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, at an afternoon rally at the Federal Plaza downtown.
Anti-war groups invited Mayor Richard M. Daley to join them near the site of last year's mass arrests.
A police spokesman said the department respects the right of freedom of assembly and will allow people to march peacefully on the sidewalk but not block traffic.
