Progress Illinois

This morning marked the second day of the Showdown in Chicago.  It started with a speech by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chair Sheila Bair, who strongly expressed her support for the formation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (she is also scheduled to address the American Bankers Association conference today).   "I don't know how anyone can say we've done a good job protecting consumers in financial services," Bair said.  "So we need this new agency."  Watch some clips from her appearance, in which she also declared, "No more bailouts!":

Later in the morning, hundreds of protestors headed over to 71 S. Wacker, the Chicago headquarters of Goldman Sachs -- by far the most powerful bank in the country.  Below is some video from that racuous action:

Also, here's the fiery conclusion of Rev. Tony Pierce's speech at yesterday's event (Pierce is the vice president of the Central Illinois Organizing Project):

Finally, WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight devoted two segments of this morning's program to the Showdown in Chicago event.  First, they talked to Shelly Ruzicka, director of operations for ARISE Chicago, one of the local organizations participating in the event.  Then host Robert Steele discussed the issue of banking reform with Tribune business columnist David Greising and Phil Ashton, assistant professor at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois-Chicago.