This Sunday, the members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) will descend on the Sheraton in downtown Chicago for their annual conference, featuring appearances by conservative commentators Newt Gingrich and George Will.  But local progressives don't plan on letting the bankers party in peace.  During the three-day conference, SEIU Illinois (which sponsors this website), Action Now, National People's Action, and dozens of other activist organizations will hold a string of events highlighting the growing discontent with the banking industry.  Americans who are fed-up with the endless bailouts and exorbitant bonuses will be traveling from all across the city, the state, and the country to take part. 

These actions will begin with a Sunday afternoon event at the Hyatt (151 E. Wacker) organized by NPA and featuring economist Dean Baker.  More actions will take place on Monday, culminating with a large march starting at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the intersection of Wacker and Stetson.  The march will lead into a rally in front of the Sheraton (pictured left), featuring speeches by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Change to Win chair Anna Burger.  It's not to be missed.

The impending "Showdown in Chicago" has been getting more and more media attention in recent days.  Politico reported that Michael Moore may show up.  The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder wrote about it as well, calling Chicago an "epicenter of labor vs. banking conflict."  Both Mike Lux and NPA's George Goehl have been blogging about the event at Huffington Post.  C.J. Hawking recently wrote in the Wednesday Journal about an Oak Park action planned for Monday morning. Meanwhile, SEIU's Stephen Lerner popped up on Thom Hartmann's radio show (broadcast here in Chicago on WCPT) to discuss the event. "We think Chicago is the start of people doing what we haven't done enough of," he said, "which is to be in the street."  Listen to an excerpt:

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SEIU Illinois executive director Jerry Morrison also appeared on Bill Press' morning show today to promote the "showdown." "If you've got a gripe with the banks," he said, "then we need you to be there."  Listen:

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Progress Illinois is going to be providing more information on the schedule over the next few days and will be providing intensive coverage starting Sunday afternoon.