Activists on Monday evening closed down the streets in front of Chicago City Hall and the James R. Thompson Center – the base of Illinois government in the city – as they called on Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to declare a “climate emergency.”

Scandinavian teen Greta Thunberg did not make an appearance despite organizers’ early indication she would, but youth still took on key roles, including holding a so-called die in to symbolize the suffering caused by flooding, drought and other effects of climate change.

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