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2007 Truth Tour :: Day 3

REACHING CHICAGO


On the heels of victory, the Truth Tour rolled into Chicago and was greeted with a blowout party organized by the CIW advance team -- ten dedicated CIW, SFA and Interfaith Action members who spent the past two months in Chicago preparing the ground for the 2007 Tour -- and dozens of close local allies.

Day 3 started with an extended interview with Gerardo Reyes of the CIW on Chicago Public Radio's "Worldview" program, a widely-followed mid-day discussion program where listeners learned of the conditions in the fields where their tomatoes are picked and what consumers can do if they hope for a world where the fruit and vegetables they eat no longer come tainted with the endless exploitation of the workers who pick them.


Then, as evening came to Chicago, the tour riders reached the city and began a joyous reunion with the Chicago advance team...


... and with the Chicago-area allies who have been their family away from home these past two months and have been the heart and soul of the Chicago Fair Food movement that brought hometown McDonald's to the table.


The welcoming party was held at the St. Piuos Catholic church in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, complete with balloons...

... and an exceptional mariachi band from the city that would do the bands from the home of mariachi music -- Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City -- proud. Here the band was accompanied by Ignacio Garcia of the CIW in an impromptu collaboration.

The evening was filled with music...


... memories...


... and celebration of the momentous step forward on the path toward justice in Florida's fields taken with the agreement with McDonald's.


All of which was documented by the media crew chronicling the 2007 Tour. Check out some of their reports from the road by clicking on the links below, and follow their reports in the days ahead from the two days of action in Chicago by checking the audio updates on the main 2007 Tour page:

McD's agreement audio report (Spanish)

Tour departure & McD's agreement audio report (Spanish)

Tour departure audio report (English)

Click here for a complete photo archive
from Day 3!