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News & Notes: Dozens protest against UChicago over trauma care center

Dozens of protesters chained themselves together on Thursday to pressure the University of Chicago to open a trauma care center, NBC Chicago reported.

The demonstration occurred on Michigan Avenue and Pearson Street near a University of Chicago alumni fundraising event at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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A spokesperson for the group said that the activists intended to rally and picket outside the hotel to call on alumni donors not to support the University of Chicago until it commits to opening a trauma center.

Protesters released a statement saying they were willing to risk arrest to send the message that “business as usual cannot continue while black lives are being lost due to a lack of adult trauma care on the South Side and the University of Chicago’s refusal to expand trauma care."

The University of Chicago does not offertraumacare for patients 16 or older.Traumacenters offer more extensive care than do typical emergency rooms.

The protesters gathered outside the hotel around 5:30 p.m. to block rush hour traffic outside of the Ritz-Carlton hotel. By 6:45 p.m., nine activists blocking traffic on Michigan Avenue were arrested and traffic resumed, The Chicago Maroon said.

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