Anti-war activist blasts Chicago Air and Water Show: 'It's a weapons festival'

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — More than 1 million people were expected to watch the Chicago Air and Water show over the weekend, and one anti-war activist hoped to use the show to change some minds.

“It's a weapons festival,” said Sean Reynolds.

Reynolds was handing out flyers to Air and Water Show spectators that read: “Enjoy the show. You paid a lot to see it.”

“People forget that they're paying to come to this free event,” he said. “I can hand out a flier and say, ‘Enjoy the show; enjoy the show; enjoy the show; but the flier points out that it's not a free show.”

He said Americans are basically funding the show through their tax dollars that go to the United States military.

“It also costs us a lot in terms of our standing in the world, our security, our young men's lives, and our honor, and we shouldn't be depending on this much violence,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said he hopes to persuade Chicagoans that violence and wars are not the most productive ways to solve problems.

“The more Americans can realize that, the better chance we'll have of surviving a transition to no longer being the world's military bully,” he said.

A 2020 CBS News Chicago report found that sponsorships covered about two-thirds of the Chicago Air and Water Show’s cost, with the city of Chicago paying about $200,000 to put on the show. Federal taxes, though, are what pay for the military planes featured in the show, such as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

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