ARE YOU READY TO JOIN THE FIGHT?
ALDERMAN PATRICK LEVAR
& HIS CHICAGO "FRIENDS"
DON'T WANT ANYONE JOINING THE FIGHT!
To all Charybdis friends and supporters:
**The Charybdis benefit "HEROES" scheduled for tonight (July 15th, 2001) at Coyle’s Tippling House has been cancelled.**
Sorry for the short notice. Last night we held a gallery opening for our visual art show, "FRAMEd." (Thanks to the many of you who showed up to help us celebrate!) The event was visited by City of Chicago Dept. of Revenue agents who gave us more Cease and Desist orders. The first stops us from holding any performances in the city limits of Chicago, which halts the event at Coyle’s. The other two were for auctioneering in our space and at any location in the city, which thwarted our plans to hold a silent auction to help raise funds. Since Charybdis has a valid business license, the art opening itself was undisturbed. It looks to us, like Alderman Patrick Levar (45th) and his attack dogs are trying to stop us from holding any fundraisers within Chicago city limits. Maybe they're afraid of any legal representation stepping up to bat for us.
We later learned that after Revenue Agents left Charybdis, they headed over to Coyle's Tippling House to get mean. They "strongly advised" the bar manager to cancel the Charybdis benefit and to not help us in the future. The Revenue Agents then proceeded to close down their beer garden for the rest of the summer. Coyle's makes most of their summer business with that beer garden...
All this, despite the fact that the benefit hadn't even happened yet! Jim Coyle and his establishment isn't affiliated with Charybdis. He is an innocent bystander who wanted to do something good for the arts.
This is sheer harassment. In gangster talk, they call this a "shakedown".
Keep visiting our Web site for updates on our situation, and if you’re interested in helping in any way please let us know. They may be able to stop us from having this event, but they can’t stop us from making art.
Charybdis and its members
