Updated: Kinzinger Constituents Protest Condoleezza Rice Appearance

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 9:30 a.m. to include information about the protest.

Protesters chanting and beating buckets outside of the Tuesday morning say U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger's (R-11) fundraiser breakfast that featured former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the headliner catered to the proverbial 1 percent made famous by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

About 30 protesters, organized by Stand Up! Joliet, did their best to disrupt the event and make known their demands.

"We're here to pressure (Kinzinger) to vote for laws that create jobs," said Monica Morales, a 21-year-old Joliet resident who says she has been without work for a year and a half now. "The working conditions aren't good either. We want good working conditions and liveable wages." 

Supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement plan to protest U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger's (R-11) fundraiser breakfast that is headlined by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday morning in .

The fundraiser had drawn the ire of Stand Up! Joliet shortly after Rice was announced as the keynote speaker on Nov. 1.

"Rep. Kinzinger consistently refuses to meet with his unemployed constituents, and fails to support desperately needed job creation in his current district, focusing instead on raising money from corporate executives and power brokers in his campaign for a new district, saying he will run for re-election either in the 16th congressional district or the redrawn 11th depending on map redistricting," a Stand Up! Joliet release said.

Kingzinger plans to run in the new 16th Congressional District unless a Republican map is drawn, in which case he would run in the 11th District.

According to NBC Chicago, individual tickets to the event plus an autographed copy of Rice's new book, “No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington," cost $250. The event with a photo-op is $1,000 and table sponsorship is $2,500.

Uylonda Dickerson, a Joliet resident and Kinzinger constituent, said she has tried meeting with her congressman about her unemployment to no avail. For that reason, she protested the event, she said.

"Day to day, I wake up and wonder how I am going to make it," she said. "We want the congressman to give us better jobs and better pay. He has town hall meetings in every surrounding community but won't have a town hall in Joliet. I want him to spend a day in my shoes and see how feels to live day to day."

Dickerson said she has been unemployed for a year and struggles to put food on the table for her children, one of which is disabled and requires special care and another plays basketball overseas.

"This breakfast is for the 1 percent," Dickerson said. "Since we in the 99 percent can't get the congressman's time, we're going to make our presence felt at this VIP event.

The fundraiser was closed to the media. A group of police officers was standing outside the golf club's main entrance to maintain peace. None of the protesters seemed to be causing any problems.

According to the Stand Up! release, White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf; Cubs ChairmanTodd Ricketts; Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar; William Auriemma, President of Diversified CPC International in Channahon; David Onion, CEO of Turnaround Management Association; Guy Gorney, Senior Vice President of Generation for Edison Mission Group (EMG) and President of EMG’s Chicago-based subsidiary, Midwest Generation were all in attendance. 

Rice was scheduled to appear at the University of Chicago on Monday. That event was canceled for what university officials are calling an “unforeseen scheduling conflict.”

Occupy Chicago protesters are taking some of the credit.

According to a report, Occupy Chicago had planned to "Un-Welcome" Rice and Paulson, saying "Many... Occupy Chicago members are students at the University of Chicago and plan on attending this event." At least one tweet, by the Occupy Chicago Outreach Committee, specified this would involve a “rally and mic check.”