has moved to the back burner of public discussion.

- [Narrator] By the summer of 1989, the death toll pushed 85,000.

(soft somber music) - More and more people were getting sick.

More people were dying.

More and more people were feeling desperate and hopeless.

- [Narrator] Danny knew all too well the challenges for people living with AIDS.

- I get fatigued a lot, and shortness of breath, and I get pains in my chest, and they're pretty constant.

- [Narrator] And he wanted to spotlight the continued inaction and ignorance of elected officials and the medical establishment.

- Instead of scaring people, we wanna educate people, so we produced our own safe sex ad.

- [Narrator] In late 1989, ACT UP Chicago began to organize an ambitious, multi-targeted demonstration to rival anything Danny had seen around the country.

They put out the call to ACT UP chapters nationwide.

Thousands showed up.

- The weather was beautiful, the day of the demonstration.

Everyone was loud.

Everyone was spirited.

Lots of chants.

(crowd cheering) I was gonna just go there and yell my head off.

- We were there for the cause.

We were also there 'cause Danny asked us.

I can't imagine our saying no to anything Danny asked.

(mellow music) - [Narrator] The demonstration kicked off at the Prudential building on April 23rd, 1990.

The insurance company was accused of overcharging LGBTQ people.

(crowd chanting) - They doubled and tripled premiums.

- [Narrator] The demonstrators then marched on to the American Medical Association to protest the high cost of AIDS medication and denounce doctors who refused to treat people with AIDS.

- [Demonstrator] Come on, we want your blood.

- They had people in white coats with blood on the lapels and stuff, and money that had been smeared with blood.

- [Reporter] It was when ACT UP took to the streets that the police became excessively violent, and shoving matches and used mounted police to physically intimidate and injure at least two demonstrators.

- I guarantee you my inclination toward activism did not include lying down in the street in front of police on horses.

But did we do it?

Absolutely, we did it.

- And of course, a lot of the cops back then were wearing rubber gloves.

- [Victor] They were afraid to touch any of the people.

- And so we were chanting, "Your gloves don't match your shoes.

They'll see you on the news."

- And then onward to City Hall.

(crowd clamoring) - [Narrator] At the time, women with AIDS were denied treatment at the county AIDS ward.

- There was a saying, women don't get AIDS, they just die from it.

- They had this lame excuse because the bathroom wasn't working.

There was only one bathroom, so they couldn't have women in there.

- [Demonstrators] Women are dying!

15 beds!

Women are dying!

- [Narrator] So, dozens of women from ACT UP blocked the downtown intersection with 15 mattresses to highlight that inequity.

- So part of the planning literally was where to stash the mattresses, so that they were along the route, where to go get 'em and where nobody would take them.

- [Demonstrators] Women are dying!

15 beds!

Women are dying!

15 beds!

The whole world is watching.

The whole world is watching.

The whole world is watching.

The whole world is watching.

- It literally became pulling us, dragging us physically.

And I remember at the time thinking, I should be afraid.

(censored) them.

You want me outta here, you're gonna (censored) drag me by the hair.

(mellow music) - The very first woman was allowed into the AIDS ward at Cook County Hospital the day after we demonstrated.

- And they said it had nothing to do with our demonstration, which of course, we thought was total BS.

- [Tim] While that was going on, we went to the County Building.

- [Narrator] Danny and four others had one final action planned.

- But we couldn't talk about that with anyone else because loose lips sink ships.

- [Narrator] The group needed to find a way past the throngs of police and into the County Building.

(demonstrators chanting) - We just walked in.

They were like so focused on the outside, I don't even think that they were aware that we had entered.

- [Narrator] They headed to a third-floor office overlooking Daley Plaza.

- There was this middle-aged woman sitting there and she said, "Can I help you?"

And we said, "No."

(chuckles) We just walked right by her.

- And they went into the offices that connected to the overhead balcony, locked the door.

- We started pushing this big heavy desk up against the door.

And then she got on the phone and called security.

- [Art] And suddenly something took our attention and we looked up and there, riding high like a cloud, was Danny and the other folks from ACT UP.

- [Rick] And the crowd went insane.

(crowd cheering) - The banner said, "We demand equal healthcare now."

I swear I could see his smile.

I could see his bright shining eyes.

I could see when he raised his fist into the air.

- [Billy] It was just electric.

- [Tim] I stood on the window holding it closed, and then somehow they pried the window open, and I was the first person to be dragged in.

And I was pretty banged up from that.

(demonstrators clamoring) - [Billy] And then Danny and Paul were the last ones out there.

- Danny was on the balcony and he was saying, "I'm a person with AIDS.

I don't have anything to lose.

If you don't get away from me, I'm gonna jump."

(demonstrators clamoring) The demonstration was so operatic.

It was larger than life.

- And it was one of those moments where you don't really consciously think this is history in the making.

It did not take on the sort of mythic quality until after we saw it reflected in the media.

- As many as 1,000 protestors- - Clashed with police.

- A hundred protestors were arrested.

- Yeah.

- It's probably the most empowering, the most visible thing that ACT UP Chicago ever did.

And that was the only time that we were arrested where they actually gave us a bologna sandwich in jail.