CHICAGO — Tens of thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in downtown Chicago under overcast skies to say they reject the policies and tactics of the Trump administration.
The rally was one of more than 2,600 so-called “No Kings” demonstrations held nationally and across Illinois, organized by the protest group Indivisible.
In Chicago, the focus of the protests was on the Trump administration’s recent immigration enforcement operations.
President Donald Trump’s attempt on Oct. 4 to federalize more than 300 members of the Illinois National Guard and another 200 from the Texas National Guard has been tied up in the courts.
U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order forbidding the federal government from deploying troops on Chicago streets, ruling there was “no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois.”
Larry Canning arrived early on Saturday to set up a display of American flags with a towel painted to read, “NO KINGS EVER.” Canning, of Tinley Park, described himself as a “straight down the line” independent, voting for both Republicans and Democrats. But like others at the protest, he took issue with the administration’s recent approach to immigration enforcement.
“They’re denying due process to a lot of people that are good people and they’re trying to make a living,” Canning said. “They’ve been here a long time and they’re ripping them out of their homes and their beds, and that’s tyranny to me.”
Keith Fry, a pastor who lives in the Beverly neighborhood, carried a sign reading, “Sorry for being awkward! This is my first dictatorship.”
Fry said he was motivated in part to come out after watching a video of the Rev. David Black being shot in the head with a pepper bullet by a federal agent while protesting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in nearby Broadview.
“As a person of faith who sees horrible things happening to my neighbors, I can’t stay silent about that,” Fry said. “But I’m also a proud citizen of my country, and I can’t be quiet with what’s going on. We’ve slid into fascism.”
Kat Abughazaleh, a congressional candidate running for Illinois’ 9th District seat, has been a regular protestor at the Broadview facility and gone viral for a video in which she was shoved to the ground by a federal agent.
Abughazaleh believes the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activity is only one piece of the puzzle. “It never stops with one population,” Abughazaleh said. “It doesn’t stop with immigrants; it doesn’t stop with blue cities. It comes for all of us one way or another.”
Indivisible volunteer Sally Schultze, who was involved with organizing the local rally, called the administration’s actions “un-American.”
Schultze, like others, referenced fear caused by masked and unidentified agents detaining people, the targeting of journalists, the use of chemical irritants deployed in neighborhoods and nighttime raids that have targeted adults — in some cases American citizens — and zip-tied children detained outside for hours.
However, Schultze said organizers were focused on keeping the protests peaceful. In addition to reminding attendees about expectations for nonviolent action, Schultze said that the No Kings coalition held four volunteer safety marshal trainings in the last two weeks to prepare for this day. Safety marshals wore yellow vests and acted as a buffer to deescalate any potential conflicts.
While four protesters were arrested at the Broadview facility on Saturday, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the downtown rally remained peaceful, with protestors blowing bubbles, dancing and singing along to music.
As first popularized in anti-ICE protests in Portland, a number of protestors at the Chicago rally donned inflatable costumes, presenting a whimsical and joyful contrast to Trump’s depiction of the city as a “war zone.”
Organizers said they saw the day as a way to make their voices heard and build community but also sought to provide outlets for further action. Along the path of the march, they posted QR codes where people could find additional ways to support neighbors at risk.
“It’s a cowardly kind of thing, this fascism,” state Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, said. “It’s rooted in a type of fragility and a type of insecurity and sickness. I think being united and being in the streets and solidarity with each other is how we fight back.”
This was the second major No Kings movement. Organizers mobilized approximately 2,000 protests across the country in June and estimated that over 5 million people took part. Trump supporters dubbed the demonstrations “Hate America” rallies.
Protestors pushed back on that classification by loudly expressing their patriotism, with Gov. JB Pritzker leading in chants of “USA! USA! USA!”
“We are here today to defend the principle that has defined America since its founding, the belief that tyranny in any form must be resisted by the people of conscience,” Pritzker boomed from the stage. “Especially here in Chicago, we will never surrender.”
Springfield
About 75 No Kings rallies were scheduled across Illinois. In Springfield, more than 1,000 people gathered by the Abraham Lincoln statue in front of the Illinois Capitol, spilling onto the sidewalks and lawns fronting the Illinois Supreme Court building and the Illinois State Library.
Many held signs and waved flags with messages like “No Kings in America” and “Stop the coup” while engaging in chants of “No thrones, no crowns, no kings” as passing cars honked and drivers waved their fists in support.
The serious messages shared belied the festive atmosphere. Songs like the “Cha Cha Slide” and “Macarena” peppered between traditional protest songs like “For What It’s Worth” and “Born in the USA” as a light rain sprinkled the gathered demonstrators.
Martin Woulfe, a minister of the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian-Universalist Church in Springfield, joked to assembled demonstrators that “I watched all of you who've been praying for rain” in drought-ridden downstate Illinois, and “now we're going to work on our timing.”
“We understand that there's been a drought — a drought in this land, and a deep division,” Woulfe said. “We pray for hope. We pray for goodness. We pray for good trouble, and we understand that we all have a role.”
Central Illinois has largely been spared the aggressive immigration raids that have taken place in the Chicago region over the last month. But the issue was still top of mind for those who gathered in Illinois’ capital city.
Kristi Poole, a hospice aide from Springfield, said that “our immigrant communities may be smaller” in Central Illinois, “but they are here, and they matter.” She said activists are forming rapid response teams in case immigration enforcement ramps up downstate.
“If ICE comes into our communities, I will stand like Corrie ten Boom, like Harriet Tubman, like Anne Frank,” Poole said. “I will not be silent. I will not be complicit, because what is happening in this country isn't just injustice, it's a war crime. And history will remember what side we stood on.”
She added: “Authoritarianism is here, fascism is here,” but how long it stays depends on us.”
Karen Broquet, a doctor at the SIU School of Medicine and the leader of Springfield’s Indivisible chapter, said Saturday’s protest was “bigger than anything we've done,” noting that they had about 1,000 people at the first “No Kings” rally in June and about 400 at monthly protests since. But Saturday’s protest was the first time she couldn’t spot her family because of all the new faces in the crowd.
“With each more egregious step that our current government takes, it's impacting more people — and it's impacting others that they love,” Broquet said. “And it's forcing them to pay attention. And folks are getting a little bit more courageous, myself included, about talking to friends, neighbors, standing on the street corner screaming (and) holding up signs.”
Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, a Democratic candidate for Illinois comptroller, was among the speakers, which also included local activists and candidates for local political office.
Signs of counterprotest were minimal in Springfield beyond a man who circled the block several times with Trump flags waving from the bed of his pickup truck.
Metro East
In Belleville, the protest dropped off about noon — two hours before it was scheduled to end — due to a steady downpour, but organizers still estimated attendance at around 1,000.
Protesters stood outside the St. Clair County Courthouse holding signs. Drivers honked as they passed protesters in costumes and rain gear, shouting in protest of Trump.
Paralee Stewart, who said she was representing the Service Employees Union International, came out to oppose cuts to health care, including Medicaid cuts under the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law in July.
"The cuts are affecting everyone, including home health care providers, and we take care of the disabled, the elderly and the children, and by them cutting that it means our most vulnerable are going to be affected. That's why we are out here," she said.
In Granite City, a steel town, once a big union town and Democratic stronghold, held a "No Kings" protest that drew about 100 people Saturday morning.
Art Asadorian, a Democrat and former Madison County Board member, said he came to support the movement.
"This protest takes me back to when I learned about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. The reason we formed this country is because we didn't want kings," Asadorian said. "I got involved because I could feel a rumble under my feet right now, the Founding Fathers rolling in their graves because of what's going on. It's just not right," he said.
Two Democratic candidates for Madison County Board were also in attendance. Jeremy D. Haston and Amy Mohme, both Democrats, said they were inspired by the political culture and decided to get involved. Neither Mohme nor Haston has run for office before.
"Somebody has to stand against a candidate who is running unopposed, who has no one speaking against that pro-Trump agenda. Somebody had to do it. And if nobody else will, I will," Hasten said.
Carbondale
Farther south, in Carbondale, the planned No Kings rally drew about 2,000 people that included a visible mix of older and younger people. Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University.
People stood along main roadways holding signs with messages like, “Hate will not make us great.” They also took jabs at Trump, including a mock cover of Time magazine with an image of Trump as “Clown of the Year.”
One middle-aged protester said she was heartened to see so many people in their 20s and 30s in the crowd, saying the younger generation “needs to make sure they participate, too.”
Maggie Dougherty is a freelance reporter covering the Chicago area.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.