“No Kings, THIS is a DEMOCRACY,” read one sign carried in a crowd that gathered along Willow Springs Road Saturday as the third edition of a the nationwide No Kings protest convened, this time in Western Springs
About 1,400 protesters turned out at the Western Springs event to voice — loudly — their general displeasure with the Trump administration.
“We have an authoritarian ruling regime,” said Mike Waters, an event organizer and member of Indivisible West Suburban Chicago. “We have a president that wants to be a king, who routinely violates the Constitution, who routinely violates the rule of law. He doesn’t recognize the separation of powers, he doesn’t recognize the importance of an independent judiciary, he wants to have his way and has pretty much said so. He thinks because he’s the president he can do whatever he wants, and that’s not how it works in this country.”
The Western Springs event ran from 9:30 to 11 a.m., so as not to conflict with other events throughout the Chicago area scheduled for later, including in nearby Downers Grove and Downtown Chicago.
Events were also scheduled throughout the country, with more than 100 in Michigan alone, and what has been described as the flagship event in Minneapolis, scene of the deaths of residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of Immigration officials in separate incidents.
Western Springs police were on hand to make sure the crowds were safe, regulating the traffic and keeping protesters from impeding vehicles.
The crowds lined both sides of Willow Springs Road from the Garden Market shopping center to just south of University of Chicago Advent La Grange Hospital. Passing motorists provided a continuous honking noise, often waving to the protesters.
Signs opposing what was repeatedly described as a fascist administration were very much in evidence, including warnings such as “They’re taking away our rights,” “fight truth decay,” “Liberty and Justice for All,” “Trump=Traitor,” “Hands OFF our DEMOCRACY,” and “Workers over Billionaires.”
Many people brought dogs to the event, with one sporting a “Pups 4 Peace,” sign.
Someone brought a boom box and played protest classics such as Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Periodically, the crowd was led in chants by speakers with bullhorns, including “No Kings, dump this Trump,” “hey everybody wake up, no Epstein coverup,” and “no kings, no crown, we the people won’t back down.”
Many people who came out spoke against the war in Iran, the ongoing immigration enforcement, the SAVE Act, and what they described as a slide towards authoritarianism. And many stressed there were a list of problems with the administration.
“How’s it possible to pick one, there’s so many things,” Leslie Hartoonian said, adding that her biggest worry was “losing our democracy and being overtaken by a thug.”
For some, speaking out has become a regular activity.
“We’ve done these No Kings events as well as Renee Good vigils for the past year,” Carolyn Bonistalli said, “and it is our way of letting our community know that there is a strong and robust resistance right here in this community. … We want to resist the authoritarian impulses of Donald Trump and his administration.
“There’s a lot of things going on, the immigrants are under attack, but for me, seeing how our democracy has devolved over the past 15 months into near autocracy, is what motivates me.”
A group from the La Grange Area League of Women Voters, led by Diane Scott, showed up to make their feelings known.
“We need to defend democracy,” Scott said. “The League of Women Voters has been working for a hundred years to do just that with voter registration and voter education and getting people involved in becoming good citizens. That’s why I’m here.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
