Protesters gathered Tuesday evening at a Lincolnshire intersection to voice their opposition to a conservative Christian educators’ summit held by right-wing organization Turning Point USA at a nearby hotel.
Two Lake County chapters of Indivisible, a progressive activist group, organized the protest against the Turning Point Educators’ Summit, held at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, warning that the conservative group’s goals include bringing “white Christian nationalism” into the educational system, according to one organizer.
Held by Indivisible Western Lake County and Indivisible Northeast Lake County, the protest saw about 60 to 70 attendees. Katie Sayler, with Indivisible NE Lake County, said the group aims to push back on authoritarianism and protect community neighbors. The protest was meant to send a message to the summit, Salyer said.
“We want to speak out to let them know they’re not welcome here,” she said.
Sayler emphasized their branch, Indivisible NE Lake County, was purposefully nonpartisan. It wasn’t an issue of red and blue, she argued.
“We take issue with extremist voters. White Christian nationalism- that more extreme MAGA perspective- that’s where our concerns lie,” Sayler said. “We just know that there is danger in the messaging that Turning Point USA brings.”
It’s the second time Turning Point Education, a TPUSA initiative, has held its annual summit in Lake County; their 2023 event was held in Deerfield. TPUSA officials did not respond to a request for comment as of Wednesday.
“They’re intent upon infiltrating our educational system, that pillar of power,” Sayler said. “Their messaging is about reducing our constitutional rights, women’s rights to vote, or just really reducing our education and stripping it away from our more diverse history
On its website, Turning Point Education isn’t shy about its Christian and conservative goals; they’re two of the group’s five pillars, and the website says they’re dedicated to “reclaiming the education of our children, reviving virtuous education focused on truth, goodness and beauty, and restoring God as the foundation of education.”
The summit’s webpage lists nearly 30 speakers, including TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk, the wife of the late Charlie Kirk. Other speakers include the founder of the ACE scholarship program, several Republican politicians, and an extensive mix of conservative activists, Christian authors, Christian school officials, and professors who support a “Biblical worldview” in classrooms, as described in an online event description.
The protest saw about 60 to 70 people, chanting, carrying signs, and beating drums. Some chants alternated between targeting President Donald Trump and TPUSA.
Grayslake resident Julia Plescia, carrying a small cardboard “Resist” sign, said she was drawn to community activism because of the current administration. Now a member of Indivisible NE Lake County, the educators’ summit had hit close to home for the former school nurse and school board member for Woodland School District 50.
“I don’t want religious indoctrination in our schools,” Plescia said. She hadn’t known much about TPUSA before Kirk’s death, but was concerned they could “try to force their beliefs on other people.”
Throughout the protest, cars and semi-trucks rolled by, some blaring their horns in approval. Not all were quite so supportive; one disapproving driver pulled up alongside, revving their engine and blowing exhaust at protesters.
Over the last two decades, Lake County has leaned increasingly blue, with steadily rising numbers of Democratic voters completely flipping the county government and giving Lake County to Democratic presidential candidates in the last five presidential elections. Meanwhile, the number of Republican voters has hit record lows.
And during one local flash of a hot-button national issue — the controversy around the use of changing rooms by a transgender student at Deerfield Public Schools District 109 — the crowds that filled school board meetings featured far more pride flags than Moms for Liberty shirts.
But some protesters said TPUSA was looking to find a foothold in Lake County.
Joe Salvi, the young Republican candidate for the Lake County Board District seat, spoke previously during the primary about building a new generation of Republicans for the county. He’s the president of Lake County Young Republicans and has helped with the creation of local chapters of “Club America,” the high school equivalent of Turning Point.
The Club America website lists four chapters in Lake County; at schools in Antioch, Grayslake, Mundelein and Lake Forest, although only the Lake Forest chapter can be confirmed through publicly available school club lists.
Salvi had argued that Lake County’s political makeup could be flipped again.
Meanwhile, Lake County party leadership has seen a shakeup on both sides of the aisle; State Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, and Dawn Abernathy of Mundelein are the new heads of their respective parties.
