While approximately 75,000 people rallied in downtown Chicago on June 14 for what was called No Kings protests to voice opposition to President Donald Trump on his birthday, thousands of other protesters attended rallies across the Chicago suburbs to amplify the message.
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One of the largest No Kings suburban rallies was in Oak Park where a few thousand protesters gathered in downtown Oak Park, filling Scoville Park and parading for a few blocks along crowded Lake Street sidewalks.
Oak Park resident Lisa Beltrami stood with a megaphone on a Lake Street sidewalk, leading chants such as “hey hey, ho ho Donald Trump has got to go” as the enthusiastic crowd chanted along with her. Beltrami had attended a protest earlier this year where organizers noted her strong voice, so this time they gave her a megaphone and she went to work with it.
“I feel at some level you can get the energy up and get people motivated, and I have a big mouth,” Beltrami said.
Beltrami said that she came to protest because she fears for the kind of country her children and grandchildren will live in.
“I’m terrified of the future,” Beltrami said.
Other protesters echoed that feeling, saying they needed to make clear their opposition to the Trump administration and their concern that democratic norms were being trampled. Marchers voiced concerns about abrupt deportations and many other actions of President Trump, who they say acts like a king.
“We want democracy not idiocracy,” said Viola Vega, 10, who was at the protest with her father and older sister.
The Vega girls particularly relished protesting on the birthday of Trump, who they said “cares a lot about images.”
Tatiana Vega, 15, was carrying a sign that said “We Are the Birthday Crashers.”
“It shows that we’re not afraid of him,” she said.
Protesters said they were inspired by the turnout, the energy and by being around so many like-minded people.
“I feel empowered; I feel encouraged,” said Ronen Kohn of Chicago, who carried a sign that said “Drag Kings Only.”
Marlene Wesol-Cid, of Chicago, carried a cardboard sign saying “Trump the Antichrist — Dump Trump.”
“I feel like if I don’t stand up for our rights and do something I’m going to go crazy, essentially” Wesol-Cid said. “And it’s a shame our democracy has come to this — almost fascism. People are allowing it to happen and I can’t take it anymore.”
The Oak Park No Kings protest was organized by Indivisible West Side, a progressive group, and the group Congregations Networking for Social Justice. The organizers were pleased with the turnout.
“What we wanted to do was to create an opportunity for people who were not able to make it to the downtown event to have something local, because to me the most important thing is not where you show up but that you show up,” said Betty Alzamora, a leader of Indivisible Chicago and Indivisible Westside.
“It also confirms to people that they are not alone. It gives people courage; it gives them strength. We say that courage is contagious and the more people see their neighbors, their friends, their family members, their beloveds all out on the streets doing the same thing, raising their voices in peaceful protest, that’s important.”
The No Kings rallies and protests were part of a nationwide day of protest against the Trump administration. Other No Kings protests were held in many Chicago suburbs including La Grange, Lisle, Naperville, Evanston and many other Chicago suburbs as well as throughout the entire country in a massive outpouring of protest against the Trump administration.
Bob Skolnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.