If the turnout at three Lake County “No Kings” rallies on Saturday are any indication, there’s plenty none too keen here on the policies of President Donald Trump. That doesn’t bode well for county Republicans next year.
At the Gurnee demonstration, thousands of old and young peaceful protesters — ranging from teachers to veterans to hospital workers and more — occupied the four corners at Grand Avenue and Hunt Club Road, overflowing parking lots normally used by shoppers in the commercial corridor. Those in attendance said the turnout easily dwarfed a similar outpouring on June 14, which saw an estimated 4,500 at the same location.
Two other sizeable anti-Trump county rallies were held in Highland Park and Buffalo Grove, as attendees voiced displeasure with the president, opposition to the shutdown of the federal government, and the presence of masked Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents roaming the area rummaging around for undocumented immigrants.
Buffalo Grove, Gurnee and Highland Park are not known as sites of seething pools of hateful Americans, as some national Republican leaders tagged the turnouts. Instead, they have become a corps of resistance to Trumpian policies they claim are ignoring the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.
Across Chicagoland, “No Kings” protests were held — from Chicago to Evanston to Aurora — in support of democracy, which protesters feel is threatened by administration actions. Nationally, more than 2,500 rallies were held on Saturday, from New York City to San Francisco; from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C. Others were held internationally, like in Dublin, whose populace knows something about being ruled by monarchs.
On hand at Grand and Hunt Club were protesters from Antioch, Grandwood Park, Gurnee, Libertyville, Wadsworth and Waukegan, with points in between, occupying the intersection from 10 a.m. to noon, encouraging motorists to honk their horns in support of the rally. Overwhelming numbers did so.
If there were those agreeing with President Trump, they were hiding in plain sight because I failed to see any as I walked the festive crowd. The Gurnee rally had a ‘60s vibe and party atmosphere — complete with classic protest music emanating from a giant boom box — despite threats of rain and partly cloudy skies. It seemed many of the pun-funny and homemade signs were not financed by liberal mega-donor, nonagenarian George Soros, himself a Hungarian immigrant.
That canard, once again, was floated by Republicans and talking heads loyal to President Trump. “No kings since 1776,” was a common placard, along with one hoisted by a Gurnee retiree saying MAGA stands for, “Morons Are Governing America”.
Gurnee patrol cars cruised the area, ensuring the crowd stayed off roadways and on the rights-of-way, waving signs and flags, which included a smattering of Mexican flags. Volunteers from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights worked the crowd, handing out small fliers on “How to Support Our Immigrant Neighbors.”
Placards voicing opposition to ICE agents in the county — they have been spotted in recent weeks in Waukegan, Round Lake, Wauconda and North Chicago — were aplenty. “Melt ICE” was a popular slogan, while one Navy vet held one that said, “Trump Disgraces Veterans.”
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Many of those at the rally were first-timers who decided they’ve had enough of this imperial president and heeded the words of American revolutionary Thomas Paine: “Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
The people manning the Gurnee crossroads on Saturday also are folks, too, who vote. Not happy with proclamations from the federal government, Trump policies in the first year of his second term are radicalizing not only older Americans, but future generations.
If so, Republicans in Lake County, now a solid blue county, and Illinois, a blue state for decades, need to either break from the Trump pack or fold their tents and shuffle along. “The dogs bark, the caravan moves on,” an old Arab proverb, fits area GOPsters.
They couldn’t muster opponents for counter-demonstrations or stop the Lake County Board from barring ICE raiders from using county properties as they attempt to scoop up illegal immigrants during their “Midway Blitz” mission.
The County Board last week voted 14-5 to keep federal agents from at least 28 county facilities, including parking lots and garages. Republicans, who once ruled Lake County for decades, have found themselves on the outside since Trump’s first four years in office.
Other county leaders, some from communities where non-partisan elections are held, have voiced outrage over tactics of the federal task force and the possibility of National Guard troops being deployed on Illinois streets. Department of Homeland Security agents may be in Lake County through at least December, using Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago as their headquarters, it has been reported, where some 140 unmarked vehicles are stored.
Their occupation in the county may lead to additional protest rallies. If so, perhaps one protester, a fan of crustaceans or “The Deadliest Catch,” will bring this sign seen at the Gurnee demonstration: “Only kings we want are crabs.”
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
X @sellenews