‘No Kings’ rally draws thousands to Chicago’s Grant Park: ‘More and more people are horrified and activated’

The “No Kings” protest in Chicago’s Grant Park kicked off Saturday afternoon with a powerful rendition of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and an original song called, “In This America,” by local artist Melody Angel.

She wrote the song in memory of Trayvon Martin, whose killing galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement. She now dedicates the song to her niece and nephew.

“This is not the world I want for them, and I will change it,” Angel said from the stage.

By 1:30 p.m., thousands gathered at Butler Field in Grant Park. Attendees held “Abolish Ice” and “No Kings Since 1776” signs as songs like “Fight the Power” and “I Will Survive” blared through the speakers. By 3 p.m., the crowd began marching through the Loop holding large signs including, “ICE OUT.”

The rally is part of a nationwide movement, dubbed “No Kings,” to protest President Donald Trump’s policies including mass deportations, the rollback of transgender rights and the war in Iran. The “No Kings” protests started last year to make the point that Trump has acted more like a despot rather than the leader of a democracy answerable to the American people.

Across the Chicago area Saturday, many participants took their children to the rallies, pointing to the importance of teaching them to speak out. Although many expressed frustration with Trump, some said they took comfort in the solidarity surrounding them.

Organizers expected more than 3,100 events to take place in the U.S. Saturday, and protests also were planned for Europe, the AP reported. The Grant Park protest was expected to be the biggest in Chicago, but smaller ones took place in Lincoln Square and Irving Park. Outside of the city, other rallies took place in Cicero, Oak Park and Highland Park.

The Downtown rally was organized by the Hands Off Chicago Coalition, which includes Chicago Federation of Labor, Equality Illinois, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Indivisible Chicago Alliance and more, as well as the ACLU of Illinois. Volunteers said a crowd of 250,000 to 300,000 was expected, though the crowd appeared smaller than the one from last fall.

In October, tens of thousands of people attended similar protests across the Chicago region. Republicans had described protests as the “Hate America Rally.”

Reflecting on the progression of the “No Kings” protests over the last year, Laura Tanner, of Indivisible Chicago, said the resistance movement keeps growing.

“More and more people are horrified and activated, and just want to be a part of these mass demonstrations,” she said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson took the stage briefly, voicing his commitment to end the “assault” against working people and immigrants, as well as “endless wars.” Johnson stressed his support for affordable rent, access to quality education, health care and good-paying jobs. He also announced a forthcoming day of action on May 1 to pressure the “ultra-rich” to “pay their fair share in taxes.”

“Look around,” he said. “Our movement is bigger. Our resolve is stronger. And we’re sending a message: No kings in America.”

The protest drew other elected officials including Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Rep. Mike Quigley, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, as well as city and county officials. Among the other speakers were representatives of social justice organizations, including advocates for trans rights ahead of Tuesday’s Trans Day of Visibility.

Linda Tucker, 70, of Kenwood, said she showed up to voice many grievances, including that a disproportionate number of Black women were pushed out of the workforce since Trump started his second term.

She described the protest as “positive and mellow,” but she was discouraged by the makeup of the crowd.

“There are so many people of my generation here and not enough young people,” she said. “My generation experienced assassinations, the Vietnam War, [Richard] Nixon and [Ronald] Reagan, and we know how hard it was to get what we had. There is no reason to take it for granted.”

Another participant, Paula Guerrero, said she joined the crowd because of Trump’s “misogyny, lack of decency and cronyism.” The Old Irving Park resident wants to see a “blue wave” of Democratic leaders elected into office later this year.

‘We’ve been here before’

As Joanne Bertalan sat in her wheelchair on a crisp and sunny morning during Evanston’s “No Kings” rally, she thought back to the civil rights protests she attended as a college student at Bradley University in 1964.

“We’ve been here before,” said Bertalan, 77. “These people have all lived through a lot of stuff and wars. It’s got a lot of veterans here and they’re done with this.”

She was among a few hundred people gathered in Evanston that attracted several generations of protesters. She attended the rally with her 57-year-old daughter, Cheree Bertalan. They attended the “No Kings” rally last year and returned for the event, noting they appreciated the peaceful demonstration that brought out dogs, grandmothers and young children alike.

Amanda Laskowski, 45, kept on an eye on her 4-year-old son, who ran toward a group of dogs at the march, while holding a 6-foot-tall pole topped with a bulbous, papier-mâché Trump head that she spent the last six weeks creating. She came to the rally with her partner, Joe Greenbaum, 42, and Greenbaum’s 84-year-old mother, Phyllis Greenbaum.

“I’m upset over Trump and what he’s doing, and just the fact that he is basically acting like a monarch and that’s not what our Constitution is about,” Laskowski said. “I wanted to vent in an artistic way.”

Greenbaum, expressed his anger by wearing a “NO ICE” baseball cap and an old Halloween costume that made it look like he was riding on top of Trump’s shoulders.

“Every single day [Trump] lights me up,” Greenbaum said, describing his frustration with ICE. Greenbaum felt that elected officials were not doing their job either.

“They want us to pay our taxes. Well, there’s no representation,” he said. “I’m not gonna file my taxes to help ICE kidnap people.”

The suburban rally also included Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, the recent winner of the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District seat, who took the stage around 10:45 a.m. to loud cheers.

“Things have gotten worse,” Biss said. “There is a war, an unjust, illegal, deranged war. We endured a violent federal occupation in our streets, here in Evanston and across the Chicago area throughout the fall, and then they went on to Minneapolis, where they just started shooting people.“

As the crowds dwindled in Dawes Park around 12:30 p.m., Heather Conlon and her 9-year-old son, John, made their way to the L to attend their second “No Kings” rally. Conlon had too many grievances to list, as evidenced by her poster that read: “My outrage doesn’t fit on this sign.”

“We feel very strongly that our country is going in the wrong direction, and that peaceful protest is one of the last remaining ways available to us to maybe switch the course,” Conlon said.

Fighting for rights ‘no matter what’ in Cicero

Outside of Cicero Town Hall, a crowd of 60 people gathered, holding signs stating, “Ice Out,” “No Kings” and “Stop the War.”

“No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” they shouted at one point, as cars on West Cermak Road honked in approval.

The protest was organized by the Cicero Berwyn Community Web to galvanize the predominantly Latino community. Volunteers said they wanted to provide a welcoming, accessible and joyful way for people to protest, especially for those who can’t make it to Grant Park. They provided snacks, chairs and decorations, including piñatas designed to resemble Trump and Cicero Town President Larry Dominick.

Volunteer Melissa Mouritsen, who held an upside-down U.S. flag, said she was protesting authoritarianism and reflecting on nation’s forthcoming 250th anniversary.

“They want us to be scared,” she said. “They want us to think their ICE agents at the airport are going to make us afraid to travel or live our lives, and we’re not going to do that. We’re the inheritors of the Declaration of Independence. We’re the inheritors of the rights and liberties, and we are going to fight for them no matter what. But we’re going to do it joyously.”

A U.S. Marines veteran, who identified himself as Jose Manuel, spoke out at the rally about the amount of money Trump has spent on the war in Iran and the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza territory.

“When we ask for investments here at home for schools, housing and mental health care, we’re told there isn’t enough,” said the 38-year-old. “But there is always enough money for war.”

Stickney resident Rae Disco, 46, and her two daughters, Lilith, 7, and Elly, 13, were among those in the crowd.

“The easiest possible thing anybody can do to support this cause is to just make your voice heard,” Disco said. “So I’m training my two daughters not to blindly accept any government or authority. I want them to be autonomous, and part of that means that we have to fight for what is, constitutionally, our rights.”

Disco said her primary concern was the rollback of reproductive rights, as well as Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Her daughter Elly said she felt like she was living in a dystopian novel.

“It’s something that future generations are going to look back on and can’t believe is happening,” Elly said.

Children join Lincoln Square rally

Around 100 people, including children, gathered earlier Saturday in Welles Park carrying signs opposing the president. People brought their kids and dogs, and used to chalk to write messages like “Choose love” and “Love thy neighbor.” The group sang, “This is for our people who are locked inside, together we will abolish ICE,” before marching the perimeter of the park.

Brenna O’Brien, a local parent who organized the protest as an alternative to the Grant Park rally, addressed the group before the march.

“We’re not loyal to a mad king trying to take over the country,” she said to cheers. “Chicagoans take care of each other and we will not let him take over this city.”

Meagan Moore, of Lincoln Square, took her 6-year-old son, Theo, and 4-year-old daughter, Ada, to the protest. The children made their own signs, Moore said.

“This is a picture of people fighting and I put an X over it,” Theo said, holding his sign that read, “No more wars.”

Selena G., who declined to give her last name, brought her 6-year-old son to the Lincoln Square protest. Her parents weren’t politically involved, she said, and she wasn’t very informed until she was older. She wants to change that with her son.

Selena said the intense immigration activity last year rocked her Albany Park community, and that was one of many reasons why she showed up to Saturday’s protest. She’s gotten involved in her community by helping walk other children to school and passing out whistles in public places so neighbors could alert one another about ICE activity.

That has given her solace.

“Sometimes it just feels good to know that everyone else is also upset,” she said. “I find that this is really uplifting even though everything else is kind of terrible.”

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