‘What democracy looks like’: Demonstrators protest Trump, Musk in Arlington Heights and other suburbs
Critics of President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk took to the streets in the Chicago area and across the nation Saturday in more than 1,000 coordinated protests.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered for a rally in Arlington Heights’ North School Park and then marched down Arlington Heights Road to a second gathering point at Northwest Highway. With assistance from police, the protesters filled the roadway as they headed south, forcing drivers — some honking their horns in support, others in frustration — to find alternate routes.
Along the way and at both rally sites, they waved signs and chanted slogans including “Dump Trump” and “Hands off our country.”
The event was part of a nationwide mobilization dubbed “Hands Off!” that was coordinated by the Indivisible Project, a progressive movement against Trump and his political agenda.
More than 500,000 people were expected to attend rallies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on Saturday, according to national organizers.
Additional “Hands Off!” demonstrations were to be held Saturday in Bartlett, Buffalo Grove, Geneva, Lisle, Palatine, Schaumburg, Chicago and elsewhere in the region.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider attended a “Hands Off!” rally in Gurnee at the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and Hunt Club Road. In a social media post afterward, the Highland Park Democrat said, “This is what democracy looks like.”
Hundreds of people, nearly all of them with protest signs, turned out for the “Hands Off!” rally near the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin. The crowd lined the south side of Kimball Street and stretched to the nearby Centre of Elgin on Symphony Way.
Back in Arlington Heights, Melissa Sloat and her mother, Wallis Sloat, were among the people who lined Arlington Heights Road and waved signs at passing cards before the first rally in Arlington Heights. Every honk and thumbs-up signal seemed to buoy the demonstrators’ spirits.
Melissa Sloat’s motivation for attending was very personal.
“I’m currently in treatment for breast cancer, and I want hands off research,” the Park Ridge resident explained. Cancer research is among the fields that could be affected by the Trump administration’s spending cuts at federal health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.
Melissa Sloat also waved a homemade sign that supported free speech, a free press and public broadcasting on one side and read “More Brains, Less Ego!” on the other.
Wallis Sloat’s sign urged an end to inanity, insanity and inhumanity.
Across North School Park, signs in the massive crowd addressed the economy, the environment, LGBTQ rights and other topics.
Democratic state Sen. Mark Walker of Arlington Heights and Wheeling Township Supervisor-elect Maria Zeller Brauer energized the crowd with brief remarks through a megaphone.
After they spoke, Democratic state Rep. Mary Beth Canty called the rally “exciting.”
“This is what makes me get up in the morning,” she said.
Although the General Assembly is limited in how it can battle the Trump administration’s edicts, Canty said state lawmakers can raise their voices in opposition
“What we can do, always, is use our bully pulpit,” she said.
• Daily Herald staff writer Brian Hill contributed to this report.