Tens of thousands of Illinoisans take to the streets to protest Trump
and Musk agenda
[April 08, 2025]
By Sonya Dymova and Medill Illinois News Bureau
CHICAGO — Tens of thousands of Illinoisans across the state took to the
streets Saturday to protest President Donald Trump’s and billionaire
Elon Musk’s government downsizing, foreign policy choices and actions on
the economy, immigration and human rights.
The protests spanned more than 30 cities in Illinois as part of a “Hands
Off!” National Day of Action campaign in more than 1,300 locations in
all 50 states. Nearly 600,000 people signed up to attend the rallies,
according to Indivisible, one of the organizations leading the movement
together with a nationwide coalition that includes civil rights and
women’s rights groups, labor unions, veterans and LGBTQ+ advocates.
In later estimates, the “Hands Off!” organizers stated “millions” showed
up to the rallies across the country and a dozen protests held in
solidarity around the globe, though these estimates could not be
independently confirmed.
The largest protest in the state took place in downtown Chicago.
Organizers estimate that about 30,000 people flooded the Loop, chanting
“This is what democracy looks like!” and “This is what Chicago looks
like!” Kathy Tholin, board chair at Indivisible Chicago, one of the
rally’s key organizers, said the crowd was by far “the largest” since
the inauguration.
Several other organizations joined Indivisible Chicago in planning the
action, including the Chicago Federation of Labor, the Illinois
Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Equality Illinois, the
environmental Sierra Club and the pro-choice Personal PAC. The core
demands advanced by the rally organizers included bringing an end to the
“billionaire takeover,” stopping the “slashing” of federal funds and
ceasing attacks on immigrants and LGBTQ+ communities.
Responding to the coast-to-coast demonstrations, the White House said in
a statement: “President Trump’s position is clear: He will always
protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible
beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social
Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will
bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”
But across the nation, in red states and blue, people came together
expressing fear, outrage, anger and concern about the threats they see
to myriad issues ranging from free speech and cancer research to
democracy and the rule of law.
Thousands of handmade placards at the Chicago protests reflected a wide
range of concerns beyond the rally’s core demands.
“Usually there’s a lot of printed signs, but today there’s a lot of
handmade signs, which shows me people are rising up,” said Janet Farr, a
71-year-old Chicago resident who said she spent hours crafting her own
poster. Her sign proclaimed “We The People” aiming darts at GOP balloons
undergirding a depiction of Trump wearing a crown and sitting on Musk’s
knee and picturing the words “Greed. Oligarchy. Power.” Far said, “There
are more signs than I’ve ever seen.”
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Janet Farr of Chicago said she spent hours crafting her own poster
for Saturday’s Hands-Off rally. (Photos by Sonya Dymova, Medill
Illinois News Bureau)
Some compared Trump and Musk to Nazi-era leaders, while others condemned
U.S. policies on Ukraine, Gaza and reciprocal tariffs.
Protesters raised a broad spectrum of other issues, from trans rights
and labor conditions to cuts to veteran care and threats to national
parks. Anger at Trump and Musk was a unifying theme.
Sizeable crowds filled other Illinois locations, too. Over 3,000 people
took to the streets of Gurnee, Illinois, a town populated by just over
30,000 people, according to the event’s organizers.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-HIghland Park, attended the event, calling
the Gurnee turnout “absolutely incredible” in a Facebook post. In
Arlington Heights, Ill., around 2,000 protested along Northwest Highway.
Other Illinois locations where protesters gathered included Chicago
suburbs like Highland Park and Evanston as well as towns like Kankakee
and Macomb and O’Fallon in metro-east, where more than 200 people came
out with signs to stand in a heavy downpour.
“This is really capturing a moment across the state that people from all
different parts of Illinois are fed up with what the Trump
administration is doing to communities,” said Brandon Lee, 37,
communications director at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and
Refugee Rights. “This is really a moment for different parts of the
movement to come together.”
Some protesters chose to travel to Chicago rather than join their local
“Hands off!” events. According to Lee, people from “across Illinois”
signed up to participate in the downtown rally.
One protester who would only give his first name for fear of
retribution, Josh—a 25-year-old Rockford resident—said there was a
demonstration happening in his city, but he came to Daley Plaza “to be
part of this big movement here.”
“Chicago’s a fantastic city with fantastic people. It’s a tough people.
You gotta be tough to be in Chicago,” he said. “The sheer amount of
people and the sheer amount of willpower in this city is what brought me
here.”
Sonya Dymova is an undergraduate student in
journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of
Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow
in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with
Capitol News Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is
funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation. |
