Thousands mobilize in Chicago, across Illinois to send a message: ‘No
Kings’
[October 20, 2025]
By Maggie Dougherty, Beth Hundsdorfer
CHICAGO — Tens of thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in downtown
Chicago under overcast skies to say they reject the policies and tactics
of the Trump administration.
The rally was one of more than 2,600 so-called “No Kings” demonstrations
held nationally and across Illinois, organized by the protest group
Indivisible.
In Chicago, the focus of the protests was on the Trump administration’s
recent immigration enforcement operations. President Donald Trump’s
attempt on Oct. 4 to federalize more than 300 members of the Illinois
National Guard and another 200 from the Texas National Guard has been
tied up in the courts.
U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order
forbidding the federal government from deploying troops on Chicago
streets, ruling there was “no credible evidence that there is a danger
of rebellion in the state of Illinois.”
Larry Canning arrived early on Saturday to set up a display of American
flags with a towel painted to read, “NO KINGS EVER.”
Canning, of Tinley Park, described himself as a “straight down the line”
independent, voting for both Republicans and Democrats. But like others
at the protest, he took issue with the administration’s recent approach
to immigration enforcement.
“They’re denying due process to a lot of people that are good people and
they’re trying to make a living,” Canning said. “They’ve been here a
long time and they’re ripping them out of their homes and their beds,
and that’s tyranny to me.”
Keith Fry, a pastor who lives in the Beverly neighborhood, carried a
sign reading, “Sorry for being awkward! This is my first dictatorship.”
Fry said he was motivated in part to come out after watching a video of
the Rev. David Black being shot in the head with a pepper bullet by a
federal agent while protesting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement
facility in nearby Broadview.
“As a person of faith who sees horrible things happening to my
neighbors, I can’t stay silent about that,” Fry said. “But I’m also a
proud citizen of my country, and I can’t be quiet with what’s going on.
We’ve slid into fascism.”
Kat Abughazaleh, a congressional candidate running for Illinois’ 9th
District seat, has been a regular protestor at the Broadview facility
and gone viral for a video in which she was shoved to the ground by a
federal agent.
Abughazaleh believes the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement
activity is only one piece of the puzzle.
“It never stops with one population,” Abughazaleh said. “It doesn’t stop
with immigrants; it doesn’t stop with blue cities. It comes for all of
us one way or another.”
Indivisible volunteer Sally Schultze, who was involved with organizing
the local rally, called the administration’s actions “un-American.”
Schultze, like others, referenced fear caused by masked and unidentified
agents detaining people, the targeting of journalists, the use of
chemical irritants deployed in neighborhoods and nighttime raids that
have targeted adults — in some cases American citizens — and zip-tied
children detained outside for hours.
However, Schultze said organizers were focused on keeping the protests
peaceful. In addition to reminding attendees about expectations for
nonviolent action, Schultze said that the No Kings coalition held four
volunteer safety marshal trainings in the last two weeks to prepare for
this day.
Safety marshals wore yellow vests and acted as a buffer to deescalate
any potential conflicts.
While four protesters were arrested at the Broadview facility on
Saturday, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the downtown
rally remained peaceful, with protestors blowing bubbles, dancing and
singing along to music.
As first popularized in anti-ICE protests in Portland, a number of
protestors at the Chicago rally donned inflatable costumes, presenting a
whimsical and joyful contrast to Trump’s depiction of the city as a “war
zone.”
Organizers said they saw the day as a way to make their voices heard and
build community but also sought to provide outlets for further action.
Along the path of the march, they posted QR codes where people could
find additional ways to support neighbors at risk.
“It’s a cowardly kind of thing, this fascism,” state Sen. Mike Simmons,
D-Chicago, said. “It’s rooted in a type of fragility and a type of
insecurity and sickness. I think being united and being in the streets
and solidarity with each other is how we fight back.”
This was the second major No Kings movement. Organizers mobilized
approximately 2,000 protests across the country in June and estimated
that over 5 million people took part. Trump supporters dubbed the
demonstrations “Hate America” rallies.
Protestors pushed back on that classification by loudly expressing their
patriotism, with Gov. JB Pritzker leading in chants of “USA! USA! USA!”
“We are here today to defend the principle that has defined America
since its founding, the belief that tyranny in any form must be resisted
by the people of conscience,” Pritzker boomed from the stage.
“Especially here in Chicago, we will never surrender.”
Springfield
About 75 No Kings rallies were scheduled across Illinois. In
Springfield, more than 1,000 people gathered by the Abraham Lincoln
statue in front of the Illinois Capitol, spilling onto the sidewalks and
lawns fronting the Illinois Supreme Court building and the Illinois
State Library.
Many held signs and waved flags with messages like “No Kings in America”
and “Stop the coup” while engaging in chants of “No thrones, no crowns,
no kings” as passing cars honked and drivers waved their fists in
support.
The serious messages shared belied the festive atmosphere. Songs like
the “Cha Cha Slide” and “Macarena” peppered between traditional protest
songs like “For What It’s Worth” and “Born in the USA” as a light rain
sprinkled the gathered demonstrators.
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A man in a pig costume holds a sign that reads “Trump is a fascist
pig” in front of the Illinois State Capitol on Saturday, October 18,
2025. More than 1,000 protestors participated in the “No Kings”
rally in Illinois’ capital city, which was one of 2,500 nationwide,
according to organizers. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Brenden
Moore)
Martin Woulfe, a minister of the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian-Universalist
Church in Springfield, joked to assembled demonstrators that “I watched
all of you who’ve been praying for rain” in drought-ridden downstate
Illinois, and “now we’re going to work on our timing.”
“We understand that there’s been a drought — a drought in this land, and
a deep division,” Woulfe said. “We pray for hope. We pray for goodness.
We pray for good trouble, and we understand that we all have a role.”
Central Illinois has largely been spared the aggressive immigration
raids that have taken place in the Chicago region over the last month.
But the issue was still top of mind for those who gathered in Illinois’
capital city.
Kristi Poole, a hospice aide from Springfield, said that “our immigrant
communities may be smaller” in Central Illinois, “but they are here, and
they matter.” She said activists are forming rapid response teams in
case immigration enforcement ramps up downstate.
“If ICE comes into our communities, I will stand like Corrie ten Boom,
like Harriet Tubman, like Anne Frank,” Poole said. “I will not be
silent. I will not be complicit, because what is happening in this
country isn’t just injustice, it’s a war crime. And history will
remember what side we stood on.”
She added: “Authoritarianism is here, fascism is here,” but how long it
stays depends on us.”
Karen Broquet, a doctor at the SIU School of Medicine and the leader of
Springfield’s Indivisible chapter, said Saturday’s protest was “bigger
than anything we’ve done,” noting that they had about 1,000 people at
the first “No Kings” rally in June and about 400 at monthly protests
since. But Saturday’s protest was the first time she couldn’t spot her
family because of all the new faces in the crowd.
“With each more egregious step that our current government takes, it’s
impacting more people — and it’s impacting others that they love,”
Broquet said. “And it’s forcing them to pay attention. And folks are
getting a little bit more courageous, myself included, about talking to
friends, neighbors, standing on the street corner screaming (and)
holding up signs.”
Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, a Democratic candidate for Illinois
comptroller, was among the speakers, which also included local activists
and candidates for local political office.
Signs of counterprotest were minimal in Springfield beyond a man who
circled the block several times with Trump flags waving from the bed of
his pickup truck.
Metro East
In Belleville, the protest dropped off about noon — two hours before it
was scheduled to end — due to a steady downpour, but organizers still
estimated attendance at around 1,000.
Protesters stood outside the St. Clair County Courthouse holding signs.
Drivers honked as they passed protesters in costumes and rain gear,
shouting in protest of Trump.
Paralee Stewart, who said she was representing the Service Employees
Union International, came out to oppose cuts to health care, including
Medicaid cuts under the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill signed into
law in July.
“The cuts are affecting everyone, including home health care providers,
and we take care of the disabled, the elderly and the children, and by
them cutting that it means our most vulnerable are going to be affected.
That’s why we are out here,” she said.
In Granite City, a steel town, once a big union town and Democratic
stronghold, held a “No Kings” protest that drew about 100 people
Saturday morning.
Art Asadorian, a Democrat and former Madison County Board member, said
he came to support the movement.
“This protest takes me back to when I learned about the Constitution and
the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. The reason we
formed this country is because we didn’t want kings,” Asadorian said. “I
got involved because I could feel a rumble under my feet right now, the
Founding Fathers rolling in their graves because of what’s going on.
It’s just not right,” he said.
Two Democratic candidates for Madison County Board were also in
attendance. Jeremy D. Haston and Amy Mohme, both Democrats, said they
were inspired by the political culture and decided to get involved.
Neither Mohme nor Haston has run for office before.
“Somebody has to stand against a candidate who is running unopposed, who
has no one speaking against that pro-Trump agenda. Somebody had to do
it. And if nobody else will, I will,” Hasten said.
Carbondale
Farther south, in Carbondale, the planned No Kings rally drew about
2,000 people that included a visible mix of older and younger people.
Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University.
People stood along main roadways holding signs with messages like, “Hate
will not make us great.” They also took jabs at Trump, including a mock
cover of Time magazine with an image of Trump as “Clown of the Year.”
One middle-aged protester said she was heartened to see so many people
in their 20s and 30s in the crowd, saying the younger generation “needs
to make sure they participate, too.”
Maggie Dougherty is a freelance reporter covering the
Chicago area.
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.
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