A “No Kings” protest rally will be held Saturday outside the downtown Naperville Municipal Center, one of what could be as many as 2,500 such events planned for across the country.
Set to start at noon, speakers will include U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, and the Rev. Elisabeth Pynn Himmelman of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. Those gathered also are expected to march downtown to the Washington Street Bridge and back to the municipal center.
Similar rallies are planned for Chicago and in suburban towns like Lisle, Aurora and Elgin. Chicago’s largest gathering is expected to be the protest to be held at Butler Field in Grant Park.
The gatherings come as the Chicago area has faced weeks of increased federal immigration enforcement, with local rapid response groups trying to document and quell federal authorities’ arrests efforts.
Naperville’s protest is primarily being organized by the recently formed Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Naperville. Made up of about 20 Naperville residents, the group shares a common goal of working to protect constitutional rights and pushing back against what they say are assaults on those rights by the Trump administration, according to Emily Cummings, a local photographer and event organizer.
The protest is intended to be peaceful and non-partisan, she said. The goal is to protect “our constitutional right to stand up” and to send a message to those who are supporting the actions of the current administration, including the “big companies.” She cited the blowback ABC and network parent Walt Disney Co. received after the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” late night talk show was pulled off air as an example of what can happen when people push back.
“He was taken off the air. And look at all of the people that canceled their Disney and Hulu — I know I did the very next day — and suddenly a change was made,” Cummings said. “We just keep having to stand up and so that people know that we’re serious about this.”
Naperville police confirmed that they are aware of Saturday’s protest and have measures in place to keep people safe.
“This is no different than any other type of gathering,” Naperville police Cmdr. Rick Krakow said. “We encourage people to exercise their rights and to do it lawfully … so as long as that remains then there should be no issues.”
This is the second national “No Kings” initiative to engage people across the U.S. In June, millions of people took the street in cities around the country — including Naperville and Chicago — to send a similar message. The June protests were held on the same day as a military parade was held in Washington, D.C., to mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. That parade coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.
Naperville’s first “No Kings” demonstration drew thousands of people downtown. Protesters expressed outrage at everything from the military parade to the administration’s policies over immigration to DOGE budget cuts.
cstein@chicagotribune.com