As hundreds of people walked south on Willow Springs Road Saturday morning, Jim Longino warmly welcomed them.
“Come on down. There’s plenty of room for everyone. That’s what America is all about,” Longino said into a bullhorn.
And they did for the No Kings 3 rally.
Longino is a member of Indivisible West Suburban Chicago, which organized the rally that attracted an estimated 1,400.
Many held signs critical of President Donald Trump. Some waved American flags.
For 90 minutes, they stood along the road, between 50th and 53rd streets, in Western Springs to peacefully protest the actions and policies of the administration.
Some Trump supporters driving past flipped the bird. But the vast majority of drivers honked horns in support.
“We feel good about what’s happening here, about the showing we had,” group member Mike Waters, 67, of La Grange, said.
The rally was among more than 3,000 protests held nationwide March 28. Similar rallies were held in London, Paris and other cities overseas.
More than 8 million people took to the streets in America, organizers said.
Thousands protested in Chicago’s Grant Park Saturday afternoon. The protesters later marched through downtown Chicago shouting anti-Trump slogans and waving signs condemning his administration.
“It’s the largest protest in U.S. history. We want to send a message to the Trump regime that we won’t put up with this,” Waters said.
“He’s getting more unhinged. It’s frightening. I can’t believe people aren’t more alarmed by this. We’ll keep up the fight,” Waters said.
Here are some reasons why folks came out.
“Can’t just sit at home”
Christine Figliulo, 66, of Willow Springs, who held a sign her friend made that had Trump kissing Russian President Vladimir Putin, said, “We can’t just sit at home.”
“My husband and I are heartbroken about what’s happening in our country. I don’t feel like the people in power are doing anything for us,” she said.
“I’m fearful for my kids,” she said, adding that Trump has forced her to end longtime friendships: “It’s a shame, but I can’t understand how they don’t see what’s happening.”
She’s grown weary of Trump’s “complete babble,” adding “my 5-year-old grandson has a more eloquent vocabulary than Trump.”
“It’s a nightmare”
Lana Madsen, 68, of Westmont, held an upside-down U.S. flag – a sign of distress – emblazoned with “No Kings in America.”
“I keep thinking it’s a nightmare and we’re going to wake up, but it keeps getting worse every day,” Madsen said.
She thinks the war in Iran was started “to take our minds off the Epstein files. … And now he’s sending troops over? That terrifies me.”
Asked how Trump can be removed from office, she said, “I guess I shouldn’t say what I’m hoping for.”
Scandals don’t stop
Renee Letourneau, 20, of Willow Springs, is surprised Trump is still in office.
“Any other President, one of the scandals he’s had would be enough. You’d think that the suggestion your President is a pedophile would be enough,” she said.
She was there with sister Lisa, 14, and friend Andrew Trantina, 20, of Indian Head Park.
“All the people that can’t be here, I’m trying to represent them and get the message across,” Lisa said.
Trantina attended “because Trump is a liar and complete narcissist.”
“A lot of the things he does, especially these attacks in Iran, are completely against the interests of the American people,” he said.
“He blatantly lies and nobody talks about it from the Republican side. That’s bewildering to me,” Trantina added.
“Protect the future”
Connor Burke, 37, of Western Springs, his young daughter and son sharing a stroller, said, “We’ve got to protect the future for these little ones.”
“(Trump) does not treat humans like humans. Reprehensible. He’s a coward and I’m glad to see there are people out speaking their voice,” Burke said.
Reminded that some MAGA supporters on social media call opponents “brain dead Democrats” or “libtards,” Burke replied “that’s us. Proudly.”
“We care about the country, care about the world,” he said.
Burke noted that each No Kings rally has attracted bigger crowds, a trend he hopes continues.
Power to the people
Karl Sokol, 48, pastor of Compassion United Methodist Church in Brookfield, said it feels like “we are in the bizarro world and everything is flip-flopped.”
However, he remains confident.
“For a while people felt powerless. Now I think people are understanding they hold quite a bit of power,” Sokol said.
Reminded of “Wag the Dog”
Asked about the war, attorney and Army veteran James Connelly, 67, of La Grange, said that although “we know Iran has been sponsoring terrorism when we were in Iraq, Kuwait” it is “very difficult to say how it has affected our security.”
“We’ve been in the experience of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and going into a situation which is not true,” he said, recalling the war with Iraq.
“It’s so difficult to get the headlines on the truth,” he said. “What is the purpose? What is the goal? It’s almost a ‘Wag the Dog’ scenario.”
He referred to a 1997 movie in which a war is launched to cover up a Presidential sex scandal.
Honorably discharged as a lieutenant colonel and a member of American Legion Post 488 in Riverside, Connelly said he has issues with ICE.
“People come to this country because they have opportunities they don’t have in other places. New immigrants love this country, yet we’re tossing them aside, criminalizing them,” he said.
What a bunch of losers! It’s like the doors were left unlocked at the asylum. Where do these people live? They don’t realize how great things are going