Protesters rally against Trump

KANKAKEE – Medicare, social security, education, cancer research, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrants rights, national parks and libraries were a handful of the topics shouted from the Kankakee County Courthouse lawn on Saturday following the chant “hands off.”

More than 250 people gathered with signs and their voices to participate in a Hands Off! Rally as part of a “day of action” organized by the 50501 Movement, a grassroots political organization founded to protest the policies and actions of the second President Donald Trump administration.

The organization’s name is short for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement” – referring to the group’s first nationwide protest at state capitols in February.

Several more days of action have followed, rippling across the country and into Kankakee.

Hosted by Indivisible Kankakee, Kankakee Friends of Labor, Illinois Democratic Women of Kankakee County and the Kankakee County Democratic Party, the rally was the second held this month at the courthouse alongside hundreds of demonstrations in cities across the U.S.

“This turnout overwhelms me,” said Al Whitmon, vice chairman of the Kankakee County Democratic Central Committee, of the more than 250 people in attendance Saturday.

The turnout was slightly more than the rally earlier this month on April 5 when he said at least 200 people gathered.

“I’m thrilled that people are showing up. They’re unhappy,” Whitmon, of Bourbonnais, said. “People ask what they can do, and [protesting] is one step.”

Indivisible Kankakee is a local group acting as part of the national Indivisible movement and organization, which was initiated in 2016 as a reaction to the 2016 election of Trump.

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Protesters hold signs alongside over 250 fellow demonstrators during the Hands Off Rally at the Kankakee County Courthouse on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Organizers from Indivisible Kankakee and the Illinois Democratic Women of Kankakee County, including Marta Perales, Whitmon, Araceli Sharper, Brandon Hudspeth-Perales and Charlene Eads, spoke to welcome those in attendance and led the rally chants.

“Love has to be louder today,” Perales said of the peaceful protest.

For information, visit indivisible.org to find other rally locations or visit fiftyfifty.one for other days of actions.