Protesters gathered for another No Kings rally Saturday at the Kankakee County Courthouse.

More than 450 people showed up to participate in the three-hour event that featured speakers and nonviolent demonstrations focused on the topics of immigration enforcement, the Iran war, gas prices, the Epstein files and other policy decisions.

The Kankakee rally was part of the third nationwide No Kings day of action, with more than 3,000 events planned in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., more than any previous No Kings national mobilization, organizers said in a statement.

Attendance was projected to surpass the 7 million who participated in the events last October and expected to reach 9 million, organizers said, potentially making March 28 the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

One attendee in Kankakee was no stranger to the courthouse lawn protests.

Ray Lescher, 90, a retired Catholic priest now of Hopkins Park, walked along the sidewalk filled with demonstrators taking in the signs and chants.

Lescher, a longtime Kankakee County-based priest and organizer with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. movement, participated in protests at the same location 65 years ago during the Civil Rights Movement.

“It’s the same cause today - justice and human rights,” he said. “[We’re] standing up for justice from a different angle. Back then it was civil rights and open housing. Today it’s immigrants rights and the Iran war.”

Attendee Linda Viall of Manteno carried a sign stating, “We dumped tea for less!”

Viall, who attended despite the current need for an orthopedic walking boot, said she feels it’s important to protest for many reasons.

“We’ve never had a situation like this, and it needs to be stopped. I mean, is there anything good that [Donald Trump] has done as a president?” Viall said. “No. He’s just destroying our country, right and left. And it needs to be stopped. ... You have to have a democracy.”

Kankakee Alderman Dave Baron took the podium to reflect on the events of the past two years of Trump’s presidency.

“Only two years ago, you didn’t need to wake up every single day in horror at the headlines that come out of the White House,” Baron said, before sharing a few examples.

“Historic buildings being renamed, and in some cases totally destroyed. ... A war in Iran that was given less thought than what this administration wants to do with its war on Tylenol.

“Tariffs. No Tariffs. Tariffs. No Tariffs. Tariffs. Really, whatever grievance this administration wants to put together and make the news of the day. It is exhausting.”

Baron said the headlines are distractions to keep citizens focused on Washington, D.C.

“They’re to keep you from recognizing the harm done by the federal policies, federal cuts, right here in Kankakee County.”

Baron continued on to share the direct impact of federal cuts to the community’s programs right along Court Street.

Those examples included:

• The Kankakee County State’s Attorney’s Office’s JUMP mentoring program utilizes AmeriCorps grant funding that was cut by $400 million.
• The Kankakee Forgives and Kankakee United movements working to bring violence prevention initiatives to the county was impacted by over $500 million in cuts to Office of Justice Program grants.
• In residential neighborhoods, the city of Kankakee offered a Healthy Homes Program designed to mitigate housing-related hazards like lead, mold, allergens and carbon monoxide to prevent childhood diseases and injuries, paid for by federal Housing and Urban Development grants which are no longer funded.
• The TRIO Talent Search program at Kankakee Community College that provides free educational support, career counseling and college planning to eligible students at King Middle School: A $1 million initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education that has been drastically reduced, Baron said.

“The [Trump] administration has let us know we’re on our own,” Baron said.

Since November, the number of people using the food pantry on East Court Street has doubled following the pause and subsequent reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, he said.

“Gas is incredibly high because of a war of choice. Because of a plan that was not thought out, we’ve got gas prices that are at $3.89 or higher today.

“These are the ways that this administration is hurting us. Not things off in Washington, not in Chicago, not in Springfield, right here in Kankakee on Court Street,” Baron said.

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No Kings rally Kankakee - March 28, 2026 Protesters gather to listen to speakers during the No Kings rally at the Kankakee County Courthouse on March 28, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

As part of a national movement of more than 2,000 chapters across the nation, with the goal of resisting the Trump administration agenda, Indivisible Kankakee organized the local protest with the collaboration of Connect Kankakee, the Kankakee Friends of Labor, Kankakee County Democrats and Indivisible Illinois.

Connect Kankakee organizers said one of the reasons for the rally is to convene to express opposition to the current administration’s actions while helping connect local and statewide efforts with the protest community.

"While families are crushed by the rising costs of groceries, housing and health care, the administration has supercharged ICE to terrorize our communities and spent billions waging an illegal war – now asking for an extra $200 billion – while telling working families there’s no money left for any of us," Connect Kankakee said in a statement.

“A government that truly cared about safety would invest in people - health care and housing policy that works for us, schools and fair pay for teachers, safe and clean neighborhoods, not massive giveaways to billionaires while sending masked agents into our streets and missiles into civilian areas abroad,” the statement continued.

Between 400 and 500 people attended each previous No Kings rallies in June 2025 and October 2025 in Kankakee as about 5 million and 7 million people attended nationwide, respectively.