‘Engaged and connected’. Many protesters doing more than attending rallies, protests to advocate for change

Newly elected Downers Grove Township Clerk Amanda “Mandy” Roudebush is busy acclimating in her new role and also relishing the opportunity to help others in her community through the programs the township offers.

After all, part of Roudebush’s career, which included time as a teacher and professor at Loyola University Chicago, included advocacy work.

With serving others at the forefront of her career, she first put her name on a ballot for DuPage County Board District 3 in 2022.

“I always wanted to run for something legislatively after working on crafting education policy,” Roudebush said.

Although unsuccessful in that race, this year Roudebush was one of 49 Democratic candidates who ran for local office in DuPage County.

All 49 won their races.

“It was historic,” Roudebush said. “I have fully thrown myself into working at the local level.”

Roudebush, who also serves as the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization chairwoman, estimates she spends about 80 hours a week between her volunteer work with the Democratic Party and her duties as an elected official.

Her efforts with the Downers Grove Township Democrats include candidate recruitment and “ensuring we have good candidates who align with our values from the local level on up.”

“We are trying to ensure that what we do locally, who we elect locally, is fighting back at the national level,” she said.

Roudebush’s partner Kevin Szczerba ran for Downers Grove Township trustee, a race he won.

“Now it is a family affair,” she said.

Not everyone who is unhappy with President Donald Trump’s administration and its policies has chosen to run for office, but some are getting up off their couches, avoiding the never-ending doom scrolling and hoping to make a difference in the country’s future.

They attend protests that have become common since the start of Trump’s administration and they are taking additional steps as well such as organizing community activities, joining advocacy organizations and contacting elected officials.

“The biggest thing we hear is that people feel helpless and they don’t know where to start, so we are trying to provide opportunities for people to get engaged and connected,” said Jessica O’Malley, vice chairwoman of the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization. “We hope this in turn leads to residents becoming more engaged with their local elected officials and the issues at home.”

Sometimes, she said, people watch the national news and don’t realize how much local officials impact their day-to-day lives.

O’Malley, who works full time and has a child, said she has fended off feelings of helplessness by jumping in and getting involved.

O’Malley and other advocates have been organizing events once or twice a week that often include children and range from volunteering at food pantries to education seminars and art events.

“It is really easy to get stuck in the despair,” she said. “It helps to remember that there are ways to connect with the community and find joy in the work and being together as a community.”

It’s something that Downers Grove’s Bridget Dougherty already has accomplished.

Years ago, along with a group of fellow moms, Dougherty began attending library board and Village Council meetings because “we can effectively do more here than our one singular vote in Washington.”

In the most recent local election, several of her fellow moms ran for local office. And over the years, Dougherty said the core group has grown and now attends rallies together.

“We don’t look the other way,” with regard to federal issues but “we are focusing on local issues,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty said she is involved so if her future grandchildren ask, she can tell them, “I cared enough to be vocal and active.”

“I am also out there for people and children I don’t know,” she said.

Dougherty has attended several protests this year including the “Good Trouble Lives On” day of action to honor the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights leader John Lewis.

No matter what, she said, “I am in it for the long haul.”

Likewise, most Saturday afternoons, Shirley Swanson and Ted Mandigo head over to Elmhurst City Hall to join the weekly Protectors of Democracy protest, which is held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and organized by Progressives For Change.

The couple attends because “I am chagrined by the directions and actions from the first Trump presidency. The blatant misstatement of facts ... and arrogant stance,” Mandigo said.

After Trump’s second win, “the heavy-handed approach and disregard for following normal procedures and due diligence is just unacceptable,” he said.

Swanson said attending the protests gives like-minded people a chance to be together.

Swanson, who is an artist, has compiled more than 30 posters, which are distributed at the weekly protests even if the couple misses the event.

Married for 43 years, the couple often watches the evening news together. Swanson will draw posters based on quips from Mandigo.

For years, Swanson has been involved with the Addison Township Democrats, serving as precinct captain.

The couple said that each election cycle they have walked the estimated six to eight miles of the township twice putting flyers on doors and talking to residents.

The couple also has served as poll watchers on election days and help with writing postcards.

Mandigo, who served in the U.S. Army in the 1960s. also volunteers his time to support veterans in need, especially with health care needs.

“It is very important for the Veterans Administration to continue to support these people,” he said.

Jon Baker, an Elmhurst resident and Progressives For Change board member, works to organize the weekly rallies at Elmhurst City Hall.

“The principle focus of the rallies have been to defend democracy and to fight against Trump’s attacks on the Constitution, the courts and cutbacks,” Baker said.

Baker, who has been socially active since he protested the Vietnam War, said individuals who would like to become more active should be calling and writing their elected officials.

“They need to make their voices heard for the things that they object to,” he said.

Elmhurst’s Emily Doering, a college student, joined the Central Michigan chapter of Indivisible, an organization dedicated to defending democracy and upholding the Constitution.

Now a college senior, she runs the social media account and conducts outreach for the group.

Home for the summer, Doering decided to look up local organizations with similar goals. She often attends the Progressives For Change weekly Saturday afternoon protests.

She said she is one of the younger activists who show up at the protests each week.

Doering said people her age tend to protest in downtown Chicago or prefer doing social media over the “holding the sign thing.”

Still, she contends, those events “are such an empowering experience.”

All the cars going by and honking, “it gives you a little bit more hope,” Doering said.

“You can sit at home and see all the terrible things on your phone and just spiral, which has happened to me, too. But I am forcing myself to get going,” she said.

Doering said her advocacy has changed her career goals.

An environmental studies major studying microplastic research, Doering now is considering a career that includes nonprofit work, policy formulation and social justice.

“I feel very passionate about advocacy work because of the times we are in,” she said.