The nation’s deep political divide can be on show in McHenry County Saturday, with a rally towards President Donald Trump deliberate a few miles from the place the county Republican Social gathering will host a fundraiser with Trump-backed audio system.
Organizers in McHenry County plan a rally in Algonquin, one in all a sequence of scheduled protests across the Chicago area and the nation. That night, close by in Lake in the Hills, the GOP dinner will happen at a rustic membership in a gated neighborhood, the place the keynote audio system together with former Illinois nominee for governor, Darren Bailey.
The Nationwide Group for Ladies McHenry County Chapter is organizing its second rally of the 12 months from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday by the Jewel-Osco alongside Randall Highway in Algonquin. The rally is to reveal solidarity with “ladies, individuals of shade, the LGBTQIA+ neighborhood, veterans, these with disabilities, low earnings households, seniors, farmers and our migrant/refugee households on this nation to defend our freedoms, our rights and our future,” based on NOW’s web site.
Over 1,000 protests throughout the nation are deliberate by way of the “mass mobilization” motion known as “Fingers Off,” based on the Hands Off website. McHenry County NOW hosted a similar protest dubbed “United We Resist” last month in Crystal Lake, which drew in an estimate of over 700 individuals.
The contrasting occasions converge at a important second. The Trump administration’s swift actions since he took workplace – together with widespread layoffs and authorities cuts, an immigration crackdown and stark international coverage reversals – culminated this week with the worst inventory market drop for the reason that COVID-19 shutdown as Trump’s and reciprocal tariffs kick in.
“Issues are about to get actually arduous for some,” McHenry County NOW chief Anna Gifford mentioned. “I feel that issues are going to get tough earlier than they get higher.”
Gifford anticipates Saturday’s protest will appeal to the identical quantity of individuals because the Crystal Lake rally, if no more. For individuals who can not attend, she suggests supporting native meals pantries and shelters.
Just a few miles away, the McHenry County Republican Social gathering is internet hosting its annual Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday evening at Boulder Ridge Nation Membership. Members will hear a speech from Bailey, who was endorsed by Trump within the 2022 race for Illinois governor however misplaced to incumbent JB Pritzker.
One other visitor speaker is Shane Bouvet, who describes himself on social media as Trump’s “private buddy.” A political activist and marketing campaign employee from the small southern Illinois city of Stonington, Bouvet wrote the ebook, “A Man Misunderstood: The Secret Coronary heart of Donald J. Trump.”
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The county GOP dinner takes place in Grafton Township the place – simply this week in the course of the native elections and for the primary time in latest reminiscence – a slate of Democrats won a majority of seats on the Grafton Township board.
Regardless of that board’s shift to blue, McHenry County stays purple general, although deeply divided, with President Donald Trump performing higher in 2024 than he did 4 years earlier than, successful 52% of the vote in November and slightly below 50% in 2020. The McHenry County Board additionally expanded its Republican majority in November.
