Hundreds rally against Trump administration at 'Good Trouble' Loop gathering

William Tong, Chicago Tribune on Jul 17, 2025

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Hundreds of protesters demonstrated against President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies in the Loop on Thursday as part of nationwide “Good Trouble Lives On” rallies, decrying cuts to social services, mass deportation strategy and restrictions on civil liberties.

A group of about 60 demonstrators left Federal Plaza about 4:30 p.m., chanting “Trump must go now” as they marched up Dearborn Street before joining a larger main crowd at Daley Plaza a half hour later.

The chain of national protests denouncing Trump’s agenda was named for a term coined by the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who died in 2020. A civil rights activist, Lewis also participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides, which aimed to end racial segregation in the South.

Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of Lewis’ death. Organizers planned about 20 other “Good Trouble” rallies in the suburbs, including Naperville and Highland Park. Nationwide, more than 1,000 similar protests were held, according to the “Good Trouble Lives On” website.

Among the rally attendees were the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates. Johnson told the crowd that America under Trump was making an “alarming and fast descent into authoritarianism,” but vowed that Chicago would fight back.

He also repeated a pledge that the city would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “There are times when we have to march forward, even when it’s difficult, even when the risks are real,” he said. “Let me tell you that time is now. Tonight, we follow in the footsteps of making good trouble. Trouble that will engender confidence across this country that ‘liberty and justice’ for all is not just a tagline.”

Protesters carried signs that read “Dump Trump” and “Dissent is Patriotic,” while a person in a taco suit, cape and crown danced around an inflatable baby Donald Trump.

“The standards of people who are running America right now are very low,” said Samantha Oliva, 22. “I guess you can commit crimes, you can lie.”

Carrying a sign that read “Morons Are Governing America,” a play on the Trump slogan “Make America Great Again,” Oliva said she hoped this protest would inspire more Gen Zers to take civic action against the administration.

“Community is everything with someone plotting against you guys,” Oliva said, referring to what she called Trump’s actions to sow division among Americans. “We’re stronger together.”

National Education Association President Becky Pringle spoke about opposition to federal restrictions on diversity initiatives and the administration’s “intimidation of immigrant families.”

“We must and we will get in the way of the structural inequalities that are purposefully designed to sacrifice the common good of the many.”

While Joan Javier-Duval, a Unitarian minister from Montpelier, Vermont, was in town to visit family, she said she looked for ways to participate in Thursday’s protests. A Chicago native, Javier-Duval has attended several protests since Trump’s inauguration, calling cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and increased funding for ICE particularly worrying.

She said that many in her Vermont community have relied on emergency funds after severe flooding, and she also opposes ICE’s deprivation of due process for immigrants.

“An event like this is important to show that we can come together across different communities and different issues,” she said. “All to say that what we want is for our people to be taken care of and for our democracy to thrive.”

Hermosa resident and Navy veteran Eligio Alvarado said he came to Thursday’s protest because Trump and his “ilk” were “dismantling America,” in part by gutting government programs and replacing public servants.

“They’re putting in their cronies who will march to their tune,” said Alvarado, who is originally from Puerto Rico.

Unless something changes, Alvarado said, he would “have fought for naught.” Similar to Javier-Duval, he said he hoped the protests would motivate voters and shift momentum toward Democrats, who hope to retake Congress.

“This gives me hope,” he said.

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