More than 400 progressive community members, activists and elected officials gathered Saturday in Albany Park to discuss the impact of a second Trump term on Illinois and Chicago.
The event, organized by northwest Chicago and suburban elected officials in collaboration with more than a dozen local progressive organizations, focused on public policy issues such as immigration, rights reproductive rights, gender justice and the environment.
The event took place at Roosevelt High School and began in the auditorium before breaking into several small groups organized by political issue.
Isabel Alter and United Neighbors of the 35th Ward helped facilitate a conversation about reproductive rights. Although these rights are protected in Illinois, she worries about the impact of states with more restrictive laws on abortion access.
“Will hospitals and providers have the support they need to continue providing this care as we continue to be a hub – probably increasingly for reproductive access in the Midwest?” she said.
“It’s been really encouraging,” Josephine Ferorelli told NBC Chicago. “I didn’t expect this many people here. I was just in the climate task force and we were talking about what are we doing…at the neighborhood level, what are we doing at the city level .”
Immigration was also an important topic.
President-elect Donald Trump doubled down on promises to be tougher on border issues and said his administration would have “no choice” but to carry out large-scale deportations, echoing his choice for the “border czar,” Tom Homan, a former acting director of ICE.
So what does this mean for Illinois?
“We want to share what the current protections are and what the gaps are,” said Rep. Lilian Jiménez of Illinois’ 4th District.
In a state where there are so many mixed-status immigrant families, Rep. Jiménez, who is also an immigration attorney, wanted to dispel myths Saturday while validating people’s very real concerns.
“I can’t explain to you how scared people are right now. They’re calling our office and asking if I can go to my doctor’s appointment,” she told NBC 5.
In 2021, Illinois passed a series of legislative measures to limit state government cooperation with federal ICE officials. Jimenez would like to see these protections extended to the private sphere as well.
“Donald Trump cannot send troops to the state of Illinois or Chicago without the request of the governor or mayor. I don’t see Governor Pritzker or Mayor Brandon Johnson asking federal troops to enforce the statute immigration around Chicago or all of Illinois,” said Aaron Del Mar, co-chair of the Illinois Republican Party.
Del Mar believes moderate Illinois Republicans will provide a buffer against fears of more extreme policies coming from Washington.
And on the issue of reproductive rights in our state, “If anything you see in this veto session is happening in the Illinois House, move it even further to the left,” he said.
In response to several of the president-elect’s choices this week, Pritzker joined Colorado’s governor to form a coalition to oppose much of the Trump agenda.
Alter is preparing for a federal crackdown on access to abortion medications and this is its impact. Although the policies she is most concerned about have not yet been enacted, she said conversations at the local level are key to helping advocates prepare.
“We can’t stand back when these policies are put in place,” Alter said.
