Apr 19

Apr 19 Rockford 50501 Rally

Donald Trump, Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations, Signs and Posters, The Age of Trump

I am told that today’s rally in Chicago’s Daley Plaza attracted several thousand people, but not nearly as many as the one two weekends ago. Due to an engagement in Rockford, Illinois, I was not in Daley Plaza for the rally, which was one of today’s 900+ rallies in the United States organized under the 50501 umbrella. Fortunately, 250 Rockford-area residents came together for a rally in Davis Park along the Rock River, so I witnessed the Resistance taking to the streets in a much smaller city.

While there were a few notable differences aside from size, the Rockford Resistance movement was largely a smaller cookie-cutter version of the larger ones that I cover in Chicago. The demonstrators gathered around an elevated gazebo, where seven or eight people delivered remarks enumerating a litany of charges against Donald J. Trump—all warranted. Of course there were the familiar earworms—the chants. For example, “This is what democracy looks like;” and “No justice, no peace.”

After 45 minutes, the group gathered behind the lead organizer for a march through Davis Park to the bridge crossing the Rock River. The group then headed uphill through downtown Rockford until I lost sight of them. From my vantage point, the march looked like it quickly petered out, but as I explored the downtown, I kept encountering small groups of marchers who were still in formation, each group coming from a slightly different direction. Some were headed back to Davis Park.

Like many Chicago rallies, the demographics for the Rockford rally skewed old. Most demonstrators were well beyond middle age, and most were white. I was speaking with one demonstrator who complained that there were not enough young people or Blacks.

Probably the biggest difference between a typical Chicago rally and today’s Rockford one centers on the police. About two blocks before I reached Davis Park, I saw a lone squad car parked curbside. I did not see another police car or officer during the rally or the march. No bicycle cops lining the park’s perimeter. No squad cars closing off intersections so that the marchers could cross the streets unimpeded by the “Walk-Don’t Walk” signals. No city ambulances waiting should a demonstrator experience a medical emergency.

Order did not depend on a police presence. Nobody marched in the street. Everybody remained on the sidewalks as the procession proceeded through the downtown. The marchers even waited patiently for red lights to change before crossing intersections. I am willing to bet that on a regular business day, the police department hands out no tickets for jaywalking.

Surprisingly, the marchers drew lots of approving honks from passing cars. While drivers in Chicago honk, they do so with nowhere near the frequency of Rockford motorists.

I was also surprised that there were no counter-demonstrators given the farm-filled countryside surrounding Rockford. I asked one demonstrator whether the crowd was representative of the area. “No,” he told me, paraphrasing, ‘We are in the minority. This is Trump country.’

Afterwards, I checked the November 5, 2024 vote count for Winnebago County. Trump collected 58,276 (49.04%) votes, just barely topping the 57,911 (48.73%) votes cast for Harris. It was the first time Trump carried the county, so contrary to what I was told, Winnebago County is not hardcore Trump country. Of course, this was an urbanite speaking. The three counties surrounding Winnebago went solidly for Trump—Ogle County, 63.5% for Trump, 34.3% for Harris; Stephenson County, 58.6% for Trump, 37.3% for Harris; and Boone County, 56.1% for Trump, 41.7% for Harris. So the demonstrator’s assessment may be accurate if he is taking into account the area surrounding Rockford.

Driving through Rockford, I saw manufacturing plants, which undercuts Trump’s claim that the U.S. manufacturing capacity has been gutted by foreign supply chains. While Rockford has seen a reduction in the manufacturing of agricultural equipment and furniture, other industries have taken the place of those industries that have departed, including companies that manufacture fasteners, automotive supplies, and aerospace equipment.

Along I-90 just east of Rockford sits the massive Belvidere Assembly Plant, currently owned by Stellantis, the Dutch multinational auto manufacturing company that acquired Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a 2021 merger. The plant has sat idle since February 28, 2023, but is scheduled to reopen for the assembly of a mid-size Dodge RAM scheduled for release in 2027.

Hard to say how Trump’s tariffs will play out because of his mercurial nature, but tariffs on automobile parts could adversely affect the Stellantis operation, as well as the operations of other Rockford manufacturers. We will see if the Resistance grows, which could turn Rockford and Winnebago County into Democratic country in 2026.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]