When you think of the 4th of July, what activities come to mind? Fireworks, outdoor celebrations and maybe BBQ’ing come to mind. In 2025, you can add protests to that list as numerous communities in Illinois have gatherings planned on America’s birthday.
I want to be clear that I’m not endorsing any of the protests that are planned for Illinois on the 4th of July. I think there’s a bigger question that needs to be asked, but first let’s just focus on the facts. I saw The Hill say that Illinois is one of the states planning to have the most protests on July 4, 2025, so I decided to find out where this was happening. I don’t mean this to be a definitive list. These are the Illinois locations I was able to find on the Women’s March website which seems to be central to these protests.
- People’s Independence Day – Chicago, Federal Plaza, 230 S Dearborn – 11am
- Meet-up at the Glenview Train Station – Glenview, 1116 Depot Street – 9:15am
- Des Plaines Free America Weekend.- Des Plaines, 2100 Lee Street – 10:30am
- Springfield, Illinois Free America Weekend – Springfield, 401 South 2nd Street – 10am
- Peoria, Illinois – Free America Stars & Stripes Equal Rights – Peoria, 314 North Park Road – 8:30am
- Bloomington/Normal Free America Weekend – Bloomington, 600 N East St – No time given
- Quincy Free America Weekend – Quincy, 3236 Broadway Street – No time given
That’s all of the events I was able to find in Illinois. I’m not trying to be a directory for this. I was just curious how many Illinois places were participating.
Is it right to protest on the 4th of July?
I’m not going to answer that question because everyone will have to make up their own mind about that. No matter what the calendar says, citizens have the right to protest peacefully as long as they don’t harm anyone or damage property. However, there are many in the military who see these protests differently…