Political divide on display Saturday as anti-Trump rally, McHenry GOP dinner happen within miles of each other

The country’s deep political divide will be on display in McHenry County Saturday, with a rally against President Donald Trump planned a couple of miles from where the county Republican Party will host a fundraiser with Trump-backed speakers.

Organizers in McHenry County plan a rally in Algonquin, one of a series of scheduled protests around the Chicago region and the country. That evening, nearby in Lake in the Hills, the GOP dinner will take place at a country club in a gated community, where the keynote speakers including former Illinois nominee for governor, Darren Bailey.

The National Organization for Women McHenry County Chapter is organizing its second rally of the year from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday by the Jewel-Osco along Randall Road in Algonquin. The rally is to demonstrate solidarity with “women, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, those with disabilities, low income families, seniors, farmers and our migrant/refugee families in this country to defend our freedoms, our rights and our future,” according to NOW’s website.

Over 1,000 protests across the country are planned through the “mass mobilization” movement called “Hands Off,” according to the Hands Off website. McHenry County NOW hosted a similar protest dubbed “United We Resist” last month in Crystal Lake.

The contrasting events converge at a critical moment. The Trump administration’s swift actions since he took office – including widespread layoffs and government cuts, an immigration crackdown and stark foreign policy reversals – culminated this week with the worst stock market drop since the COVID-19 shutdown as Trump’s and reciprocal tariffs kick in.

“Things are about to get really hard for some,” McHenry County NOW leader Anna Gifford said. “I think that things are going to get difficult before they get better.”

Gifford anticipates Saturday’s protest will attract the same amount of people as the Crystal Lake rally, if not more. For those who cannot attend, she suggests supporting local food pantries and shelters.

A few miles away, the McHenry County Republican Party is hosting its annual Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday night at Boulder Ridge Country Club. Participants will hear a speech from Bailey, who was endorsed by Trump in the 2022 race for Illinois governor but lost to incumbent JB Pritzker.

Another guest speaker is Shane Bouvet, who describes himself on social media as Trump’s “personal friend.” A political activist and campaign worker from the small southern Illinois town of Stonington, Bouvet wrote the book, “A Man Misunderstood: The Secret Heart of Donald J. Trump.”

The county GOP dinner takes place in Grafton Township where – just this week during the local elections and for the first time in recent memory – a slate of Democrats won a majority of seats on the Grafton Township board.

Despite that board’s shift to blue, McHenry County remains red overall, though deeply divided, with President Donald Trump performing better in 2024 than he did four years before, winning 52% of the vote in November and just under 50% in 2020. The McHenry County Board also expanded its Republican majority in November.