2025: The People’s Power [Year in Review]

By Dominic Guanzon

In a world on fire, we only have each other.

We were all we ever needed.

A personal photo collection of some of Chicagoland’s protests, demonstrations, and mass movement in 2025, in defiance of a world falling apart.

An older person hanging a small trans pride flag leans over to let a smaller dog sniff their hand at the Trans Day of Visibility rally at Federal Plaza. 3/30. LINK TO ARTICLE

A protester holds up a sign as part of the pro-Palestine, anti-ICE contingent during the Chicago Pride Parade, headed by Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) and Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network. Their sign reads: “STOP DEPORATIONS! ABOLISH ICE!” They are holding a pride-patterned Lei and have a tote bag around their shoulder. 6/29.

An organizer leads speeches from a mobile speaker system pickup truck on the Magnificent Mile, during a pro-Palestine march after the No Kings protest in The Loop, in part lead by the US Palestinian Network (USPCN). 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE

A protester stands in front of the barbed wire driveway gate of the Broadview ICE Staging Area/de facto detention center, as part of Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA) protests. They are holding up a neon pink sign and wearing a hooded jacket around their head and shoulders to protect themselves from the hot sun. 8/31. LINK TO ARTICLE

A pro-trans protester waves a pride flag during a school board meeting at a Valley View School District 365 school board meeting in Romeoville. In the foreground are anti-trans speakers from the SPLC-designated hate group Awake Illinois. Siting right is the parent who lodged the initial complaint, claiming their child was a victim of sexual harassment from a trans child in a bathroom. Sitting center is Awake leader Shannon Adcock, who has been attempting to get the White House’s attention through school district complaints. Upon catching wind of Awake’s intentions, a call to action was put out by Trans Up Front. The anti-trans speakers were ultimately outnumbered 30:1 in a multi-hour public comment. 4/14. LINK TO ARTICLE

A protester with a megaphone leads chants during a pause on Michigan Ave at the third CATA “No Trump, No Troops” protest in The Loop. The Wrigley Building stands in the background. 10/8.

Protesters behind concrete barricades yell at masked federal agents driving by in a white car at the Broadview ICE facility. Some demonstrators stand atop the barricades marking the designated protest area. One (left) yells while holding a sign: “NOT A PAID PROTESTER I HATE TRUMP FOR FREE.” Two film with their phones, while another flips the middle finger while yelling into a megaphone. 10/24.

Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef of the Chicago Activist Coalition For Justice leads chants on his personal speaker system at the Broadview ICE facility, directing them towards an ISP trooper, who is looking off to the side. He would later be tackled to the ground and arrested by troopers for obstructing traffic during an impromptu, non-violent march on 25th St. 10/4.

A protester admonishes ISP troopers on the 25th St driveway leading to the Broadview ICE facility. This was the first time “Unified Command” had deployed to Broadview to manage crowds, effectively protecting federal agents and their operations there. IL AG Kwame Raul would later explicitly deny any violation of the TRUST Act in a statement, echoed by Gov Pritzker. 10/3. LINK TO ARTICLE

Two people embrace while looking at the second CATA “No Trump, No Troops” march going south on State St. Amid signs, a Chicago, Mexican, and upside down American flag are waved. 9/6. LINK TO ARTICLE

A person waves an upside down Mexican flag out an apartment window during an OCAD and Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression (CAARPR) anti-ICE protest happening below in Pilsen. Protesters would cheer in return. 6/8. LINK TO ARTICLE

Crowd members cheer at a protester waving a Palestinian flag as part of the OCAD/GLN contingent during the Chicago’s Pride Parade. 6/29.

An anti-trans speaker is dwarfed by pro-trans participants in a packed auditorium at the Valley View School District 365 board meeting. Every other audience member depicted, including everyone in line, would support, or speak on behalf of, trans rights. 4/14. LINK TO ARTICLE

Pro-Ukraine protesters stretch out and wave a large Ukrainian flag at Daley Plaza. In the background, the large CBS outdoor monitor shows pro-Ukrainian protests happening elsewhere in Chicagoland. The protest was called within 48 hours after Trump and Vance got into public verbal arguments with President Zelensky in the Oval Office. 3/2. LINK TO ARTICLE

Protesters outside a Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites in Downers Grove, where rapid responders from Casa DuPage found vehicles in the parking lot belonging to DHS’ Federal Protective Service. A demonstrator wears a shirt: “VETERANS AGAINST ICE,” while holding a yellow flag that says “¡YA BASTA!” (ENOUGH!). A third-party instigator would later start a fist fight with protesters before being detained, but not arrested, by local police. Over subsequent nights, protesters would perform nighttime noise demonstrations. There, FPS vehicles, some with the same license plates as before, would again be found in the parking lot. 9/7. LINK TO ARTICLE

A CAARPR organizer leads chants on a megaphone at the end of an anti-ICE rally/march in Little Village. The march ended on the intersection of 26th St and Pulaski St, as snowfall began in earnest. 2/8. LINK TO ARTICLE

A marcher waves a Palestinian flag as part of the OCAD/GLN contingent during the Chicago Pride Parade. A shirtless person on the second floor of a corner apartment leans out the window, holding a fist in the air. 6/29.

A protester in a suit adorned with nine medals holds a sign: “VETERANS DEMAND: STOP MILITARIZING OUR CITIES.” They are facing down a combined federal agent/ISP police line at the 25th St driveway towards the Broadview ICE facility. 10/3. LINK TO ARTICLE

A packed crowd at Federal Plaza reacts to a news report of themselves playing on the large CBS outdoor monitor. Hundreds of signs stick out above the heads. Two of them read “ELON MUSK IS A NAZI,” and “TRUMP MUSK GO.” 4/5.

18) Organizer and photographer Kayla/Hoàng Thương positions herself among a ballard, electrical box, and lightpole to gain a height position during an anti-ICE march through Pilsen. A parody of the Thin Blue Line flag has the text “FUCK THE POLICE” on it. 6/8. LINK TO ARTICLE

A protester in jeans, red construction hard hat, yellow high-visibility vest, and work gloves holds a sign: “TRADESMAN AGAINST TRUMP.” At the Black Friday Blackout at Water Tower Park. 11/28. LINK TO ARTICLE

A line slowly grows outside the Naperville School District 203 admin building, prior to a school board meeting. SPLC-designated hate group Awake Illinois announced on socials their intention to lodge a complaint against the school district after a trans 7th grader had won a track meet. Far-right account Libs of TikTok posted the face and name of the child on their feed, verbally attacking them and calling upon Trump to defund the schools. Local LGBTQ+ groups, including Trans Up Front, put a call out to show up. 5/19. LINK TO ARTICLE

Hundreds of demonstrators march up State St on the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, led by CAARPR. CCPSA 2nd District Councilman Marquinn McDonald walks in the foreground. Organizers and speech makers took the time to call for more civilian oversight over CPD, by promoting Community Power Over Policing (CPOP) to be passed in Chicago City Hall. 5/25. LINK TO ARTICLE

A person in a white dress marching in the Chicago Pride Parade waves a keffiyeh while holding a sign: “FUND TRANS HEALTHCARE, NOT WAR!” A litany of pride and Palestine flags fly ahead. Part of the anti-ICE/pro-Palestine contingent, headed by OCAD and GLN. 6/29.

An artistic depiction of a black farmer hangs in front of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the foreground, protesters march past as part of the “No Trump, No Troops” rally and march in The Loop, held by CATA. 9/6. LINK TO ARTICLE

On the eve of the nationwide Starbucks strike, a screening of the documentary “Partners” is shown at Film Row Cinema. The event featured a panel featuring the film’s director, one of the original union salts, and a recently-fired labor organizer for the Chicago chapter of Starbucks Workers United. 11/5. LINK TO ARTICLE

A demonstrator holding a banner at Federal Plaza looks at the camera, while Chicago PSL and ANSWER organizer Nino Brown speaks at a rally protesting US strikes on Iran. 6/27.

Dr. Meera Sakthivel attempts to get the attention of ISP troopers outside the Broadview ICE facility. Her and other members of the Chicago branch of Healthcare Workers for Palestine gathered about 75 other nurses and doctors in 20-degree weather to donate seven bags worth of medical supplies and conduct an “independent medical evaluation.” They were ultimately ignored and turned away. 12/6. LINK TO ARTICLE

Kat Abughazaleh awaits to greet supporters at her mutual aid-raising campaign kickoff event. Six months later, she would become a regular protester at the Broadview ICE facility, being physically pulled and tossed by federal agents through the fall. By the end of the year, she would become one of the federally-indicted “Broadview Six” for allegedly “impeding” agents. 2/29. LINK TO ARTICLE

Elena Gormley, former co-chair of the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), wears a pride flag as a cape at a park by Rush Medical Center. They and about 75 other protesters are protesting the hospital’s policy change denying trans healthcare for youth, obeying in advance of Trump threats to pull funding. 7/17. LINK TO ARTICLE

A protester in US Airforce Airman uniform stands at attention during an emergency rally at Federal Plaza protesting the deployment of the National Guard to Washington DC. They are wearing a keffiyeh as headwear, their Airman cap hangs out their pocket, and their shirt has writing: “VETERANS AGAINST – trump:fascism – Cheeto lookin mf – WE DONT CLAIM Nor Support that Mark Ass Buster [sic]” 8/14. LINK TO ARTICLE

Rain-soaked demonstrators wave at supporters in The Loop after a short stint of torrential rain during the march portion of Trans Day of Visibility. In headdresses are drag queen house the Second City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. 3/30. LINK TO ARTICLE