Barely a block from a Black Lives Matter rally Saturday, a Back the Blue rally drew a crowd outside the LaSalle police station. Many of the people there believe the Black Lives Matter movement is misguided in wanting to redirect money now put into police services into social services instead. One man says BLM is hypocritical for overlooking Black-on-Black crime.
Main speaker, Republican Southern Illinois St. Rep. Darren Bailey, says he thinks calls for major police reforms could have been avoided by holding bad police officers accountable in the first place. He says people everywhere need to be held accountable.
Days before the rally, organizer Jaye DeBates said it would be non-political. However, it drew many supporters of Pres. Trump and pro-Trump merchandise was for sale from a trailer decorated with big pictures of the 45th President. After local Republican St. Rep. candidate Travis Breeden’s speech, Bailey said he’ll mentor Breeden if the voters send him to the Statehouse.
A few supporters of other parties were there. LaSalle County Board member Mike Kasap, a Democrat, watched the parade that went through LaSalle, Peru, and Spring Valley. He says the police provide a very important function and he felt he should be there as a member of the LaSalle County Democratic Party’s Central Committee.
There was also a man carrying a sign in support of Libertarian presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen. Conrad Weiden of Oglesby says she’s more in favor of the Second Amendment than Pres. Trump.
Weiden says some people he spoke to were angry that he was there, but he still spoke to them and they listened. Libertarians believe that much of the tension between people, especially minorities, and the police exists because there are too many laws against too many things.
Signs and shirts show that this crowd was at least as much in favor of Pres. Trump as for supporting police officers.
This man’s critique of Black Lives Matter asks where’s the outrage against Black-on-Black crime.
The view onto the south lawn at the LaSalle police station.
St. Rep. Darren Bailey speaks to the crowd at the Back the Blue rally.
At a rally where the support is largely for Pres. Trump, Conrad Weiden tells why he supports Libertarian presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen.
The parade through LaSalle, Peru, and Spring Valley begins.