Emmett Koshkarian is a senior wide receiver for the Trevians. He has a team-high 40 catches and scored his second touchdown in Oct. 17’s win against Glenbrook North.
1. Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?
Me and my fellow receiver Keefer (Baxter) always take ice baths the day before, and then right before games I listen to music and try to eat something four hours before.
2. What do you hope to do after high school?
Honestly, if football comes into play, that’s a good option, but right now, I’m just applying to schools and looking to major in business or something.
3. What would be your dream job?
I’d probably be running a company that deals with sports or something on that end, maybe a sport apparel company. I love sports and I like business, so that could combine both really nicely.
4. If you could try a different sport, what would it be?
I’ve always played basketball and baseball throughout my life, and I’ve been playing basketball longer. I wish I still played that.
5. What’s your favorite thing to do off the field?
I like hanging out with friends, going to the beach. I like lifting with my buddies, going out to eat. Normal stuff.
6. What’s your TV show right now?
“Breaking Bad.” I’ve watched it twice. Walter White, Jesse Pinkman: two really good characters. I just love the story, seeing Walter go from teacher to drug kingpin.
7. What’s been your top sports highlight or moment so far?
I gotta say Fremd. It was a tough game in the end, but (QB) Jackie (Ryder) kept feeding me the rock and it felt pretty good. (Koshkarian finished with 9 catches for 123 yards.)
8. If you’re in Walgreens with a couple bucks, what are you buying?
The blue Nerds Gummy Clusters, and I gotta go with the mango Naked smoothie.
9. What is something people don’t know about you?
I have a lot of food allergies. I am allergic to eggs, nuts and fish. I’ve had to deal with it my whole life.
10. How do you guys hope to finish the season?
Right now, we’re looking to finish conference play with a big away win against (Glenbrook South). That’ll set us up for success going in the playoffs. (A) 5-4 (record) is a lot different than 6-3 and we all know that and we’re going to go to GBS and try to finish it out right.
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Help could soon be on the way in the Village of Wilmette’s quest to fill one of the town’s most recognizable and longest-standing vacancies.
Village Manager Michael Braiman said Tuesday, Oct. 14, during a Village Board meeting that town officials will solicit land-use planning firms that can assist in initiating a rezoning discussion for the former Treasure Island store.
Trying to facilitate an occupant at 911 Ridge Road since Treasure Island closed in 2018, village officials continue to face “several barriers” in pitching the site to potential replacement grocers.
In a memo to Braiman, Lisa Brosnan, Wilmette’s business development planner, said those challenges include a lack of parking, low traffic volumes and the need for significant space upgrades. Those circumstances have town leaders feeling pessimistic that the existing space will find a new use under current parameters.
“In our meetings with the property owner, we’re not overly optimistic that something is going to happen in the existing space, so we do want to get our efforts moving to look at the zoning in that section there and see what we can do to encourage redevelopment,” Braiman said.
Wilmette’s business development team hopes to engage firms that can explore what the possible scope of work for rezoning the site would be as well as the potential costs associated with doing so, officials said on Oct. 14.
Wilmette’s recently adopted comprehensive plan, a roadmap document for policy and land use that guides community growth and development, recommended “rezoning the site to facilitate mixed-use redevelopment,” Brosnan said in her memo.
Brosnan also stated in her memo that village staffers have been in communication with “numerous grocers” regarding the space, but reiterated the challenges the property poses. She also said that some “small independent grocers have expressed interest in the location.”
Village officials remain steadfast in their efforts to try and fill the vacancy, which Braiman noted continually draws significant interest from community members.
“We know this is a priority for the community,” he said. “This is probably the space we’re all asked about the most in terms of what’s going to happen and are we going to see a new grocery store or new development.”
In early 2019, there seemed to be a match for a new occupant when officials reported that well-known nonprofit Goodwill agreed to lease the space, but the property’s ownership soon informed the village that it would not be moving forward with its plans, The Record previously reported.
No agreement was ever made official, and Goodwill did not submit zoning applications to the village. Village officials have now long said it’s clear Goodwill will not be occupying the space at any point during its lease.
Goodwill’s 10-year lease still has four remaining years, Braiman told the board.
Village staff hope to report back to trustees in the coming months with a progress update on the potential rezoning of the site, Braiman said.
According to listing information previously posted, the building shares 46 parking spaces with adjacent smaller storefronts, and the intersection of Lake Avenue and Ridge Road averages close to 18,000 vehicles per day. The former Treasure Island building is approximately 14,000 square feet.
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A group of juveniles used antisemitic language and shot “gel pellets” from a toy gun while confronting a group of peers at a Skokie park earlier this month, according to Village of Skokie officials.
While Skokie police identified and interviewed all of the individuals involved, Village officials declined to disclose whether any charges related to the altercation were filed.
The village’s investigation into the incident, though, is now complete and “the case is closed,” a news release published on Skokie’s website on Oct. 22 said.
The release says the incident took place around 6 p.m. on Oct. 7, when a group of kids playing basketball at Shawnee Park were approached by a second group of youths of similar age.
“During the encounter, antisemitic language was used and gel pellets were discharged toward members of the first group,” the village news release says.
Skokie police then reportedly responded to the scene, and according to their investigation, people involved with the incident reported the gel pellets were fired from a toy “gel blaster,” said Meredith Gioia, the Village of Skokie’s communications manager, in an email to The Record.
Goia added that, because those involved are minors, the Village will not be releasing any further information about the incident.
“The Village of Skokie unequivocally condemns antisemitism, hate and bias in all forms,” the news release states. “The Village takes every report of hate or bias seriously and remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting the safety and well-being of all who live, work and visit here.”
Mayor Ann Tennes addressed the incident near the beginning of Tuesday, Oct. 21’s Village Board meeting, noting that Skokie Police have now interviewed a “multitude of individuals who either witnessed or were involved in the incident.”
Skokie Mayor Ann Tennes acknowledged the Oct. 7, 2025, incident at the start of the public comment section of Tuesday’s village board meeting. She later noted the village will pursue getting its Human Relations Commission involved. | SAMUEL LISEC / THE RECORD NORTH SHORE
“The police continue to work to bring this matter to a resolution,” Tennes said. “I appreciate the care and concern expressed by community members regarding this difficult matter.”
The procedure was created in part out of research into hate incidents that Trustees Khem Khoeun and Keith Robinson and former Corporation Counsel Michael Large completed in 2022. The board first approved a memorandum to create a hate speech intervention program in 2023.
The Human Relations Commission will now review and discuss the incident and provide “recommendations to the Village on ways to engage the community through public education, dialogue, and collaboration,” the news release says.
Robinson noted during Tuesday’s meeting that the village’s procedure for early identification of hate crimes was created for precise incidents like this one, but noted that systems and procedures only go so far as “real change happens through people.”
“The fact that a group of young people targeted their peers with antisemitic language and violence is completely unacceptable and I hope as a community, and especially as adults, we must recognize that this kind of behavior is learned and it must stop,” Robinson said.
Anna Lapson, a Skokie resident of 40 years, voiced concerns about the incident during the meeting’s public comment section.
She recalled growing up in Moscow and being singled out by other children who said “You’re not one of ours” because she had a Jewish last name. Lapson dreamed of leaving Russia so that would never happen to her children or grandchildren, she said.
“What happened in Shawnee Park is unconscionable,” Lapson said. “It’s hard to believe that it’s happening now in our own backyard.”
“There is no place for hate in Skokie,” Tennes said in the village news release.
“Our community has long been built on respect, inclusion and care for one another,” she said. “The Village remains committed to standing against antisemitism and all forms of bias, and to ensuring that Skokie continues to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone.”
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Class sizes at New Trier High School have remained stable over the past six years, while the number of classes with 14 students or fewer have decreased, according to the district’s annual class size report.
Dr. Chimille Tillery — assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction who presented the report during New Trier’s regular School Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 20 — said the presentation “provides a perspective on class size and our allocation of resources.
“The report also helps us internally monitor our staffing levels and monitor our staffing allocations to make informed decisions about staffing levels and sectioning for the upcoming school year.”
As of Oct. 1, Tillery said the number of students enrolled at New Trier is 3,685. At the same point during the 2020-2021 school year, that figure was 4,032, meaning New Trier has seen a net decrease of 347 students, or 8.6%, over the last six school years — a drop the district has forecasted and discussed.
Despite the decrease, she said that the school’s average class size has remained consistent. This year, the average class size is 22.7 students per class.
While Tillery said that is a “modest increase” from last year, since 2020-21, the average class size per year was between 22.1 and 22.4 students.
She said that the consistent class size has allowed the school to support its staff and programs.
“We’re maintaining instructional quality while responding thoughtfully to demographic shifts,” Tillery said. “This kind of stability is a positive indicator of our staffing strategies.”
Tillery also said the number of small classes, which New Trier defines as 14 students or less, has decreased to 3.9% of the classes offered by the district.
That’s a 40% decrease over the past six years from when 6.5% of the district’s classes were classified as small.
“It’s been a strategic objective to reduce the number of small classes,” Tillery said. “If we can bring a class that’s below 14 into the higher teens or 20s … it’s still a good ratio and it frees up resources to help offset the larger class sizes. We want to utilize our resources wisely. This data shows that this has been happening over time.”
She added that the district will always have some classes that are small. Some of the classes that fit into that category are capstone courses (those that support students with special or specific needs) or are classes where only one or two sections are offered.
Tillery also said that the median class size is 24 students, and that 50% of all of New Trier’s classes have between 20 and 26 students.
“It’s important to note that we work directly with department chairs and coordinators on making these class sizes together,” she said. “Department leaders are amazing and have a big picture objective. They are great advocates for both students and their teachers, and we work together to hit the targets.”
School Board member Courtney McDonough asked how teachers handle a situation where a student wants to change a course after the school year has begun.
Superintendent Dr. Peter Tragos said based on the history of specific classes, teachers have determined which classes students are most likely to switch out of and have built that into the process of when they section the classes.
Sometimes there are challenges, Tragos said, such as a department capping the number of students in a specific class. But when that happens, he said, the district works with the student and department leaders to determine the best placement for them while also considering the student’s schedule.
He added that most movement with scheduling happens at the beginning of the semester.
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As a pediatrician, Dr. Lisa Klein gets asked a lot about puberty.
But the Detroit-based doctor also understands that those conversations can be awkward to have, especially for tweens, or those between 8 and 12 years old.
That’s why she, along with Dr. Carrie Leff, started Turning Teen, an organization that provides education on puberty, sexual health and emotional development.
“We didn’t want [tweens] Google searching about their bodies when there were wonderful ways to teach an adult and child together, start that conversation for them, and get that awkwardness out of the way,” Klein said. “We also wanted to facilitate medically accurate, but fun, meaningful conversations about puberty and bodies.”
The organization recently hosted on Sunday, Oct. 19, at Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette its first summit, which featured two different educational sessions, as well as an hour for crafting and snacks.
The summit gave tweens, and their trusted adults, an opportunity to hear from Klein about body basics, and from Highland Park resident Leslie Randolph, a life coach, about self-confidence and managing emotions.
Abbey Shuman, 15, of Northbrook, helps attendees make period confidence kits at event.
After its founding in 2015, Turning Teen expanded nationally, with pediatricians and nurses in several locations throughout the country who speak to groups in their local area. Randolph, who serves as one of the organization’s Chicago-based experts, is one of them.
The organization’s goals are to have open and age-appropriate conversations with tweens about their bodies, puberty and sex — topics that oftentimes lead to awkward conversations between tweens and adults.
“Turning Teen was founded with the idea of let’s not let that awkwardness turn into shame,” Randolph said.
Randolph spoke about the importance of confidence and how to manage emotions during her talk “Mind Over Mood: Managing Tween and Teen Emotions.” The Highland Park resident became a life coach after the pandemic, but she said that she’s wanted to be a coach “for 20 years.”
“I’d heard a whisper of ‘This is what I want to be doing,’ but I also very quickly heard a rebuttal in my mind that said ‘You want to be a coach? What’s a coach? This isn’t a real job,’” Randolph said.
She said that helping the attendees develop skills to build their confidence won’t just be useful to them in their tween years but will remain a skill that can be utilized throughout their lives.
She added that if she had built up her self-confidence from a younger age, she might not have initially doubted her desire to want to become a life coach.
“Everything always comes back to self-confidence,” Randolph said. “Any goal that someone wanted to go after, anything that they wanted to achieve, the Achilles heel was always a lack of belief in self. If we let our feelings be the drivers of everything we do or don’t do in life, we’re probably not going to be going after goals or chasing dreams.”
Turning Teen co-founder and pediatrician Dr. Lisa Klein speaks during the summit.
The Wilmette event was Turning Teen’s first summit, and Klein said that the summit was “nearly sold out,” with the capacity to fit approximately eight more tweens and their trusted adults.
Highland Park resident Jacqueline Widman attended the event with her daughter, Mikayla, and said that she appreciated her daughter having the opportunity to learn about things at the event to which Widman didn’t have access.
“It was mostly me encouraging her to come out and learn about her body, because it wasn’t until later for me that I learned about all of these things,” Widman said. “I didn’t want her to be in the same boat.”
In addition to the two presentations, attendees had an hour where they could have snacks, including applesauce, cupcakes and popcorn, and take part in making crafts like friendship bracelets, gratitude jars and journals that could be decorated with stickers.
Another activity for attendees was creating period self-confidence kits: small bags that contained a pad, tampon and a wipe that could be decorated with stickers.
Abbey Shuman, 15, a student at Glenbrook North High School, volunteered at the event by walking attendees through the process of making a period confidence kit. She said that she wanted to volunteer at the event because she wanted to help show that periods shouldn’t be something that triggers embarrassment.
“I think it’s really important that girls don’t feel embarrassed about their periods,” Shuman said. “I know that’s how I felt when I was their age, and now I know that it’s not something that you should be embarrassed about. It’s just a normal thing that happens.”
Shuman said that one of her favorite parts of the event was the one-on-one interactions that she had with attendees who were making the period confidence kits.
“I was just talking to a girl about getting her period, and how it’s not something to be worried about,” Shuman said. “I like that I was able to make her feel better about everything.”
Randolph said that being in a room with others who have gone through the same experience can help tweens to not feel scared about puberty and the changes that it brings along with it.
“If we have knowledge of what’s going on in our bodies, and our brains, it’s empowering,” Randolph said. “Once I have that information, I have agency, and I can normalize ‘Of course this is happening.’ This is an experience that every tween goes through, and when we do events like these and bring people together, it reminds them that they’re not alone in it.”
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The following reports were pulled from the latest incident summaries provided by law enforcement departments in our coverage area (Wilmette, Winnetka, Highland Park, Northfield, Kenilworth and Glencoe).
WILMETTE
Oct. 19
• An unlocked car reportedly was illegally entered in the 800 block of Michigan Avenue.
Oct. 15
• Items reportedly were stolen on Oct. 12 and Oct. 14 from a store in the 3200 block of Lake Avenue.
Oct. 13
• Four vehicles used for cancer-patient care reportedly were damaged at a facility in the 3200 block of Old Glenview Road.
WINNETKA
Oct. 14
• A resident reportedly was scammed out of more than $5,000 by a person purporting to be with the Korean Embassy.
GLENCOE
No reported incidents that meet The Record’s standards for publication.
HIGHLAND PARK
Oct. 19
• Two Halloween displays reportedly were damaged in the 2500 block of Highmoor Road.
Oct. 18
• Between 15-18 watches worth $5,600 reportedly were stolen from a car in the 1000 block of Park Avenue W.
• A security camera reportedly was stolen from a residential porch in the 2600 block of Waukegan Avenue.
Oct. 13
• A Pride flag reportedly was burned between Oct. 11-12 at Secret World Books, 1774 Second St.
NORTHFIELD
No reported incidents that meet The Record’s standards for publication.
KENILWORTH
Oct. 13
• A bicycle and bike lock valued at $1,300 reportedly were stolen from the bike rack at Kenilworth Metra Station.
The Record’s police reports are taken from police-activity summaries prepared by local police departments. Police Reports contain public information from preliminary reports and are not a complete listing of all police activity. The Record does not publish the names of individuals arrested and named in preliminary reports unless the incident is a matter of public safety or has significant community implications. All arrestees are innocent until proven guilty.
Hardly a day goes by at The Bagel Restaurant and Deli in Chicago without a patron asking its owner, Marvin Barsky, when he’s going to reopen the iconic Jewish eatery in Skokie.
A staple of Old Orchard mall for 31 years, The Bagel closed its location at the shopping center in 2018. Barsky took over its last remaining location in Chicago’s Lakeview-neighborhood in 2023 after Danny Wolf, the third-generation owner of the deli, died in 2022.
Yet Barsky said he has remained in consistent contact with Westfield, the real estate company that owns Old Orchard, “pestering” the firm every two weeks ever since he assumed control of the beloved restaurant.
Now, he’s just waiting to hear back about the possibility of returning The Bagel to Skokie.
“If it’s a fair deal, I’ll sign the deal tomorrow,” Barsky said of working with Westfield. “I would, seriously. I told them, within reason, if it’s fair and I can do it financially, I’ll sign tomorrow. I’m getting old, I gotta get this done. I’m looking forward to it.”
Westfield Old Orchard declined to comment on the matter, via Charisse Barnachea, a communications lead with Mekky Media, Westfield’s public-relations firm.
Elsa and Herman Golenzar, two Holocaust survivors, opened The Bagel in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood in 1950, a publication from the Chicago Jewish Historical Society shows.
After becoming well known for its spread of classic Jewish delicacies, from lox platters to gefilte fish to matzo ball soup, The Bagel reportedly outgrew its limited facilities and moved to its second location at 3000 W. Devon Ave. in Chicago’s West Rogers Park in 1977.
A decade later, The Bagel expanded to Skokie at 3905 Old Orchard Shopping Center. The family-run business then closed its West Rogers Park location and opened its current Lakeview site at 3107 N. Broadway Ave. in 1992.
One of the reasons why Barsky wants to reopen The Bagel in Skokie is to keep the restaurant’s rich cultural legacy alive. While the appearance might be different, Barsky said the menu of a second location will remain unchanged, as it has been for decades.
“The traditions of the Jewish deli are fading and the amount of Jewish delis left are decreasing and I want to keep it going,” Barsky said. “It’s what I grew up with. It’s what my family grew up with. I’d like to keep that tradition and that feeling going as long as I can.”
“I’d like to leave it to my family, you know, to keep it going, which I know they would,” he added. “So it’s almost part of my heritage and I don’t want that to stop.”
The Skokie Village Board voted in October 2024 to approve the demolition of the now-closed Bloomingdale’s Department Store at Old Orchard mall to make way for five-story and seven-story buildings that will contain retail spaces, restaurants and more than 400 total residential units.
A second phase of the village-approved development plan will build another seven-story mixed-use building at the shopping center that will contain more than 200 residential units, and an eight-story mixed-use building that will provide 200 hotel rooms or up to 125 residential units.
Given the community’s demographics, Barsky noted it’s likely a significant number of families who will occupy those new apartments in Old Orchard will be Jewish. And while there are already many different types of restaurants in the shopping center, Barsky said, there are no Jewish delis.
“I’ve looked at other empty stores or empty locations — just nothing fits like this. In my opinion, this is where it belongs,” Barsky said of The Bagel in Old Orchard.
“I’m not totally sure what’s going on,” he added of Westfield. “All I know is I stay in touch in case I hear back from them and I want to do it, period. I want to reopen that restaurant.”
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To all you football coaches out there, if you’re looking for a concept to really spook the competition, check out the 500 block of Washington Avenue in Wilmette.
There you will find a pass play strong enough to wake the dead.
The display is courtesy of the Genke family and specifically 13-year-old Nate Genke, who combined his love for football and Halloween into a frighteningly fun front-yard scene.
A football player is all bones in this Halloween display in Wilmette.
“We just thought it would be really cool to have a football game going on in the front yard,” he said about the idea he first had about three years ago.
Also frightening, the Genkes are Packers fans, so the scene depicts a game between the Packers and Bears with posed skeletons sporting the appropriate jerseys.
In this game, it appears Packers QB Bart Starr has zipped a pass in the direction of his teammate who is alone in the end zone. The ball hovers on its path to the skeletal receiver, while a blind referee — complete with an assistance cane — tries to find the action.
While other skeletal players are tussling in the background, a group of fans is field-side enjoying a barbecue. One of them sports a cheesehead and a PBR, another a Bears hat and a Budweiser.
A couple of fans enjoy the game action on Washington Avenue in Wilmette.
Nate said setting up the display takes a weekend, and it gets quite the reception, as plenty of folks stop by the house for photos or to quickly play on the field. Stephanie Genke said kids love to try to get in on the game and even grab the midair ball.
The Genkes plan to add to the display before gameday (Halloween night). Stop by and look for a scoreboard, werewolf and spider superfans, and possibly a tunnel and fog machine.
Only months after a pair of downtown Glencoe restaurants closed up shop, two newcomers are hoping to give locals some new food for thought.
Glencoe trustees during their Thursday, Oct. 16 meeting approved two liquor licenses, paving the way for the opening of a couple of new restaurants in the village later this year.
Officials first granted a Class B-2 license to Elyon Glencoe, a Mediterranean restaurant that plans to open at 667 Vernon Ave. This classification will grant the new dining establishment permission to sell alcohol on-site at the restaurant.
Adam Hall, Glencoe’s assistant village manager, said during the meeting that Elyon Glencoe has already submitted its business license, adding that the new dining establishment is planning to open its doors this fall.
According to Hall, Elyon Glencoe’s proposed menu “offers a creative chef’s tasting experience featuring fresh seasonal ingredients, handcrafted mezze, fire-grilled specialties and signature desserts.”
The new eatery will operate out of the space that previously housed Merlo’s Italian restaurant. Merlo’s closed in April of this year after opening in February of 2024, The Record reported.
Elyon Glencoe will hope to break a trend of relatively recent short stays at 667 Vernon as the space has seen a variety of restaurants since 2013, when Dewey’s took over for Vernon’s. After that, Cibo Trattoria, District and Valor all gave it a shot before folding.
Trustees also during the meeting approved a Class G-2 liquor license for RDK Sushi. Under the G-2 classification, RDK Sushi will be able to serve alcohol for on-site consumption and will be able to sell packaged liquor for guests purchasing take-out orders, village documents say.
RDK Sushi will operate out of 317 Park Ave., the former home of Meg’s Cafe and Apple A Day Catering.
Meg’s Cafe, as reported by The Record, closed in May of this year. Meg’s and Apple A Day Catering had for years operated out of the storefront on Park Avenue under the leadership of Northbrook resident Barbara Lepman.
Although Apple A Day Catering still operates, both of the businesses officially departed from their physical presence in town earlier this year.
Community members en masse united on Wilmette’s Village Hall Green Saturday morning to rally against President Donald Trump and his administration’s actions.
The gathering of approximately 500 was one of nearly 3,000 No Kings protests nationwide on Oct. 18, when concerned citizens also gathered in nearby Evanston (thousands in Fountain Square, the Evanston Roundtable reported); Highland Park (officials estimate a crowd of 2,500 near City Hall); and at several locations in Chicago.
A packed Village Hall Green in Wilmette for the event on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Lauren Engelhard, a 27-year-old who grew up in Wilmette, came up from Chicago with Muhammed Patel, 28, to join family and friends at the Wilmette rally.
Engelhard is a mental-health professional who said she’s listened firsthand to the fear many individuals — especially those in the LGBTQ and other marginalized communities — feel for their emotional and physical safety amid the current political landscape, including the local immigration crackdown.
“I think it’s important that we have a government that is supportive of the people in the country,” she said. “(Muhammed and I) talk regularly about how dissatisfied we are and how scary things are right now, so we wanted to make our voices heard and stand up in the community.”
Patel praised the large turnout in Wilmette, saying it is a sign of communities sticking up for each other.
Homemade protest signs held high among the crowd.
“ICE and the national guard are not really coming to Wilmette, but you see all these people here showing up for people in their city and greater region for a reason,” he said, “because even if it doesn’t affect us directly in the sense of ICE knocking down our doors it does affect us directly in terms of the fear our friends and family feel.”
Wilmette’s Village Green is also the setting for a weekly Saturday protest of the direction of the country, as detailed in previous Record reporting.
Carter Cleland has become the event’s organizer and played a prominent role in developing Wilmette’s No Kings program, which included five speakers, including New Trier Democrats leader Patrick Hanley, congressional candidate Bushra Amiwala and Glencoe’s Congregation Hakafa Rabbi Bruce Elder.
Bushra Amiwala, a candidate for Illinois 9th Congressional District, speaks during the rally.
Participants overwhelmed the Village Hall Green’s lawn, spilling over the sidewalk and onto Wilmette and Central avenues. Yellow-vested volunteers worked to keep the overflow away from traffic. Cars and delivery trucks constantly sounded their horns in solidarity, interrupting the program to the delight of protesters.
Cleland said the hundreds of attendees are evidence of a growing movement of people willing to take a stand against Trump’s administration.
“People are recognizing that staying at home and doom scrolling is not the way to go,” he said, “and they are saying that they are frustrated, annoyed and pissed off at the government for trying to take our rights away and ruin America’s standing in the world as a beacon of hope and freedom.
“It’s really recognition among people that this is a movement, and we are the people who are going to make it happen.”
Hundreds of signs were part of the gathering. “No Kings,” or a similar protest to authoritarian policies and behavior, was the most common phrase, but there was also no shortage of original expression.
Using his attire and a sign in Wilmette, Craig Witty expresses his disappointment in the current administration.
One sign read, “So bad even introverts are here.” Another: “Too many horrors for one sign.” Some were dressed in inflatable animal costumes — a growing trend at anti-Trump protests. A woman was in an outfit featured in the dystopian drama “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Winnetka’s Craig Witty wore a tuxedo complete with a black top hat. He carried a sign that said, “Not My G.O.P.”
“We think of the GOP as the Grand Ole Party, but it’s not the party it used to be,” he said. “The party of Lincoln; well not anymore in my opinion. If you’re going to say that, then live up to the principles that (Lincoln) identified.
Witty added, “People have to remember that democracy only works if you put a lot of work into it. It’s hard work. You have to be self disciplined and have to follow the best principles that were laid out by the Constitution.”
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