July 4 anti-Trump protest draws dozens to Sycamore: ‘The most patriotic thing I could do today’

SYCAMORE – On a day typically reserved for celebration, dozens of protesters gathered in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse Friday to oppose President Donald Trump, decrying what they see as government overreach on the nation’s birthday.

The protest, one of many demonstrations held across the country on the Fourth of July, comes on the heels of a weekslong scramble in Washington D.C. to pass legislation expected to define the President’s second term.

Protestors in attendance waved American flags and held anti-Trump signs.

DeKalb resident Nick Dory said he attended out of love for the country.

“It’s the most patriotic thing I think I could do today,” Dory said. “I think there’s some coordination that needs to happen to slow down these policies.”

The president on Friday signed what lawmakers have called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a multitrillion-dollar tax and spending bill, into law at an Independence Day picnic held at the White House. The bill contains the core of the President’s second term agenda, though has faced staunch opposition from Democrats and some dissenting Republicans.

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Protesters wave as cars honk in support Saturday, July 4, 2025, at the corner of Main and State Streets in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore during a "No Kings" rally to voice their displeasure with President Donald Trump. (Mark Busch)

The bill passed the Senate earlier in the week with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote. It passed the House on Thursday after an 8-hour, 44-minute floor speech from Demoratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Fighter jets and stealth bombers were expected to streak the sky over the White House at an annual Fourth of July picnic where Trump signed the bill.

The legislation, the president said, is “going to make this country into a rocket ship. It’s going to be really great,” The Associated Press reported.

“I want to thank Republican congressmen and women, because what they did is incredible,” Trump said. The president complained that Democrats voted against the bill because “they hate Trump – but I hate them, too.”

The bill contains extensions of tax cuts enacted during the President’s first term, in addition to substantial reductions to Medicaid funding while also increasing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Roughly 11.8 million income-qualifying Americans, adults and children, are expected to lose health insurance once the bill becomes law.

Dory, whose wife is a green card holder – which permits a person to live and work permanently in the U.S. – said the government’s treatment of noncitizens has stoked fear for his family.

“The fact that her green card could be pulled for any reason and she could be deported, that’s insane,” Dory said.

Cars driving by signaled apparent support for the protesters by honking and waving at the group stationed in front of the courthouse, 133 W. State St., Sycamore. Opposition to the protesters was shown by some drivers who appeared to make a crude hand gesture and shout in support of President Trump.

Longtime Sycamore resident Jackie Schmack said the majority of feedback from passersby appeared positive.

Schmack said attending the protest on a day typically reserved for celebration was her way of celebrating American rights.

“I see it as a last-ditch effort to exert our rights, to gather and to speak our minds,” she said. “Because that’s what they’re coming after.”

Schmack, a 40-year resident of Sycamore, said she believes the country is becoming less familiar.

“I’m starting to not recognize my country anymore,” Schmack said. “We wanted to let people know that it’s our country and he [Trump] can’t take that away.”

Some provisions in the bill are set to take effect after next year’s midterm elections.

“I think it’s cowardly they’re not going to make it go into effect until after the midterms,” Schmack said. “They don’t want to have to stand up and admit what they’re doing to the country.”

Susan Willey, a member of the Resistors group that organized the protest, said the demonstration was for democracy.

“We want Medicare, we want everything to stay,” Willey said. “Maybe there was some improvement that needed to be done, but the Republican administration is destroying the country.”

The Associated Press contributed to the reporting in this story.