Passion on Route 14

"We are all Arizona," reads the sign on the left.

This young man wanted to show me the other side of his sign as well. It reads, "South Africa '10, No SB 1070," with bumper stickers that say, "Reform Immigration for America." I see "June 11th to July 11th" at the bottom of the sign with the flags of various countries.

Both sides of the political spectrum find it hard to believe, but I love political passion wherever I find it.

Today, It was not TEA Party demonstrators on Route 14.

It was immigrant rights’ advocates.

They were not standing still.

They were on the last leg of a 50-some mile march from Chicago to the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are housed under the supervisor of McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren.

Knowing that they were leaving St. Thomas Catholic Church at 10:45 this morning, I drove by a little, saw a street blocked, but wasn’t smart enough to do more than take some photos.

Illinois Coalition of Immigration and Refugee Rights' tee shirt saying, "United We Dream - llinois Tour."

"Undocumented, Unafraid," says this tee shirt on a woman at Crystal Lake's McCormick Park.

But they weren’t.

No sign of them between Cary and Crystal Lake

When I returned after doing some shopping, the marchers had already left.

I did get shots of these two tee shirts.

Then, it was off to find those walking from Chicago to the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock for a vigil tonight from 6:30 to 7:30.

Walkers cross Dole Avenue where it intersects Route 14.

I caught up to them as they were crossing Dole Avenue.

Two people were carrying umbrellas. Other wore safara hats which covered the backs of their necks.

I noticed that a couple were carrying umbrellas, a pretty good idea for a day that is going to be in the eighties.

One teen carried a sign saying. “I’m Your future.”

"I'm Your Future," a homemade sign with an American Flag says.

Trying to get a better idea of the numbers who were in the procession, I went across from the site of the old McDonald’s, where I used to work, and got some shots.

McDonald's was just east of the Crystal Lake Motel.

But, I thought you might like a photo from the front of the walkers, so I drove around the block to get in front of them.

Lots of people drove by the demonstrators on Route 14.

They were bunching up.

Here the group approaches North Shore Drive.

Here they are approaching North Shore Drive.

Here's one of the shot I got out the window.

I still didn’t have good photos of the signs that were being carried, so I stopped on Route 14 and some folks gave stopped to let me take some close-ups.

Today my First United Methodist Church minister Steve Bullmer’s sermon was on living passionately. Church members had just finished reading “One Month to Live” by Kerry and Chris Snook.

As I walked out of church I told the pastor that I had seen passion on Route 14 this morning. I explained the purpose of the march I saw. He said that everything was about politics with me.


Comments

Passion on Route 14 — 13 Comments

  1. What an insult. If these people are here illegally then they are LAW BREAKERS. Chances are they came here with the intension of breaking the law. Send them back. Don’t try to change our US laws to accommodate these offenders.

    Their presence in the county and the US is an insult to all who took the proper procedure to become a United States citizen.

  2. For once, I’m speechless. No, maybe not. IDIOTS! Go home! This is a battle they REALLY don’t want to have…

  3. How about letting the unemployed who do not have jobs because of companies that will not verify or is it care about legal status handle the problem. I am sure they would be happy to help load the buses.

  4. Cal…shame on you………..
    Show PASSION for our laws of the United States.
    May God Bless American & continue to show PASSION to our rightful citizens.

  5. I am a legal immigrant and I can say, they do not insult me. It is an incredibly difficult and expensive process.

    Why is it that no one in government is approaching the illegal immigration process from a business standpoint? Illegals stay because there’s work for them, there’s work because businesses are paying them under the table. Why can’t the businesses be caught and heavily fined.

    I do not condone illegal immigration at all but there are multiple sides to this issue.

  6. I understand the plight of the illegal’s coming here from Mexico, but unfortunately the USA can not afford to take care of them. Today only 40% of families pay any taxes. Of the 60$ remaining, 40% get more back each year then what they had paid in. It is a fallacy that illegal’s pay taxes to support themselves. They cost us in healthcare and educating their children far exceeds their contribution. The USA must first secure the border and then look at some way of dealing with the illegal’s here. The last amnesty program was proven to increase the waves of illegal’s coming here hoping to fall under the amnesty. Give amnesty again and it will happen again. Learn form history.

    Enforce the verify laws and once jobs are gone. The inflow will stop.

  7. I think that the law that we have, where any baby born in the USA is a citizen, must be changed. IF the parents of the baby are already citizens, OR legally here on a visa, work permit, passport, etc., THEN the child born is a US citizen IF the parents ask it to be. IF the Mother is an ILLEGAL allien, then any child born of that Mother is as ILLEGAL as the Mother. Enact that right after fining ANY business for hiring an ILLEGAL $500,000.00 per ILLEGAL worker.

  8. Undocumented and unafraid … how offensive is that?
    It would have been great if they busted him on the spot for announcing he’s a lawbreaker.

  9. AZ Supporter, the problem with comments like yours is while they are emotional they are highly illogical. We cannot create a law that results in “stateless” citizens, in fact if you did then your goal of deporting them would be subverted. If they have no citizenship in any state ..where do you deport them? Moreover the cost of services implementation of a system to document citizenship for ALL Americans would be astronomical.

    With regard to jobs, there is not a ‘finite” amount of jobs in the US and during our most prosperous times with nearly zero unemployment we had the highest number of undocumented workers in our economy.

    I would respect the opposition more if they offered solutions and not caustic comments.

    One last note, I marched. I am not Illegal I am a Citizen who is fed up with Federal inaction and scapegoating of migrant workers. US Citizens and more particularly business concerns have been complicit in aggravating the growth of the undocumented population.

    If you want to talk about “crime” perhaps consider employers, and business interests as ‘accessories BEFORE the fact. But before we get too emotionally carried away consider the paradox of America actually making ‘work” a crime for some classes of people.

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