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As cars and trucks honked along Route 64 in St. Charles last week, a group of protesters waved signs and flags with slogans such as “don’t tread on me” and “America’s eyes have opened to the enemy within: enough is enough.”
At La Galerie, an art gallery along Route 64, people went in and came out with new signs in their hands.
Owner John Carlson was holding a sign-making party for the April 15 tax-day protest. Most signs opposed things such as President Obama’s administration, the health care bill and government spending.
“People have been coming in nonstop since 9 a.m. making signs,” Carlson said. “I walked up and down the street earlier. There’s a lot of people saying ‘Hey, something has to change.’”
Carlson said he believes the country has been trending more and more toward socialism, which has led him to get involved in protesting what he called the government overstepping constitutional boundaries.
“It’s like, what’s the old saying? ‘Nobody can take your freedom, you can only give it up,’” Carlson said. “Here you got people selling their freedom for health care.”
Many participants had stickers and posters supporting State Sen. Randy Hultgren, R-48th District, of Wheaton, in the 14th Congressional District race against incumbent Rep. Bill Foster, D-14th, of Batavia. In a tax day statement, Foster said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contained $288 billion in tax cuts.
However, most people insisted that Thursday’s event was nonpartisan.
“There are Democrats and Republicans (involved in this event),” said Lisa Lolis, co-owner of Copper Fox Cafe, which also was listed on the event’s flier. “Everybody has their opinion. ... I don’t think the government is real strong for small business.”
Much like the front of La Galerie, Copper Fox had a flier for the event posted on the door. Lolis said she hopes the cafe’s involvement in the event doesn’t hurt business because running a small business is hard enough, but said she and her husband wanted to voice their concerns.
“Everybody’s voice should be heard for everything and anything,” Lolis said.
Steve Garton, a broker with Kettley Real Estate, was at the event with his daughter and four grandchildren. The youngest, a 4-month-old, was grabbing onto a miniature American flag.
“It feels like the government is getting too big too fast and taxes are growing too big too fast,” Garton said.
As cars and trucks honked along Route 64 in St. Charles last week, a group of protesters waved signs and flags with slogans such as “don’t tread on me” and “America’s eyes have opened to the enemy within: enough is enough.”
At La Galerie, an art gallery along Route 64, people went in and came out with new signs in their hands.
Owner John Carlson was holding a sign-making party for the April 15 tax-day protest. Most signs opposed things such as President Obama’s administration, the health care bill and government spending.
“People have been coming in nonstop since 9 a.m. making signs,” Carlson said. “I walked up and down the street earlier. There’s a lot of people saying ‘Hey, something has to change.’”
Carlson said he believes the country has been trending more and more toward socialism, which has led him to get involved in protesting what he called the government overstepping constitutional boundaries.
“It’s like, what’s the old saying? ‘Nobody can take your freedom, you can only give it up,’” Carlson said. “Here you got people selling their freedom for health care.”
Many participants had stickers and posters supporting State Sen. Randy Hultgren, R-48th District, of Wheaton, in the 14th Congressional District race against incumbent Rep. Bill Foster, D-14th, of Batavia. In a tax day statement, Foster said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contained $288 billion in tax cuts.
However, most people insisted that Thursday’s event was nonpartisan.
“There are Democrats and Republicans (involved in this event),” said Lisa Lolis, co-owner of Copper Fox Cafe, which also was listed on the event’s flier. “Everybody has their opinion. ... I don’t think the government is real strong for small business.”
Much like the front of La Galerie, Copper Fox had a flier for the event posted on the door. Lolis said she hopes the cafe’s involvement in the event doesn’t hurt business because running a small business is hard enough, but said she and her husband wanted to voice their concerns.
“Everybody’s voice should be heard for everything and anything,” Lolis said.
Steve Garton, a broker with Kettley Real Estate, was at the event with his daughter and four grandchildren. The youngest, a 4-month-old, was grabbing onto a miniature American flag.
“It feels like the government is getting too big too fast and taxes are growing too big too fast,” Garton said.
Garton’s daughter, Abby Elliott, a resident of Malta, Ill., pulled her three stepdaughters, ages 9, 7 and 5, out of school and brought her 4-month-old son to the event saying she thought they would learn more about history at the protest.
“It’s something my parents would have done with me,” she said. “I want to teach them not to repeat mistakes (that have been made).”
Ann Smith, co-owner of Smitty’s On the Corner, said although the restaurant was listed as a participant on the flier, the owners want to remain as neutral as possible when it comes to crossing party lines.
“I think there are people from both sides (involved with the protest),” Smith said, adding that she and her husband have been trying to follow what happens nationally with taxes and would like to see government spending cut.
Cathryn Trendler, a St. Charles resident at the event with a Hultgren sticker on her shirt, said she was glad to see business owners voicing their opinions. Trendler, whose son has been unemployed for the past six months, said she believes the government is wasting too much money while not creating jobs.
“They got to take care of jobs and get people back to work,” Trendler said. “Republicans, Democrats and Independents; they all have to be (weary) of the way things are going.”
