Chicago, IL – Over 20,000 Chicagoans marched in downtown Chicago, Sunday, January 25, through the cold and heavy snow, in response to the brutal murder of Alex Pretti and the ongoing occupation of Minneapolis by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The protest, organized by the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA), demanded charges for Jonathan Ross and all DHS agents involved in murders, that Congress cut all funding to ICE, and an end to collaboration between the Chicago Police Department and ICE.

Chicago, IL – On January 23, Chicagoans across the city targeted various Target locations to protest the corporation’s support for ICE terror.

The Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA) led and mobilized people to the Target in Hyde Park. This included members from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), Mexican Students de Aztlan (MeSA), U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC) and more.

Chicago, IL – on Friday morning, January 23, nearly 100 people packed into Casa Michoacan for a press conference and rally. In solidarity with the broad coalition shutting down the Twin Cities that same day, speakers demanded the conviction of Jonathan Ross for murdering Renee Good, ICE out of Minnesota, and no more federal funding for ICE.

Chicago, IL – On Thursday, January 15, students rallied on the University of Illinois Chicago campus to demand the release of Venezuela’s democratically-elected President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores who were kidnapped by the United States, and an end to U.S. intervention in the country.

Despite the extreme cold, students showed up to the UIC quad and united to condemn the illegal actions of the Trump administration.

Chicago, IL – On Thursday, December 15, around 50 students and staff from progressive organizations and unions at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) rallied outside of the quarterly University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting to demand that the board fund diversity measures.

Chicago, IL – On January 13, over 40 students rallied on the University of Illinois Chicago campus in response to ICE’s murder of Renee Nicole Good, and to demand justice for all victims of ICE terror. Students responded to the national week of action by the National Students for a Democratic Society.

We’re ready to fight back

Gio Araujo, from New SDS at UIC, spoke on the importance of taking the lessons of 2025 into the new year. “We’re not going in blind, we’ve experienced a 2025 of ICE terror in our communities and have learned the tactics and strategies.”

Chicago IL – On Saturday January 10, 50 people attended a reportback from Jae Franklin, who traveled to Venezuela for the International People’s Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace of Our Americas in December. This event came a week after Trump’s attack on of the country and kidnapping of democratically-elected President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Chicago, IL. – On Thursday, January 15, 300 United flight attendants and supporters participated in an informational picket outside the United Airlines corporate headquarters, the Willis Tower, in downtown Chicago. It was 18 degrees out in the windy city, yet United flight attendants, flight attendants from other airlines and members of local unions still showed up to demand a contract and show solidarity.

Chicago, IL – Over 1000 Chicagoans gathered on Thursday, January 8, in Pilsen, the heart of Chicago’s Chicano community, to demand city officials hold Chicago Police (CPD) officers accountable for collaborating with ICE during the terroristic operation Midway Blitz.

Chicago, IL – Over 600 community members and organizers gathered at the Little Village Arch in vigil and protest in solidarity with the immigrant rights movement in Minneapolis on Wednesday, January 7. Protesters demanded justice for all victims of ICE, ICE out of everywhere, and legalization for all immigrants living in the U.S. as a part of a national emergency call for action called by the Legalization for All Network in response to the murder of Renee Nicole Good.

Chicago, IL – On January 8, Filipinos and allies gathered in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines to demand the release of Filipino American activist, Chantal Anicoche, and an end to the bombing of Mindoro.

By Chanel Crittenden and Gio Araujo

Chicago, IL – On Saturday, January 3, around 2000 people gathered downtown in Chicago’s Federal Plaza to join an emergency rally denouncing the U.S. empire’s latest series of military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

This rally was one of many emergency responses called by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) after the United States government conducted bomb strikes across several Venezuelan territories: the capital Caracas, Aragua, La Guaira and Miranda. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the invasion concluded with the kidnapping of the democratically-elected president Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Chicago, IL – Chicago’s new 2026 budget is now in effect. Despite containing some wins for working-class forces in the city, the final budget was pushed through by corporate-backed alderpersons who succeeded in their primary goal: blocking the corporate tax increase proposed by the administration of Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Chicago, IL – Over 60 protesters gathered on the frigid morning of Friday, December 19 outside of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) quarterly meeting. Protesters demanded the board divest from all corporations complicit in Israel’s genocide and occupation against the Palestinian people, and that State Treasurer Michael Frerichs (ISBI’s vice chair) divest from Israel Bonds. 

This action marked the one-year anniversary of protests targeting ISBI and Frerichs co-led by Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC-Chicago) and BDS-Chicago—a project of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). In the last 12 months, the campaign has grown into a network of over 55 organizations throughout Illinois. 

Chicago, IL – On December 20, over 175 people gathered in the Chicago Teachers Union Hall to stand in solidarity with Gustavo Petro and the people of Colombia as their country faces an intensification of U.S. aggression.

Petro has had his visa revoked by the Trump administration, and the country is seeing attacks in the form of sanctions, tariffs and military threats. These attacks have been because of his un-fearful stance against U.S. imperialism, from calling out the U.S./Israel’s genocide in Gaza to defending the sovereignty of Latin American nations. Petro is a popular and progressive internationalist.

Chicago, IL – Corporate-backed alderpersons pushed through an unbalanced budget to avoid taxing big businesses on Saturday, December 20, but conceded important measures after sustained pressure from working-class Chicagoans.

By Kayla Nguyen and Kobi Guillory

Chicago, IL – A fiery rally took place in freezing weather beside the Little Village Arch on Saturday, December 13. Protesters commemorated Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe by demanding an end to deportations and ICE abductions, justice for victims of ICE, and legalization for all immigrants living in the U.S. as a part of a national weekend of action called by the Legalization for All Network.

Chicago IL – 150 Chicagoans gathered downtown in the biting cold on Black Friday to say, “Tax the greed! Fund the need!” From a wide range of communities, they gathered to speak up for working and oppressed people. They stood united on a broad platform of demands including higher taxes on the rich, more funding for public services, and an end to Trump’s reactionary agenda.

Chicago, IL – On November 19, over 100 protesters gathered at Federal Plaza for a Venezuela solidarity rally, chanting “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!” and “No war on Venezuela!” 

“The U.S. has tightened its ongoing sanctions on Venezuela and doubled its bounty on President Maduro to $50 million because U.S. billionaires have set their eyes on Venezuelan oil. Invading Venezuela is a violation of international law, so the Trump administration is fabricating a completely false pretense to justify its war: narco-terrorism and immigration,” said Caeli Kean, co-chair of Anti-War Committee (AWC) Chicago. 

Chicago, IL – Philadelphia activists opposed to police killings traveled to Chicago November 14 for a huge conference commemorating the 52nd year of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). The conference featured more than a dozen NAARPR chapters from across the United States. There were also affiliates of NAARPR including SDS, Centro CSO, Legalization for All, Anakbayan, FRSO, the Jericho Movement and others.