Des Plaines rally sounds notes of fear, hope

Local political leaders - and perhaps future political leaders - gathered at Dee Park in Maine Township on Sunday to praise the area's diversity and inclusiveness.

But they also warned that the threat of intolerance looms.

The event, called Maine Township United and hosted by Americans in Solidarity - Chicago, featured speakers including Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Chicago Alderman and Illinois gubernatorial candidate Ameya Pawar, who attended Maine East High School in Park Ridge.

Also attending were a group of Maine West High School students who had approached the Des Plaines City Council with a resolution calling for the city to be a safe space for Syrian refugees.

Maine East student Sakina Quraishi spoke of recent federal efforts to bar refugees and immigrants from several Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.

"All I felt at that time, when the (travel) ban was announced, was fear," she said. "I feared about everything, from my safety to the safety of my loved ones."

She said she's since been encouraged by protests against that policy.

"In a way, I'm thankful of what Trump did, because in a way he has brought us all together," she said. "Look at all of us, from different (races and ethnicities). So, thank you, Mr. Trump, for spreading your hate to show us what love is."

Wearing a green hat - she told the audience she had just been to a St. Patrick's Day parade - Schakowsky noted, "There were days when the Irish were not welcome in the United States."

"People are terrified that there may be that knock on the door," she added. "There are schools where children are not going to school because they are too afraid that their parents will not be there when they get home."

Pawar said he enjoys a special connection with the area.

"My parents still live on Robin Drive (in Des Plaines)," he said.

However, he said, his parents' journey to the suburbs from Chicago in 1987 was not an easy one.

"They tried buying homes all over the suburbs," he said. "In fact, there were many instances where they offered full price on homes, only to find out a few days later that after having made that offer, that the owners wouldn't sell them the homes."

His parents eventually settled in Maine Township near Des Plaines, "because it is an inclusive community. It was a community that welcomed everybody."

"This is America. This is the best of America," he added.