Hundreds Fill Streets For March For Our Lives Downers Grove

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Saturday morning was particularly chilly for the first full weekend of spring, but that didn't stop more than 1,000 people from bundling up and taking to the streets for the Downers Grove March for Our Lives. A line of shoulder to shoulder marchers spanned Main Street from Downes Grove North High School to the train station, chanting and holding signs demanding gun reform.

The Downers Grove March for Our Lives was one of 800 sister marches held throughout the country Saturday in support of a similar march held in D.C. by survivors of the Feb. 14 massacre that claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Before the march, Rep. Bill Foster (D), Democratic Nominee for the Illinois 6th Congressional District, Downers Grove native Sean Casten, and several students took the mic to speak out against gun violence.

Casten, who faces Rep. Pete Roskam (R) in November, brought up Roskam's opposition to a ban on armor-piercing bullets. Casten thanked the marchers for creating a space in which politicians can "speak and advocate now; not vote quietly."

Rep. Foster praised the many children involved in the march and ongoing efforts against gun violence in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting. He said, "If you make this the cause of your generation, you will be doing yourself proud."

Some of the student organizers shared their sentiments ahead of the march.

"Parkland was different because students refused to remain silent," organizer Audrey Dwyer said in a speech, adding, "As we take action and demand attention, we can make a change."

>>>Image via YouTube, Joseph Dwyer