Elgin March For Our Lives Rally Is Saturday

The latest mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida has sparked school walkouts and calls for stricter gun reform laws. And on Saturday, families and children across the U.S. will take to the streets in March for Our Lives rallies. There are 834 events occurring across the U.S, and the following rallies and marches are planned for the northwest suburbs:

• March For Our Lives Elgin will be held in the parking lot at the Elgin Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. The March For Our Lives event is in response to the "looming problem this country faces with school shootings and gun reform." The group will move from the parking lot and march across the bridge to the park on Kimball and Route 31. After the 12 p.m. event, there will also be a special March for Our Lives event at the Elgin Township Building, 729 S. McClean Boulevard in Elgin. The names of shooting victims will be read at 2:30 p.m., as a bell tolls in remembrance. This is a companion event to the marches planned around the country. The number 17 will be a focus in honor of the Parkland school victims, and people who have died in all types of shootings will be remembered.
• Woodstock - March For Our Lives will be held starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Woodstock Sqaure, 121 W. Van Buren Street. McHenry County children and families of March for Our Lives will take to the streets. They are partnering with concerned organizations and citizens in historic Woodstock Square for a rally and march. Visit here to register.
• Huntley - March For Our Lives will begin at 12 p.m. in front of Deicke Park at Mill Street and Route 47 in Huntley. The event will happen even if there is snow and attendees are encouraged to bundle up. The event will be "part march and mostly roadside rally." Those with limited mobility can bring a folding chair. There will be a place for attendees to deposit flowers in sympathy for the 17 students who were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. All flowers will be donated to Deer Path after the event. Attendees are also encouraged to bring signs. The event will wrap up by 3 p.m. "unless the crowd is still going strong." RSVP here.
• March for our Lives Vernon Hills will be held at Hawthorn South Middle School, 600 N. Aspen in Vernon Hills starting at 11:30 a.m. Community members from the surrounding area will join together to march. They will convene at Hawthorn Middle School South in Vernon Hills. This March is in solidarity with the survivors and families of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. RSVP here.
• March for Our Lives NW Suburbs will start at 9 a.m. at Schaumburg Town Square, 130 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg. Attendees "will be joined by a variety of lawmakers and progressive groups supportive of our cause." RSVP here.

The Chicago March For Our Lives event is expected to draw more than 30,000 people. That event will begin at 11 a.m. at Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St.

"The voices for the March for Our Lives are those of the generation that grew up with mass shootings," march organizers said in a statement. "This is the sound of millions of voices across the country pleading for change — we say enough. End the violence."

• 10 March For Our Lives Events In Illinois: Find Out Where
  

Photo via Amber Fisher, Patch Staff