Western Springs Protest Planned

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Western Springs is expected to become one of the next sites for a Black Lives Matter rally, the village announced Thursday afternoon. The village said it was being organized by a Lyons Township High School student, whom the village did not name. Other Lyons Township students put together a protest march Wednesday in La Grange.

The local rally is set to start at 2 p.m. next Wednesday at the Western Springs Tower, 914 Hillgrove Ave. About 2:45 p.m., the group will walk to the high school's south campus, 4900 Gilbert Ave.

The designated route will be east on Hillgrove Avenue, to the underpass at Hillgrove Avenue, and Clausen Avenue, south to Burlington Road, east to Gilbert Avenue, south to Lyons Township South High School. Participants plan to end the event with a brief sit-down. If necessary, streets along the route will be temporarily closed to accommodate the demonstrators, the village said.

"The Western Springs Police Department is working with the event organizer to promote a peaceful gathering and respect the right for people to peaceably assemble," the village said in a Facebook post. "We will disseminate additional information as it becomes available."

Western Springs helped with security for La Grange's event.