Christine McGovern, an Oak Lawn resident running for the District 18 state Senate seat, held a sign that read “stop illegal voting,” alongside more than 50 other area residents holding similar signs Tuesday in Orland Park.

The residents stood in front of a tour bus, wrapped in political messaging that read “only citizens vote” and “more than 80% of Americans agree,” at its latest stop on a three-week tour from California to Washington, with national Republican advocates pushing for the passage of a bill to require proof of citizenship for voting.

McGovern said residents she’s spoken with in her area don’t feel their voices are heard in government. She said people are being “mistreated” by government policies on crime, taxes and energy, which all begin with “improper representation” at the voting box, she said.

The Republican advocates on tour, called the Tea Party Patriots, argue the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require states to obtain documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections, would close a loophole in voter registration rules, according to Jenny Beth Martin, honorary chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.

Advocates from Will County Now, a chapter of the National Organization for Women, said on social media they planned to protest the event because it was “dangerous misinformation,” and the proposed legislation would “actually disenfranchise legitimate voters way more than it prevents those who are ineligible from voting.”

The chapter cited an article from American Progress in their post, a progressive policy institute, that said the bill would upend online voter registration, make it impossible to mail in a registration application and eliminate voter registration drives.

Will County Now advocates were not seen in attendance at the event.

Yet several residents said they believe this bill is necessary, and said attending the event is a part of being an engaged citizen. Stephanie Galmines, a Frankfort resident who attended after seeing it advertised on Facebook, said too many people in the community are “complacent” and “overlooking things like this.”

Her friend, Jennifer Lepore, agreed and cheered on Galmines’ statements.

“They need to get involved with the news, take some action, be in person, see what’s actually going on, not what you’re being fed and propagandized,” Galmines said. “Get out there and learn for yourself.”

Galmines said she was happy to see a wide variety of age groups, from 20 to over 60, in attendance.

State Sen. Andrew Chesney, a Republican from the DeKalb area, said the SAVE Act is especially important to Illinois because he said state lawmakers have made it “very easy for illegal immigrants to vote,” which he said Democrats have accomplished through the absence of voter ID requirements and other measures.

He said he finds hope in the national movement, as the Illinois Republican Party is far outnumbered at the state level with the Democrat Party holding a supermajority. He said Republicans have struggled to make progress on garnering support for tightening voting laws, and said the bill will pass at the national level, but it would take some time to pass in Illinois.

“Of course, (the state initiatives) never get any traction, but it’s really not for a lack of trying or speaking to these issues,” Chesney said.

He said Tuesday’s event was well received and that most Illinois residents believe citizens should be the “only ones voting and influencing our local, state and federal election.”

The Tea Party Patriots bus began Aug. 18 in California and plans to arrive in Washington early this month to persuade Congress to pass the SAVE Act when it returns. Martin said the crowds attending the rally seem to only grow as the tour continues, as she said about 80 people attended a rally stop in Wisconsin.

Martin said she first became inspired to advocate for this bill after Arizona was sued for requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration. The lawsuit went to the Supreme Court, which ruled against reinstating a portion of the state law that barred voters who register using a standard federal form from voting for president or by mail unless they provide proof of citizenship.

awright@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/03/orland-park-event-tighten-voter-requirements/