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Voices of Reason

Location:

McLean County, Illinois
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)
Type:

Democratic Party-Aligned Activist Organization
Formation:

2016

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Voices of Reason is a Mclean County, Illinois affiliate of Indivisible Illinois, itself an affiliate of Indivisible, a left-of-center 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. and created in late 2016 as a response to the first election of President Donald Trump.  1

On June 14, 2025, Voices of Reason joined with Bloomington-Normal 50501 to host a “Nationwide Day of Defiance” rally in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. This was the same day as the nationwide No Kings demonstrations that coincided with the U.S. Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, D.C., as well as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. 2  3

Background and Connections to Indivisible

Voices of Reason is an Illinois affiliate of Indivisible, a left-of-center 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. created in late 2016 as a response to the first election of President Donald Trump. Voices of Reason is one of several dozen local Illinois affiliates of Indivisible, which includes multiple groups located in the greater Chicago area. Voices of Reason is located in McLean County, Illinois, to the east of Peoria, north of Springfield, and south of Chicago. The largest town in McLean County is Bloomington.  1 4  2

Voices of Reason was created in 2016 and has 3,000 followers on its Facebook page. 5

Activities and the No Kings Protest

On February 8th, 2025, Voices of Reason and Indivisible Illinois hosted an event in Springfield, Illinois, calling on U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) to oppose all nominees by President Donald Trump. 6

On June 14, 2025, Voices of Reason joined with Bloomington-Normal 50501 to host a “Nationwide Day of Defiance” rally at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. This was the same day as the nationwide No Kings rallies that coincided with the U.S. Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, D.C. as well as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. The No Kings rallies were billed as a protest to the alleged authoritarianism of President Trump. The Voices of Reason and Bloomington-Normal 50501 protest was advertised on the Facebook page of McLean County Democrats, the official local Democratic Party affiliate in McLean County, and was endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, Prairie Pride Coalition, and the UUBN Social Justice Team. 2 7  3

Bloomington-Normal 50501 describes itself as a pro-democracy activist group that, according to coordinator Michael Gizzi, works to “provide resistance to a government that is showing increasingly authoritarian and neo-fascist tendencies.” The group focuses on LGBT activism. Bloomington-Normal 50501 is the local affiliate of the 50501 movement, which stands for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement.” 50501 was created to protest the second Trump administration and began on Reddit. 8 9

Investigations in 2025 by the Pearl Project, a nonprofit journalism initiative, discovered that, despite being described as a grassroots movement, the No Kings protest was organized by a network of 197 Democratic Party-aligned organizations that collectively control $2.1 billion in annual revenues. The analysis found that of the No Kings protests listed on Mobilize.us, a Democratic Party organizing platform that serves as the main logistical platform for the No Kings movement, 70 No Kings-affiliated partners were also affiliates of the Democratic National Committee. Participants in the No Kings protest reported that the protest felt “less like a movement and more like a performance” conducted by the Democratic Party. “We are told which graphics to share, what signs to print and even how to answer reporters. It is like the whole protest is a campaign rollout—but in protest clothes,” the participant said. 10

Other partners of No Kings alongside Voices of Reason included Women Forward, Vote Save America, Volunteer Blue, Tax the Greedy Billionaires, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Reproductive Freedom for All, Progressive Democrats of America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Pride at Work, People for the American Way, Patriotic Millionaires, MoveOn, Indivisible and multiple other Indivisible affiliates, Human Rights Campaign, Community Change Action, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Common Cause, Black Voters Matter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and 350. 11

 

References

  1. “Summary.” Indivisible. Archived from the original March 5, 2018. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20180305201143/https://www.indivisible.org/guide/summary/.
  2. McLean County Democrats. Facebook post on June 4, 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/mcleancountydemocrats/posts/join-voices-of-reason-an-indivisible-group-in-mclean-county-and-bloomington-norm/1100154972147271/.
  3. Rubin, April. “What to know about protests to Trump’s June 14 parade.” Axios. June 12, 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.axios.com/2025/06/07/no-kings-protest-trump-military-parade-june-14.
  4. “Indivisible Illinois Statewide and Local Action Groups.” Indivisible Illinois. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.indivisibleillinois.org/chapters/#1747959374746-1605b323-4f57.
  5. “Voices of Reason.” Facebook. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/groups/VoicesReason/.
  6. Insivisibleil. Instagram post on February 8, 2024. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/indivisibleil/p/DF1dZ-hxoGF/?img_index=1.
  7. Levy, Marc, Claudia Lauer, and Jim Vertuno. “Anti-Trump demonstrators crowd streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. Organizers say millions came.” Associated Press. June 15, 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/no-kings-protest-trump-philadelphia-los-angeles-immigration-raids-a3b67d23733cd060f8d01aef1e391dbf.
  8. Aguilar, Paul. ‘Love and rainbows’: LGBTQIA+ community and allies push for equality at Bloomington protest

    .” WGLT. June 28, 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-06-28/love-and-rainbows-lgbtqia-community-and-allies-push-for-equality-at-bloomington-protest.

  9. Rubin, April. “What to know about the 50501 movement against Trump admin policies.” Axios. April 19, 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.axios.com/2025/04/15/50501-protests-saturday-trump.
  10. Nomani, Asra. “ASRA NOMANI: The familiar hidden hand behind today’s #NoKings protest.” Fox News. June 14, 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/asra-nomani-familiar-hidden-hand-behind-todays-nokings-protests.
  11. “Partners.” No Kings. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.nokings.org/partners.
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