About 150 DeKalb and Sycamore residents piled into three buses to reach Chicago to participate in Monday’s immigration rally.

Although Sycamore resident Jesus Romero had some involvement in planning the bus trip with Sebastian Cifuentes, publisher of El Periodico Lo Nuestro Bilingual News in DeKalb, he did not ride along on one of the buses.

However, he did drive to Chicago and took in the sights and sounds of what proved to be an emotional experience.

“I got chills just to see the amount of people there and also seeing all the American flags,” Romero said. “It was almost like a huge parade, and it was moving to see a lot of people coming out of the dark because in the past, people maybe were afraid to go out like that.”

Romero also described how strange it was to see many businesses closed around Chicago, and he thought it would be interesting to find how much money was lost in sales.

The rally was a celebration of all nationalities, Romero said. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugees participated with the bus trip along with the Coalition of African, Arab, European and Latino Immigrants of Illinois.

“It wasn’t just about Mexicans. It was united of all kinds of people,” Romero said. “There were a lot of American flags flying and they encouraged people to wear white T-shirts to prove we are trying to manifest our own ideas in peace and also display the American flag to show we’re proud and happy to be in this country.”

In Chicago, barricades were set up around Lake Shore Drive for safety reasons and the organization was set around Grant Park. Speeches, music and dancing took place in the park throughout the day.

“What they are really looking for is just an opportunity to provide better things for their kids and live the American dream like many people want to reach,” Romero said.