By Daniel Nardini
Technically, Dixon, Illinois, is still very much a Republican city in Lee County. The mayor is Glen Highes, and the state representative for the 37th District (which includes Dixon) is Li Arellano, Jr., who are both Republicans. This all seems to be in keeping with the town’s and indeed the county’s roots which have been Republican. This is after all the place where former 40th President Ronald Reagan lived as a boy. Reagan’s boyhood home is in Dixon. But I saw something in Dixon which was quite shocking to me. At the Lee County courthouse, there was a large crowd of a couple hundred people holding a “No King’s” protest against current Republican U.S. President Donald Trump. The protest was attended by many Dixon residents, and was well received by the public there. There were no counter-protests against it, and the event was certainly non-violent. This was a real surprise to me. A largely Republican town protesting a Republican president? What gives?
There are two things I see which might explain what is happening. First, the people are largely Reaganite Republican, as distinct from being Trumpist Republican. The two are not necessarily the same. But the common goal that links the Reaganote Republicans with the Democrats is the U.S. Constitution. The document is sacred to both, and in their view anyone who trashes it is a dictator or a wannabe dictator. This is intolerable to both. Yet something else is happening to Dixon that may be changing it. I went to a bookstore there, and the funny thing was seeing on display book titles that were in fact both critical of today’s America and in a way critical of Reagan’s America back in the 1980’s. I guess peoples’ view change from decade to decade. Yes, the Holy Bible and books on Christianity were there as well as books on Ronald Reagan and American history. Also available were the books by Thich Nhat Hanh on Buddhism—a teacher of Buddhism since the 1960’s. Apparently, Buddhism is making inroads even in rural Illinois?!
One thing that would have Reagan rolling in his grave are the growing number marijuana dispensaries that are popping up in the United States. Now there is one even in Dixon. I remember too well all of the campaigns and draconian laws promulgated in the 1980’s against “illegal drugs” and against marijuana in particular. under Ronald Reagan. Oh how the times have changed! Of course, Dixon is a famous tourist destination, and because of this there are four major hotel chains like the Tru by Hilton, the Fairfield by Marriott, the Quality Inn, and the Holiday Inn Express now in Dixon. And with the number of tourists also comes people, especially those from the Chicago area, who buy homes and make investments in Dixon. They are gradually changing the very composition of Dixon itself. I remember Dixon, while a tourist town in the beginning of the 21st Century, was more of a sleepy town than when I saw it just recently. One way or the other, Dixon is undergoing the changes that its own success has made it. It would be a true irony to see this town go from being a bedrock of Republicanism to a Democrat city.
Dixon; A Changing City?
By Daniel Nardini
There are two things I see which might explain what is happening. First, the people are largely Reaganite Republican, as distinct from being Trumpist Republican. The two are not necessarily the same. But the common goal that links the Reaganote Republicans with the Democrats is the U.S. Constitution. The document is sacred to both, and in their view anyone who trashes it is a dictator or a wannabe dictator. This is intolerable to both. Yet something else is happening to Dixon that may be changing it. I went to a bookstore there, and the funny thing was seeing on display book titles that were in fact both critical of today’s America and in a way critical of Reagan’s America back in the 1980’s. I guess peoples’ view change from decade to decade. Yes, the Holy Bible and books on Christianity were there as well as books on Ronald Reagan and American history. Also available were the books by Thich Nhat Hanh on Buddhism—a teacher of Buddhism since the 1960’s. Apparently, Buddhism is making inroads even in rural Illinois?!
One thing that would have Reagan rolling in his grave are the growing number marijuana dispensaries that are popping up in the United States. Now there is one even in Dixon. I remember too well all of the campaigns and draconian laws promulgated in the 1980’s against “illegal drugs” and against marijuana in particular. under Ronald Reagan. Oh how the times have changed! Of course, Dixon is a famous tourist destination, and because of this there are four major hotel chains like the Tru by Hilton, the Fairfield by Marriott, the Quality Inn, and the Holiday Inn Express now in Dixon. And with the number of tourists also comes people, especially those from the Chicago area, who buy homes and make investments in Dixon. They are gradually changing the very composition of Dixon itself. I remember Dixon, while a tourist town in the beginning of the 21st Century, was more of a sleepy town than when I saw it just recently. One way or the other, Dixon is undergoing the changes that its own success has made it. It would be a true irony to see this town go from being a bedrock of Republicanism to a Democrat city.