"Libertyville is the perfect place to have a Tea Party. It's the center of Lake County, and it's called Libertyville. It is all about liberty, all about freedom," said Lennie Jarratt, Lake County Tea Party chairman.
Local Tea Party organizers gathered officials and politicians to address the crowd.
"I congratulate all of you for getting involved in government at the local," said Terry Weppler, Libertyville mayor.
Organizers say they invited all candidates. They say a few Libertarians and Independents responded, but most of the politicians who showed up were Republicans.
"We're good, solid people who care about their government and won't take for granted their government anymore," Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady said.
Many people in the crowd were from other towns.
"I wanted to support an organization that I feel is doing more to preserve our constitution than any other," said Antioch's John Young.
Mel Withrow owns his own business in Mundelien. He say he is seeking some relief from taxes.
"We need all the help we can get from the local, county, state, and federal government to exist in small business because they really slam us real hard with taxes," Withrow said.
Martina DeRose, a mother of nine from Waukegan, said she was interested more in anti-abortion issues.
"Sometimes, you think you're the only one who thinks a certain way, and certain people make you think you are ' coo coo' because you think a certain way," she said.
While specific issues drew some, others just wanted to see what the Tea Party is all about.
" I'm kind of getting more and more conservative as I get a little older, and I just want to know what's going on. I want to hear what these guys have to say," said Jack Grant of Libertyville.
Palestine and McHenry also hosted events over the holiday weekend. Although some people attending Libertyville's event had been to others, most of the those speaking with ABC7 said it was their first time at one such events. They said they had heard about the organization and its campaign on the news nationally and just wanted to see it for themselves.
However, most of Monday's speakers were local politicians whom most voters already knew.
