OLD IRVING PARK — Signs posted citywide by Chicagoans mark where federal immigration agents have arrested their neighbors or deployed chemical weapons during the past two months.
Outside Smoque BBQ, 3800 N. Pulaski Rd., is a sign from Indivisible Chicago Northwest that says, in part, “ICE abducted people and used tear gas in your neighborhood.”
The sign refers to an Oct. 25 incident near the intersection of Kildare Avenue and Grace Street a few blocks away. That day, federal immigration agents used tear gas on civilians while arresting two neighbors — including a 70-year-old man — for allegedly interfering in the arrest of another man.
“They deployed tear gas while families [with] kids were heading to the Halloween parade,” the sign said, in part. The deployment of tear gas that day also caused concerned parents to cancel a children’s costume parade.
Kevin Naglich, Indivisible Chicago Northwest’s founder, told Block Club he and other neighbors posted signs like this across the neighborhood and on cars Oct. 27.
“Myself and a couple other neighbors that are also members of the chapter were present when the Oct. 25 ICE abductions were taking place,” Naglich said. “Seeing that firsthand was quite the experience itself. One of our members, a CPS teacher, she brought up the idea that we should probably try to make sure people know exactly what happened.”
The fear is that rapid, daily reports of federal agent activity across the city during October could mean the Oct. 25 incident — where people were taken and agents used tear gas near children — could be lost in the news cycle, he said.
“With algorithms, and people just not really paying that much attention, we wanted to make sure that we could break through all that. Make sure that people local to this could see and are aware, firsthand, of what happened and what it meant for the community,” Naglich said. “And if they are so moved, give them an outlet in order to take action against it and every other sort of attack we feel on our democracy and rights at this point.”
To date, federal agents used chemical weapons on Chicagoans at least 49 times on nonviolent protesters, bystanders and journalists. Federal agents continued to use such tactics even after U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Ellis issued an order barring their use unless it would be necessary to stop someone from physically harming another person.
“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes walking to a parade do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer,” Ellis told Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino during an Oct. 28 court hearing “They just don’t. And you can’t use riot control weapons against them.”
And in a scathing opinion last week, Ellis highlighted lies and distortions by Bovino and immigration agents in press releases, social media posts and their own internal reports.
The federal government has said agents have used justified force to respond to “rioters,” “agitators” and violence. But Ellis said she couldn’t find any evidence of “violent rioters” in Chicago in the 500 hours of body camera footage and videos provided by government attorneys.
And on the Southwest Side, McKinley Park-based art collective Marimacha Monarca Press has been printing laminated paper signs that resemble “no parking” and “tow zone signs” but instead say “ICE secuestró alguien aquí” in Spanish, which means “ICE kidnapped someone here,” according to the Sun-Times.
Fighting against online misinformation, including from the federal government, and the rapid news cycle is why neighbors like Naglich have focused on getting offline and talking face-to-face with members of their community, he said.
“We’ve definitely tried to start investing a lot in IRL [in real life] communications. Whether that’s yard signs or flyers or handouts and leaflets,” Naglich said.
Naglich and other neighbors walked over to Disney II Magnet Elementary School, 3815 N. Kedvale Ave., the same day federal agents used tear gas near children to let parents know about an ICE watch training that was going to happen the next day, he said.
“Everyone there was, as you can imagine, pretty interested in getting involved in that,” Naglich said.
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