This past Friday, I attended a protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview to exercise my First Amendment rights and practice my faith. As a pastor, I believe that what is happening at that facility and others like it across the country is a moral and spiritual emergency.
When I show up to a protest, I am 100% committed to nonviolence. I wear a clerical collar, and my behavior is completely nonthreatening. In tense situations, I have found a pastoral presence can help bring down the temperature in helpful ways.
I attended Friday’s protest in part due to concern that someone could eventually be killed by ICE due to the agency’s escalation of violence against protesters. I assumed that was the same concern that caused the Illinois State Police to be deployed to the ICE facility. When I heard state police would be present, I thought that their actions would match Gov. JB Pritzker’s tough anti-ICE rhetoric. I hoped they might even protect protesters’ First Amendment rights. I was gravely mistaken.
At that protest, Illinois State Police hit me with their hands and pushed me and others with truncheons. This violent escalation took place when I was praying at the front line of the protest, on the curb and not in the street, which we were told was off-limits.
While protesters were arbitrarily and forcibly moved by state police, a right-wing influencer was allowed access to shoot footage from the roadway we were not allowed on. When U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino arrived, we were pushed back by the Illinois State Police and federal agents, even though we were not on federal property.
In response to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s visit to the ICE facility in Broadview, Pritzker said, “Illinois is not a photo opportunity.” I wish that were the case.
From what I saw on Friday, not only was our state made into a photo-op, but also, our state police rolled out the red carpet for Bovino and Noem. Instead of talking a big game, the governor should make sure that the state police are there to protect Illinoisans exercising their First Amendment rights.
— The Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf, Evanston
End federal occupation
Regarding the federal government invasion of the Chicago area, I have read that current efforts of local government are to inform people of their rights. I appreciate that, and it’s important to educate. However, we need to shift the local government’s focus to ending federal occupation of our city.
It seems the federal government is “here to stay” and “expanding,” as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said about the Broadview processing facility. If they are here for much longer, it will have a decadeslong effect on Chicago. Businesses will leave, and new businesses will not move here. People will leave, and new people will not move here. The population decline will have the same negative effects experienced from the 1960s to the 1980s that Chicago is still feeling.
Our active community organizations can continue to inform people of their rights. Turn the city government’s attention to ending the federal government’s occupation. Use the power of local government to prevent terrorism tactics by the federal government. Use the lawyers to sue. Use the police to enforce laws that are being broken by the federal government. Use communications teams to tell the truth about what’s happening: That the Gestapo-style tactics are terrorizing us and not making us feel safe.
Block streets with snowplow trucks to keep out the National Guard. Use your leadership training and skills to unite behind a worthy cause. Between the aldermen, Cook County representatives, state and federal lawmakers, and party committeepersons, Chicago has a lot of politicians. They could combine their voices and resources.
This should be their primary focus. Whatever they have to do and say should be done and said to get federal forces out. We have only seen an escalation of the conflict, and it will not get better by only educating the citizens of their rights. A successful campaign to end the occupation will help Chicago and other cities around the country.
Our politicians should rise to the occasion and be a model for the country.
— Greg Osborne, Chicago
Agents are citizens, too
I heard a report on TV about the police and federal agents in Broadview being attacked. Someone needs to tell Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson and Gov. JB Pritzker that these people are just as much citizens, if not more so, than the people waving signs and yelling.
If the National Guard needs to be brought in, so be it. Of course, they would never do that, because the president suggested that. And they can never do anything that he wants.
— Loren Monsess, Waterman, Illinois
Action, not posturing
I am a 41-year-old resident of Chicago, and I am frustrated with the way our leaders respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in this city.
The recent raid on a South Shore apartment complex, where 37 people were arrested and residents’ property was ransacked without provocation or warrant, is only the latest example.
Time and again, Mayor Brandon Johnson leans on the same rhetorical formulas: “let me be clear,” “in this moment,” “make no mistake,” “this administration has proved,” etc. These phrases sound declarative, but they are platitudes.
They might suffice for a private citizen without authority, but not for the mayor of the nation’s third-largest city.
His office was not built for posturing. It was built for action.
I also recognize there are limits to what any local or state officeholder can do in the face of federal power. But Johnson is not alone in relying on words instead of deeds. Gov. JB Pritzker once said, “You come for my people, you come through me.” Yet when raids sweep through Illinois neighborhoods, we see polished statements, not protective measures.
This reflects a deeper problem: Elected officials often assume that careful words, transparency and accessibility will inspire trust more than outcomes do.
But Chicagoans do not just need inspiration from a podium; we need and deserve protection under the law.
Words without action are theater. Leadership requires more.
— Mike Ponticelli, Chicago
It is time to speak up
Allow me to offer a prediction of what will happen after Friday’s protest at the Broadview processing facility. President Donald Trump will refer to Chicago as a lawless city. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will cry crocodile tears for the supposed threats to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino will promise retribution against anyone who opposes the administration’s illegal action against immigrants and refugees. They will paint a picture of violence and chaos.
I am a 68-year-old family doctor and a lifelong Chicagoan, and I was there, so let me tell you what really happened. A group of over 100 Jewish Americans gathered peacefully for morning prayers starting at 7 a.m. We then joined hundreds of other peaceful protesters who spoke loudly and passionately about the inhumane treatment of our neighbors. We spoke to officers without hatred, reminding them that we are a nation of immigrants, and encouraging them to uphold the Constitution. We cried “shame” at the masked ICE officers, who are patrolling our streets and parks with weapons of war aimed at citizens and noncitizens alike. We had no weapons, and we engaged in no violence, but that is what we were met with by ICE.
Don’t believe the lies spewed by the president and his cronies. Even more important, don’t believe that this will not affect you. Trump has told us that he wants to use the taxpayer-funded U.S. military against citizens in cities who engage in their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote against him.
History teaches that the time to speak up is now, before they come for you and me.
— Steven Rothschild, Chicago
We’re better than this
I think it is time to accept some facts in order to live a normal life.
Donald Trump is president until 2028. He is fulfilling campaign promises. Fulfilling campaign promises is rare Compromise is a necessity. Constant opposition leads nowhere.
Let’s accept what we have, work with it and move forward. We are all so much better than this.
— Sue Atkenson, Frankfort
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/07/letters-100725-ice-broadview-protests/
