Category: illinois
‘ICE on Notice’: Chicago Mayor Johnson threatens to prosecute federal agents enforcing immigration laws
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) signed an “ICE on Notice” executive order on Saturday, threatening to prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for potential misconduct.
Johnson’s executive action directed the Chicago Police Department to “investigate and document alleged illegal activity by federal immigration agents and refer evidence of felony violations to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for prosecution.”
‘Instead of working with us, Illinois sanctuary politicians RELEASE violent criminals from their jails directly back into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.’
CPD officers are directed to document federal enforcement activities, including by recording body-camera footage and verifying names and badge numbers of federal supervisory officers on the scene. Police are required to submit a complete report detailing any alleged violations.
Any documented illegal activities will be shared with the public, according to the city.
The mayor claimed that the order created “a framework for public accountability in the event federal agents violate local or state law while operating in Chicago.”
Johnson further alleged that the Trump administration’s federal immigration operations have “violated constitutionally protected rights.” He also claimed that ICE activities have “destabilized communities” and “provoked life-threatening confrontations.”
RELATED: Seattle’s sanctuary mayor orders local police to investigate ICE activities
Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
“Nobody is above the law. There is no such thing as ‘absolute immunity’ in America,” Johnson stated. “The lawlessness of Trump’s militarized immigration agents puts the lives and well-being of every Chicagoan in immediate danger. With today’s order, we are putting ICE on notice in our city. Chicago will not sit idly by while Trump floods federal agents into our communities and terrorizes our residents.”
In a statement to the Center Square, Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara Jr. called Johnson’s executive order political bluster.
“The only good thing in that piece of toilet paper is ‘no CPD member will be required to arrest any federal agents,'” Catanzara said.
Catanzara raised concerns that the order requires police to document any allegations of misconduct against a federal agent.
“That needs to be a two-way street, and I will advise our members of such. Citizens can also be named offenders,” he said.
“These claims of criminal misconduct by ICE law enforcement are FALSE,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement shared with WLS-TV.
McLaughlin stated that under President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, “ICE is held to the highest professional standard, and officers regularly receive ongoing training.”
“As our brave law enforcement arrests and removes dangerous criminal illegal aliens, including murderers, rapists, and gang members from our communities, America can be proud of the professionalism our officers bring [to] the job, day in and day out,” the statement continued. “Instead of working with us, Illinois sanctuary politicians RELEASE violent criminals from their jails directly back into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.”
McLaughlin contended that the state’s sanctuary policies had led to the release of 1,768 criminal illegal aliens since January 20. She noted that there are over 4,000 immigrants with active detainers currently incarcerated in Illinois jails.
Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (D) took similar action against federal immigration agents last week, requiring the Seattle Police Department to investigate, verify, and document immigration enforcement activity.
The Seattle Police Officers Guild called the mayor’s action “toothless virtue-signaling rhetoric,” declaring that the “concept of pitting two armed law enforcement agencies against each other is ludicrous and will not happen.”
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Judicial Watch Sues Chicago Treasurer Over Plan to Halt U.S. Treasury Purchases
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed an Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against Melissa Conyears-Ervin, treasurer of the City of Chicago, for details of her declared plan to stop buying new U.S. Treasury securities and divest the city of indirect holdings (Judicial Watch Inc. v. Chicago Treasurer’s Office (No. 2026CH00302)). […]
The post Judicial Watch Sues Chicago Treasurer Over Plan to Halt U.S. Treasury Purchases appeared first on Judicial Watch.
Pritzker sides with criminals once again, signing controversial ‘Clean Slate’ bill into law
Despite an appalling violent crime problem in Chicago, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has signed a bill protecting convicts, making it easier for them to get past hiring filters and find jobs in Illinois.
On Saturday, Pritzker signed the Clean Slate Act, which will enable officials to seal non-violent criminal records for over 1.7 million people in Illinois, Fox 32 Chicago reported.
Just last month, Gov. Pritzker fortified the state’s sanctuary laws.
The new law will require eligible records to be sealed by 2029.
The law applies only to non-violent convictions and dismissed or reversed charges and arrests. More serious crimes, such as sexual violence, DUI, or any crimes that require sex offender registration, are not eligible for automatic sealing.
While this particular law excludes violent felonies, it comes at a time when violent incidents on Chicago trains are making national headlines.
Moreover Pritzker has a long history of siding with suspected law-breakers over victims. In 2023, cashless bail became the law of the state, thanks to the SAFE-T Act he signed previously. Just last month, he fortified the state’s sanctuary laws, prohibiting federal immigration agents from conducting operations near courthouses, hospitals, university campuses, and day-care centers.
RELATED: Chicago Bears may leave city over rift with Democrat leadership
John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
The Clean Slate Act is celebrated by the Democrats as a jobs initiative, since many businesses use background checks to filter out candidates with prior convictions. Once the records are sealed, that traditional filter will be less robust, allowing potential former convicts to remain in the running.
“There is no reasonable public safety justification for making it hard for returning citizens to get a job or housing or an education,” Pritzker said, according to Fox 32. “It’s a policy guided by punishment rather than rehabilitation.”
The Clean Slate Initiative lists Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, and New York as states that have passed legislation that meets their criteria for Clean Slate laws. Washington, D.C., is also listed.
The criteria include automation of record sealing, including arrest and misdemeanor records. The Clean Slate Initiative also includes a “strong recommendation for laws to include eligibility of at least one felony record.”
Sheena Meade, CEO of the Clean Slate Initiative, stated: “Our coalition partners — including Live Free Illinois, the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, the Workers Center for Racial Justice, Impact for Equity, and Code for America — and bill sponsors Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and Sen. Elgie Sims have shown the resolve, persistence, and heart needed to drive real change.”
The new law will take effect June 1.
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‘Pegged as a pedophile sympathizer’: Pro-LGBTQ founder of Montessori school accused of grooming, exploiting child under 13
The founder and board president of a new K-12 Montessori school in Illinois has been arrested on charges of grooming and exploiting a young child.
On January 9, Effingham police officers moved quickly to arrest 32-year-old Dakota “Kody” Czerwonka of Montrose after receiving a report that a student at Crossroads Montessori School had received “inappropriate electronic messages.” Czerwonka was “immediately identified” as the suspect, Effingham PD said in a statement.
He even unsuccessfully ran for the Illinois House in 2020 on a platform of environmental, economic, social, LGBTQ+, and racial ‘justice.’
Details of the case are scarce, but court records show Czerwonka has been charged with grooming and exploiting a child under 13/exposing self, both Class 4 felonies. He is scheduled to appear in court again on January 29.
Prosecutors also filed to deny Czerwonka pretrial release from custody. At his initial court appearance on Monday, the court agreed with the petition, claiming that Czerwonka poses “a real and present threat to the community and … the minor victim” that “no condition or combination of conditions can mitigate.”
Effingham police confirmed that they “support” his ongoing pretrial detention.
“After reviewing the content of the case after it was reported to our Department, Officers immediately identified a very real safety risk and promptly effected an arrest of the subject, thereby eliminating any further opportunities for this individual to be in contact with other students or children. I’m very pleased with their efforts. They showed dedication to ensuring the safety of our community through these actions,” said a statement from Police Chief Kurt Davis.
The office of an attorney who appeared with Czerwonka in court did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.
Czerwonka has a long history of far-left political activism. He even unsuccessfully ran for the Illinois House in 2020 on a platform of environmental, economic, social, LGBTQ+, and racial “justice,” according to an X profile for his independent campaign.
Posts from that account express support for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). One post calls to “tear … down” the Electoral College.
Another X account linked to Czerwonka includes sexually charged images as well as LGBTQ+ propaganda. In 2020, Czerwonka even bragged that he had been “pegged as a pedophile sympathizer” on another social media platform for praising “Cuties,” a controversial movie previously available on Netflix that sexualizes young girls.
Crossroads Montessori School just opened last fall. In a July Facebook post, the school gave a short introduction of Czerwonka, describing him as someone who “brings a deep passion for empowering students through authentic Montessori education.”
“Kody has worn many hats.. teacher, nonprofit leader, advocate.. and now leads Crossroads with a vision to build a student-centered learning environment grounded in curiosity, independence, and compassion. Outside the classroom, Kody enjoys hiking, film, kayaking, and learning something new every day,” the post continued.
“He believes education is most powerful when it’s collaborative: not just teaching students, but growing alongside them.”
The school did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.
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Judicial Watch Statement on Supreme Court Victory Affirming Broad Candidate Standing to Bring Election Court Challenges
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton responded today to the Supreme Court of the United States 7-2 decision in favor of granting standing in a historic case filed on behalf of Congressman Mike Bost and two presidential electors, who were before the court to vindicate their standing in court to an Illinois law allowing […]
The post Judicial Watch Statement on Supreme Court Victory Affirming Broad Candidate Standing to Bring Election Court Challenges appeared first on Judicial Watch.
BACK ON THE STREETS: Illinois Cuts Loose Criminal Illegals, ICE Says Public Safety on the Line
This is a dangerous game, Illinois is playing.
Illinois, Gov. Pritzker have released almost 1,800 violent illegal aliens back onto the streets in defiance of ICE, DHS says
Sanctuary politicians have apparently been ignoring orders from Immigration and Customs Enforcement for months, effectively allowing criminal illegal aliens to be released back onto the streets — and the Department of Homeland Security is not happy about it.
The DHS reported on Monday in a press release that Democrat politicians have repeatedly defied ICE by ignoring arrest detainers.
‘We are calling on Governor Pritzker and his administration to stop this dangerous derangement and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in Illinois’ custody.’
The press release singled out Illinois and Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, one of the most vocal political opponents of ICE operations under President Trump.
The press release stated that 1,768 criminal illegal aliens have been released in Illinois alone since January 20, 2025.
RELATED: Sec. Noem fires back after Gov. Pritzker begs to pause ICE and CBP operations for Halloween
Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
The crimes committed by these illegal aliens include homicide, assault, burglary, robbery, dangerous drug offenses, weapons offenses, and sexual offenses, according to the press release.
There are currently 4,015 aliens in Illinois’ custody, the majority of whom have committed crimes such as those listed above.
“Governor Pritzker and his fellow Illinois sanctuary politicians are releasing murderers, pedophiles, and kidnappers back into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
“We are calling on Governor Pritzker and his administration to stop this dangerous derangement and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in Illinois’ custody,” McLaughlin continued. “It is common sense. Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.”
In September, ICE demanded that leaders in sanctuary states like California, New York, and Illinois cooperate with the federal agency to keep criminals off the streets.
ICE also warned these states that it would “engage with the Department of Justice and other federal partners to pursue all appropriate measures to end their inadvisable and irresponsible obstruction of the apprehension and removal of criminal illegal aliens.”
Previously, Illinois and New York sent ICE responses that “underscored their refusal to honor ICE detainers.” California did not respond, according to ICE.
According to its website, ICE issues immigration detainers to law enforcement to ask them to hold suspects for up to 48 hours longer than their scheduled release.
ICE issues these arrest detainers after it has already established probable cause that suspects are removable, usually on account of convictions for other crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, burglaries and robberies, and drug and human trafficking.
ICE makes it clear that honoring arrest detainers helps guarantee safety for both the public and law enforcement officers: “When jails, prisons, or other confinement facilities agree to honor immigration detainers, ICE officers can take custody of removable aliens in a safe, controlled environment instead of at-large in the community.”
DHS’ Monday press release included nine mug shots of the “worst of the worst” criminals who had previously been released in Illinois after their detainer requests were ignored by state officials.
The criminal illegal aliens either are now in ICE custody or have been removed from the United States.
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Repeat offender allegedly strikes again — this time beating up female doctor in hospital parking garage in unprovoked attack
A rampant repeat offender who reportedly was arrested a dozen times this year alone is accused of beating up a female doctor in a Chicago hospital parking garage elevator in an unprovoked attack.
According to a Sunday CWB Chicago report, prosecutors said 39-year-old Sean Popps followed a 42-year-old cardiologist into the elevator in the parking garage at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Streeterville campus just after 1:30 p.m. Nov. 2 and began repeatedly punching her in the head as she stumbled backward and covered her face with her hands.
Popps also was arrested seven times in 2024, again in almost every case mostly on or near the hospital grounds, the outlet said.
A Chicago police report said the victim suffered multiple bruises, scrapes, and hematomas to her face, head, arm, and hand, the outlet reported.
What’s more, officials said she had no prior contact with Popps and that the attack was completely unprovoked, according to CWB Chicago.
More from the outlet:
A Northwestern security officer instantly recognized Popps from surveillance video, citing “approximately 30 plus prior incidents at the hospital where [Popps] had to be removed,” a detention petition stated. Another Northwestern officer reported having “incidents with [Popps] approximately two times a day over the last 19 months.”
At the time of the attack, Popps was on pretrial release for allegedly trespassing at a Streeterville residential building in October and attempting to escape from the police station lockup afterward.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
CWB Chicago reported that police have arrested Popps a dozen times this year — and in almost every case for allegedly trespassing or damaging property on or near the hospital.
Popps also was arrested seven times in 2024, again in almost every case mostly on or near the hospital grounds, the outlet said. He also was arrested at the hospital two times in 2020, twice in 2021, once in 2022, and once in 2023, CWB Chicago added.
Judge Anthony Calabrese ordered Popps detained on a charge of aggravated battery in a public place, the outlet said. Jail records indicate his next court date is Dec. 30 and he has no bond.
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Anti-ICE mob turns hostile, breaching barriers outside detention facility — several officers injured
An anti-immigration enforcement protest outside an ICE facility in Chicago resulted in multiple officer injuries and nearly a dozen arrests as some attempted to breach security barriers, according to local reports.
Leftist protesters have been regularly gathering outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, since the Trump administration launched its immigration crackdown, Operation Midway Blitz.
‘Womp womp, cry all you want. These criminal illegal aliens aren’t getting released.’
On Friday, activists once again demonstrated outside the facility, protesting against ICE’s enforcement efforts. Local reports indicated that this particular demonstration was more tense and volatile than those in recent weeks.
Local law enforcement officers worked to keep the road leading to the facility clear, confining protesters to designated areas. However, when some activists became violent and attempted to force their way into the street, officers began making arrests.
Videos captured by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager showed a line of Cook County sheriff’s deputies attempting to keep protesters off the road. Several skirmishes between officers and protesters broke out, resulting in multiple detainments.
Photo by Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images
“Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” the crowd chanted.
Twenty-one protesters were arrested and four officers were injured, WLS-TV reported on Friday morning. Of those injured, two were police officers, one a state trooper, and the other a Cook County sheriff’s deputy.
The local news outlet stated that Friday’s protest was the largest one in recent weeks, noting that counter-protesters were also present.
“I have repeatedly pleaded to protesters to raise their voices, not their fists. They have chosen their fists. These out-of-towners have chosen to brutalize police officers who have been protecting their free speech and protecting them against assaults by ICE agents. We will see them in court,” Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson stated.
RELATED: ‘He’s not that smart’: Homan lampoons Chicago mayor for pleading with UN to intervene against ICE
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Border czar Tom Homan reacted to the Broadview protest.
“I was watching the videos before I came out here. When they put hands on law enforcement officers, they’re getting arrested and going to jail,” Homan told White House reporters on Friday. “You have a right to protest, but don’t cross the line.”
The crowd was estimated to be roughly 200-300 protesters.
The Department of Homeland Security posted about the protest on X, writing, “Womp womp, cry all you want. These criminal illegal aliens aren’t getting released.”
“Like clockwork, violent rioters have arrived at the Broadview ICE facility to demand the release of some of the worst human beings on planet earth,” the DHS continued. “Get a job you imbecilic morons.”
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