Parents, students and community members filled West Chicago City Hall on Monday to express outrage over a local elementary school teacher’s alleged social media post that appeared to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as the west suburb and nation continue to be roiled by the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive deportation crackdown.
“The kids and their families have experienced and are experiencing real trauma they have to deal with daily,” one mother said, addressing the crowd and a panel of local politicians who attended the meeting.
Referencing the social media post, the mom said, “those words are a break of trust that is absolutely critical in a school — and that trust has been broken.”
“Kids do not feel safe, which means they aren’t safe,” she added.
The audience at the morning meeting included many children whose parents said they had pulled them out of school that day because of worry over a controversial social media post that appeared to have been made by a West Chicago Elementary District 33 employee.
A written statement from Superintendent Kristina Davis said that on Jan. 22 the school district “learned of concerns regarding a disruptive social media comment made by a district employee on his personal account.”
The teacher initially submitted his resignation but later that day he withdrew it before the school board had an opportunity to take action, according to the statement.
On Monday, the employee met with district administration and afterward was placed on administrative leave pending a district investigation. The employee won’t be permitted on district property during the investigation, the statement added.
The statement did not name the employee or the school at which he works.
“We understand that this situation has raised concerns and caused disruption for students, families, and staff,” according to the statement. “We want to ensure our schools are safe spaces, and we look forward to seeing all students back in school tomorrow.”
An online petition with more than 380 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon called for parents in the district to keep their children home from school on Monday in protest.
“This week, a D33 teacher commented, “Go ICE!” in response to a community article,” the petition said. “The casual way in which he publicly promoted the actions of ICE in our area is inappropriate and unsuitable for an educator.”
The petition noted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has “actively harmed the families in our area, including the students (the employee) is tasked to care for daily.”
“The best way to show our district that we need action to be taken is to show them that keeping this teacher will disrupt the emotional welfare and therefore, the education of our students,” the petition said.
West Chicago officials called Monday’s meeting a “community listening session” and said it was hosted by city officials to “provide a space for voices to be heard in a way that does not further impact students or disrupt school operations.”
The meeting came as clashes over immigration enforcement tactics have reached a flashpoint nationwide following the deadly shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday at the hands of immigration officials, the second U.S. citizen to be killed by federal forces in Minnesota this month.
During the West Chicago meeting, Mayor Daniel Bovey described the terror many local children have experienced during the recent onslaught of immigration enforcement in the Chicago area, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz.
“The reason we are here this morning is because our community is one that has been traumatized in the last three months, four months by the actions of ICE,” Bovey told the crowd at the start of the meeting. “And we have kids in the schools … in the school in question who have lost a mom or a dad in recent months. We have kids who are having panic attacks at school, who are afraid that they will get home and their mom or their dad will not be there.”
The issue is not about an individual’s right to an opinion that might go against the majority, he added.
“The issue is we have trusted adults who are the ones that care for those kids when they can’t be with their mom and their dad,” the mayor said. “So to have someone cavalierly rooting on — as if it’s a football game or something, yeah go — events which have traumatized these children … that is the issue.”
During an interview with the Tribune on Tuesday, Bovey said he had personally received “hundreds of hate messages” regarding the incident, adding that the vast majority are coming from all over the country and very few are from within the community.
“Our school district has received thousands of hate messages. And I would again ask that in considering how each one of us responds to the situation, that everyone keep the welfare of the children as their first priority,” he added. “We’re trying to do everything we can to keep the kids in our district from bearing the brunt of it.”
Democrat State Rep. Maura Hirschauer told the crowd at the meeting that, “your feelings matter.”
“Your safety matters,” she added. “The way you feel in school matters.”
Deborah Taylor, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Association of West Chicago, said during the meeting that the union understands “the anger and uncertainty that you are feeling right now.”
“As teachers who care deeply for the well-being of our students and community, we are worried and saddened by the devastating effects of violent, threatening, and discriminatory actions in West Chicago and our nation as a whole in recent times,” she added. “We want to reassure you that our schools are a safe place for your children. We strongly believe that schools should be a safe place for every one of our students, regardless of race, ethnicity or immigration status.”
One third grade boy spoke during the meeting and told the crowd he was glad the district was investigating the social media post.
He added that the presence at school of the employee accused of posting the message, “might not make some of my friends feel safe.”
“I want all my friends to feel and be safe,” the boy added.
During an interview with the Tribune, Democrat state Sen. Karina Villa, who lives in West Chicago, said the community is fortunate to have many “loving teachers.”
“We all have the freedom of speech in this country,” added Villa, who also attended the meeting. “But words have meanings and when those words are used in a way that draws fear from children then those words must have consequences.”
No members of the West Chicago District 33 school board were at the meeting.
School board President Rita Balgeman said in an email to the Tribune that the board “is aware of the concerns being raised and the disruptive impact this situation is having on our students, families, schools, and community.”
Balgeman referred to the superintendent’s statement but said the district couldn’t comment further on personnel matters.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 5, according to the district calendar.
Controversial social media posts made by educators have recently come under fire at other school districts, including several made by teachers in the wake of the September fatal shooting of conservative activist and Prospect Heights native Charlie Kirk.
In some cases, teachers resigned or were fired amid mounting public pressure and doxing campaigns, as well as threats by elected officials and education leaders.
A high school English teacher was placed under investigation by her south suburban school district in connection with a Facebook post in which she allegedly called Kirk’s assassination “the single best example of you reap what you sow.”
A Kentland, Indiana, high school history teacher ignited backlash after apparently writing on social media: “(Expletive) Charlie Kirk and his rhetoric. That being said, we need to work together to do better.”
Parents and community members were often divided over whether these educators should be subject to disciplinary action, with some members of the public supporting their right to free speech and others questioning their judgment.
“My 13-year-old, who is learning more each day about this evil in the world, is forced to ask the question of whether or not a teacher she’s passed in the hall desired the murder of another human being,” one parent said during a Kentlandschool board meeting in September. “That’s extremely sad and I’m heartbroken.”
