Chicago, IL – On Saturday, November 1, over 80 community members representing 14 different organizations rallied to demand that State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill-Burke stand up to Trump’s agenda.

“What I’m watching each and every day on the television, is torture. I’m watching people that are brutalized by members of ICE while the Chicago Police Department is watching. I see those criminal charges being brought against those ICE officials for terrorizing my community. The Little Village community is my community, and I refuse to allow these people to be mistreated,” said Mark Clements of the Chicago Torture Justice Center. “We’re calling on Burke to stop playing political football with the lives of innocent people.”

Since she took office in 2024, Burke has weakened an already broken system of police accountability. In December of 2024, Burke dropped the charges against Patrick O’Donnell, an Oak Lawn police officer who brutally beat Arab youth Hadi Abuatelah. Nearly a year into office, her Conviction Integrity Unit has been de-staffed of vital defense attorneys, and it has not exonerated anyone despite the plethora of applications submitted. Further, despite increasing pressure from the community, Burke has continued to dodge demands to investigate and close the Broadview ICE facility.

Last week, a lawsuit was filed in the Illinois District Court against ICE for inhumane treatment of detainees inside Broadview. Detainees report malnutrition, medical neglect, the frequent use of racist slurs, and denial of access to a lawyer. As Trump and ICE have continued to ramp up their detentions and raids, the Broadview ICE facility has become more and more crowded, worsening conditions as detainees are held for days on end.

“A sanctuary city is only as strong as the people that defend it,” said Kayla Nguyen, co-chair of CAARPR’s Immigrant Rights Working Committee. She pointed out the hypocrisy in Burke’s campaign.

“State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill-Burke claims to be a woman of the law and justice, defending the letter as it is written. If that’s true, Eileen, then why won’t you investigate Broadview? Why won’t you vacate these cases of wrongful conviction? Why have the Conviction Integrity and Post-Conviction Units been de-staffed? Why won’t you prosecute these corrupt killer cops? Why won’t you prosecute the ICE officers that killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez?” said Nguyen.

As the rally continued, organizers were able to contact victims of wrongful conviction who are still currently incarcerated, elevating and uplifting their stories to the community.

“37 years, five months, and three days of liberty have been stolen from me. Every day that I remain incarcerated is disgrace to the Illinois legal justice system,” said Michael Harper, who was wrongfully convicted of arson and a double murder in 1988. Though Harper’s two co-defendants have since been freed and were paid a hefty settlement for their wrongful conviction, Harper remains in prison for the same false charges.

Throughout the event, speakers and emcees continued to draw connections between the movements to free the wrongfully convicted and immigrant rights.

“They tell me I’m not supposed to be fighting for immigrants. They tell me that that is not Black people’s fight. They are liars. We are on stolen land. The same people that is oppressing the migrants are the same people that have been oppressing us for over 400 years,” said Jasmine Smith, co-chair of CAARPR’s Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Torture (CFIST).

Rania Salem, of the Arab American Action Network, spoke on the fight of the Arab community for justice in multiple cases of racist violence by the Oak Lawn Police Department, which falls within Cook County.

In 2022, three Oak Lawn Police Officers beat 17-year-old Arab youth Hadi Abuatelah within an inch of his life, Salem said. From the beginning, the Arab American Action Network, with the support of CAARPR and other allies, fought for the demand that all three police officers that participated must be charged and fired, and In February of 2023 one of the officers, Patrick O’Donnell, was indicted on felony charges.

Within hours of taking office in December of 2024, Eileen Burke dropped the charges on O’Donnell. But the fight continues, Salem said.

“This fight isn’t about just three bad cops, it’s about an entire system of racist policing,” she said. “This case is a fight against a system of violent policing that continues to brutalize, harass and kill our people. Now we see ICE and Border Patrol rampant in our communities. All of this, and not one word from Eileen Burke.”

Organizers closed out the rally with a final reminder to call the Family Support Network Hotline in case of ICE sightings or for any immigration resources.

If you see or suspect ICE is in your neighborhood, call the FSN Hotline at 855-435-7693 (1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY).

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #CAARPR #AAAN #ICE

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