{"id":4829,"date":"2025-10-30T18:27:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chicagocouncil.org\/staging\/1601\/?p=4829"},"modified":"2025-10-30T18:28:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:28:42","slug":"letter-to-governor-pritzker-protests-in-broadview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagocouncil.org\/staging\/1601\/letter-to-governor-pritzker-protests-in-broadview\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to Governor Pritzker regarding restrictions on protests against ICE in the Village of Broadview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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October 24, 2025\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Governor Pritzker:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chicago Council of Lawyers writes to express its appreciation for your steady leadership at a time  when public confidence in law enforcement and the rule of law is under considerable strain. We  recognize and applaud your recent statements rejecting attempts by President Trump to justify the  deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago under the pretext of restoring order.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent demonstrations outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center in  Broadview have drawn renewed attention to the tension between lawful assembly and public order.  Following the federal court\u2019s order for the removal of barriers around the facility, hundreds of Illinois  residents have resumed peaceful protest. Illinois State Police, operating in coordination with the Cook  County Sheriff\u2019s Department and Broadview Police, have managed large, often emotional gatherings.  The federal government\u2019s prior use of tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper balls, and chemical agents  against peaceful demonstrators at Broadview was unconstitutional, dangerous and deeply disturbing.  Your clear opposition to such practices demonstrated principled leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, we believe that legitimate public safety objectives must remain harmonized with the  foundational First Amendment principles that guarantee the freedom of expression and assembly.  Recent developments in Broadview\u2014including a municipal executive order restricting protest hours to  between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and establishing protest areas enclosed by concrete barriers\u2014risk upsetting  that careful balance. Supreme Court precedent establishes that any time, place, or manner restriction  must be narrowly tailored to real and demonstrable safety needs. Blanket curfews and spatial barriers,  especially where peaceful gatherings have been the norm, impose burdens inconsistent with  established constitutional and professional standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We respectfully urge review of the Village of Broadview\u2019s protest restrictions, and the discretion  afforded to law enforcement in their enforcement. State Police officers should, wherever possible,  interpret the Mayor\u2019s executive orders with flexibility consistent with the overarching duty to facilitate<\/em>\u2014 not merely to control\u2014peaceful protest. The modest expansion of protest zones to accommodate  increased crowd sizes would align Illinois\u2019 approach with national best practices endorsed by the U.S.  Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Police Executive  Research Forum. Similarly, allowing reasonable discretion beyond the literal hours of the municipal curfew, where no public safety risk is apparent, would model the principle of proportional restraint  articulated in the Department of Justice\u2019s 2022 \u201cRecommendations for Law Enforcement Response to  Mass Demonstrations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our view, these measures would not compromise order or officer safety. Rather, they would  underscore Illinois\u2019 independence from federal attempts to perpetuate a false narrative of disorder\u2014a  narrative designed to rationalize a federal military intervention in our communities. Responsible,  transparent, and constitutionally grounded state-level policing is the most powerful refutation of that  false premise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To that end, we respectfully suggest that the Illinois State Police consider the following limited reforms: <\/p>\n\n\n\n