Throughout the last several months we have seen an uptick in acts of disturbing antisemitic graffiti and flyering in our community. Hate crimes in all categories in Chicago have been on the rise, and it tracks the data the FBI shows for the entire U.S. Hate has no place in our society, much less in our neighborhood and we need to stand up to whatever form of hate tries to express itself in our community. Earlier this week, someone placed antisemitic posters on vehicles in Bucktown, poles and walls in Lincoln Park were hit with more, but even more incidents remained out of media spotlight. Our 14th District Police officers are looking into the Bucktown incidents, and we are also working with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) to counter this hateful speech. I want to thank the staff at the CCHR and CPD for their efforts to educate residents and also be on the watch to help prevent more of these incidents. They have done a great job of being leaders and pushing back on the hate, despite the lack of leadership and outright hostility of officials in some of our City institutions who have promoted divisiveness.
If your the victim of a hate crime or incident, we ask that you please file an incident report with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. These reports help keep track of the crimes, but could also help us find the person responsible for these hateful acts.
How to file a discrimination complaint with the Commission on Human Relations.
There are many ways to file your discrimination complaint:
In person at the Commission's office
Online via the Commission's website (*Scroll down and click on the words Online Complaint Form in red toward the bottom of the page.)
Email, Mail or Fax
CCHR Email: cchrfilings@cityofchicago.org
Phone: 312.744.4111, Fax: 312.744.1081
In December, the City Council and the CCHR worked together to update the city’s ordinance on hate crimes.
The updated ordinance does a few things:
-Establishes an accessible reporting system through 311, as well as via the 311 mobile and online applications.
-Enhances reporting requirements for City agencies. This will give us better data to understand the scope of the problem and take effective action against it.
-Adds a formal definition of hate incidents to the Municipal Code. These non-criminal acts often serve as precursors to more dangerous hate crimes and are important data points that need to be captured to prevent hate from escalating into violence.
As we work to push back against these incidents and crimes, we need your help.
Community members play a big role in fighting this problem which we have seen degrade into violence directed at different communities. Chicago has always been a great place for people of different cultures, religions, and ethnicites to work, educate, and debate, yet live together. Speak up, stay engaged, educate yourself and your children about what is right, and above all if you have differences with someone, engage in an appropriate way.
If you have any concerns, please give us a call at our ward office, 773-248-1330, email info@ward32.org, or feel free to reach out directly to the CCHR. I appreciate your efforts to work together to fight back against such hate in our city.
