Oak Lawn, IL – On Wednesday, March 30, the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) led a disruption of the Oak Lawn Fire & Police Commission meeting to demand justice for Murod Kurdi, a young Arab man struck and killed outside his home in June 2023 by white drunk driver Leanne Cusack.

Cusack was released by Oak Lawn Police Department (OLPD) officers without a breathalyzer or blood test despite telling officers that she was driving drunk, leaving only with a traffic ticket that she nevertheless contested in court. After three years of monthly protests by Kurdi’s family, AAAN and other organizations and community members, the Oak Lawn Fire & Police Commissioners still refuse to hold Cusack truly accountable for killing Kurdi, or the OLPD officers for neglecting their duty.

As with past meetings, OLPD officers surrounded meeting attendees, ready to contain and remove anyone challenging the commission. The commissioners did not mention Kurdi or acknowledge those present and began to move the unusually short meeting to a close – despite the entirety of the non-commissioner participants were there to call for justice and police accountability.

In response, several meeting attendees stood up to reveal their shirts, each with the name of a commissioner, and put on pig masks. The protesters called out the racist practices and history of Oak Lawn towards the Arab community and other oppressed nationality residents until OLPD officers removed them from the building. One of the protesters repeatedly mocked one of the commissioners, saying, “My name is Jim Baker and I am a racist! I don’t care about what happens to the Arab residents in Oak Lawn.”

Another incident of racist violence involved three OLPD officers ganging up on 17-year-old teenager Hadi Abuatelah in 2022, breaking several of his ribs and putting him in a coma for weeks. Only in 2025, after consistent mobilization to commission meetings, did the Abuatelah family finally secure a partial victory in their struggle in the form of a settlement from Oak Lawn.

The family’s demand to charge the three officers with aggravated battery and official misconduct was denied when Cook County Prosecutor Eileen Burke dropped the charges a single day into taking office, signaling her intention to operate in political alignment with Oak Lawn in tolerating or encouraging police crimes directed at its nationally oppressed residents.

Burke has since become more infamous for her refusal to criminally charge Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, especially after their brutal attacks on immigrants in the Chicagoland area, such as the vicious murder of beloved community member Silverio Villegas Gonzales, and revenge shooting of Marimar Martinez for speaking out against ICE.

After the meeting, AAAN organizer Rania Salem called on attendees to continue showing up at the Oak Lawn Fire & Police Commission meetings on the first Wednesday of every month at 9446 Raymond Avenue, Oak Lawn, 60453, with the next one on Wednesday, May 6 at 5 p.m.

Salem said, “We will keep coming, month after month, to every Fire & Police Commission meeting until we get the justice Murod’s beloved family and our community deserves. So next month, it’ll hopefully be warm out again, bring your family and your friends, and we will see you soon again!”

In addition to organizing monthly protests, AAAN is gathering organizational and individual signatures calling on Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to launch an investigation into the racist practices of Oak Lawn. Please sign on to the letter and its demands here.

#OakLawnIL #IL #AAAN #MurodKurdi #OppressedNationalities #InjusticeSystem

Oak Lawn, IL – On February 4, organizers from the Arab-American Action Network (AAAN) and members of the community gathered in Oak Lawn village in the Chicago suburbs. AAAN organizers handed out brightly colored whistles to everyone standing outside of the Village Hall building ahead of the monthly Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission meeting.

Rania Salem of AAAN explained the choice, “Whistles have become a tool in our fight against ICE, and so we’re bringing them here to say ‘The bad guys are here and we’re going to get them out of our neighborhoods!’”

“We’ve been coming here nearly every month for about three years now, demanding justice for Murod Kurdi,” said Muhammad Sankari, a lead organizer within AAAN. Murod Kurdi was a young Palestinian American man who was killed in 2023 by Leanne Cusack, a white woman who struck him with her car outside of his home.

Cusack told police on the scene that she had been drinking, saying she’d just had a beer and a shot of alcohol. Astoundingly, the white officers chose not to administer a breathalyzer test and instead let her off with a minor traffic ticket, which she later contested in court.

AAAN, backed by the broader Palestinian and Arab community, demand that Cusack be held accountable, as well as the officers who let her walk free, and that state Attorney General Kwame Raoul open an investigation into the racism of the Oak Lawn Police Department.

The fight for justice for Kurdi is connected with the fight for justice for Hadi Abuatelah, who was beaten nearly to death by three Oak Lawn police officers in 2022, when he was just 17 years old, simply for running from a traffic stop.

The movement recently achieved a partial victory in the form of a near million dollar settlement for the Abuatelah family, but the Village of Oak Lawn and Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke have still failed to meet AAAN’s demand that all three officers be fired and charged for their crimes.

The Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission has refused to hold any officer accountable in the Kurdi and Abuatelah cases and has been stonewalling the community and limiting attendance at their public meetings.

During the most recent meeting, organizers and community members stood outside in the freezing cold for nearly an hour because the front door was locked and guarded by a dozen Oak Lawn police officers who watched the crowd from inside.

OLPD placed a speaker outside by the front entrance which they sometimes use to project the commission’s meetings after the community is removed from the building – a loophole to an Oak Lawn village law that requires Police and Fire Commission meetings to be open to the public.

One commissioner, Al Moyzis, heckled the protesters while waiting to be let into the building. “You have a big mouth”, he said to Salem of AAAN. “Well maybe you should be more vocal and do the right thing,” she shot back.

After a long wait, the doors were unlocked and community members filed into the building. Once it became clear that the commission had no intention of discussing Kurdi, the community did what they’ve done at every commission meeting for the last three years: they shut it down.

AAAN organizer Husam Marajda blew his whistle, stood up and shouted over the commission, “You have been sitting on your behinds for three years doing nothing. We will continue to demand justice for Murod Kurdi until you do something about it!” He blew on the whistle and chanted “Justice for Murod Kurdi!” as officers pushed him out of the room.

Salem stood up and continued the chanting and whistling. This time the crowd joined in, creating a deafening sound that continued as officers struggled to clear the room.

Even from the hallway, the whistles and chants of protesters were loud enough to disrupt the meeting. “Justice for Murod Kurdi!” and “Lazy racist crooked cops, get your ass a real job!” echoed through the building as the meeting room and hallways were slowly cleared. Even after everyone was pushed outside, protesters held the front door open and continued to chant into the building.

Salem closed out the evening with an invitation to keep the fight growing.

“See you next month,” Salam said. “bring your friends and family. We’re gonna keep coming back month after month until these guys are out of a job!”

#OakLawnIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #OppressedNationalities #AAAN #MurodKurdi #InjusticeSystem

Chicago, IL— Hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Chicago’s freezing wind on Saturday, February 7 to honor one month since the murder of Renee Good at the hands of ICE and to demand justice for those killed by ICE. The protest was called by the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda in response to a national call for action from the Legalization for All Network.

In Chicago, the demand for justice and accountability is targeted at Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke, who has consistently stood on the side of corrupt and violent police officers and against the people’s movements.

A week ago, prompted by the growing public demand for ICE accountability, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order directing the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to watch for illegal activity by ICE agents and report felony charges to the State’s Attorney at the mayor’s direction. Burke opposed the order in an internal memo to her staff, calling it “inappropriate,” and claiming it would interfere with her office’s ability to prosecute federal agents.

Nick Sous, an organizer with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), called out Burke’s hypocrisy in his remarks at the protest, “The only thing in the way of Eileen Burke prosecuting killer cops or ICE agents is Eileen Burke.”

In her first week in office in December 2024, Burke dropped the charges against Oak Lawn Police officer Patrick O’Donnell, who had helped beat Arab youth Hadi Abuatelah within inches of his life, along with two other officers in 2022.

Johnnie Showers, a member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and wife of wrongful conviction survivor Devon Showers, also spoke at the protest. Showers has seen the corruption of CPD and the state’s attorney’s office firsthand in her struggle to free her husband and called for solidarity in the fight to hold both ICE and CPD accountable.

Showers said that ICE and CPD are “working together against us, the working class, the ones that pay their bills,” Showers said. “They are kidnapping us and killing us in the jails. So we need to stand in solidarity and make sure we stop them. We need to fight back.”

Marien Casillas Pebellón, executive director of the West Suburban Action Project (PASO), addressed the crowd and raised the collective demand for accountability for the continued violence on the part of ICE agents and the entire Trump administration against our communities.

“We want ICE out of everywhere,” Pebellón said. “We want those in charge prosecuted. They accuse us of being criminals. The criminals are in the White House right now”

Angel Naranjos, a leader in the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, closed the rally with spirited remarks, “If the past few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that things must change and they must change fast.”

Naranjos continued, “Donald Trump and his corporate media love to say that we are domestic terrorists when we confront ICE—that we should protest peacefully. But we say it is right to rebel.”

After the program, the protesters took to the streets and marched north to Trump Tower, chanting a message for Trump and all his criminal ICE agents, “Lock them up! Lock them up!”

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #CAARPR #ReneeGood #AlexPretti #L4A #AAAN

Chicago, IL – A fiery rally took place in freezing weather beside the Little Village Arch on Saturday, December 13. Protesters commemorated Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe by demanding an end to deportations and ICE abductions, justice for victims of ICE, and legalization for all immigrants living in the U.S. as a part of a national weekend of action called by the Legalization for All Network.

Little Village, or La Villita, is a predominantly Mexicano and Chicano neighborhood, which has been a consistent target of ICE since the beginning of Trump’s operation Midway Blitz.

“La virgencita is a symbol for many Mexicanos and Chicanos in the U.S., a symbol of hope and strength as our communities face oppression, so on this Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe we are demanding legalization for all, an end to deportations, ICE out of Chicago, and justice for victims of ICE like our brother who was murdered, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez,” explained Gianna Escareno, one of the cochairs of the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA).

Escareno recounted the various tactics used by Chicagoans to resist ICE, including know your rights trainings, rapid response networks and mass confrontations. She encouraged everyone in attendance to join an organization and prepare for Bovino and thousands of ICE agents who are rumored to return to Chicago in March.

“Aquí con frío, pero aquí estamos, y no nos vamos. En la historia de la humanidad siempre existe la lucha entre pobres y ricos (It’s cold here but despite this, we’re here and we’re not leaving. Throughout the history of humanity, there has always been a fight between the poor and the rich),” said Irma Morales with Mientras Haya Amor Hay Esperanza, a Little Village-based organization.

“Afortunadamente, hemos aprendido a resistir (Fortunately, we have learned to resist),” Morales continued. She went on to call for solidarity between all oppressed people, a call echoed by other speakers.

“No one is illegal on stolen land,” affirmed Jasmine Smith, one of the co-chairs of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) and a leader in the movement to free incarcerated police torture survivors.

“When they attack one of us they attack all of us. We have to come together no matter what color you are because we have a common enemy,” Smith added.

“These are not just raids, but imperial invasions,” Moy Hernandez with New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) linked the domestic struggles with the international fight against oppression.

“Many people came here to flee the effects of U.S. imperialism, and as a result have spent holidays in cages away from their families, and have suffered inhumane treatment which will never be forgotten,” said Amira Altamimi with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN).

Yusuf Masood with the Anti War Committee (AWC) spoke about an emergency protest in Federal Plaza planned for the day the U.S. escalates its aggression against Venezuela into a full war. He cited decades of sanctions together with the murder of over 80 fishermen and the theft of an oil tanker headed to Cuba as a pattern of escalating imperialist attacks.

“Just like how Trump failed in Chicago, he will fail in Palestine and Venezuela. Oppressed people around the world cry in unison: down with Donald Trump! Down with U.S. imperialism!” Masood declared. He also called on people to attend the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) meeting on December 19 at 8 a.m. to demand divestment from the genocide and occupation in Palestine.

The emcee, Maya Sanchez with the CAARPR Immigrant Rights Working Committee, gave out the phone number for the Family Support Network, a hotline run by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).

“If you see ICE, call 855-435-7693,” Sanchez said to close out the rally.

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #L4A #CATA #AAAN #SDS #AWC

Commenters explained the cases of racism by Oak Lawn Police Department (OLPD) which sparked over three years of ongoing monthly protests. The explanations were partially for the new commissioner, Mayra Olvera.

“Accountability will not come from the OLPD’s own investigation. Accountability will only begin when the OLPD is cleaned up, and that starts with the truth about why Cusack was allowed to go home after killing Murod and with jailing racist cops like Patrick O’Donnell,” Nadiah Alyafai from AAAN said. It has been two years since Leanne Cusack hit Murod Kurdi with her car. Cusack, who is white, was let go by the Oak Lawn Police despite her and them both admitting she was drunk. Cusack was only ordered to do community service and pay a fine.

“This murder [of Murod Kurdi] happened nearly a year after Hadi Abuatelah was brutally beaten by a group of officers who are also to this day not held accountable,” Yusuf Masood from the Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC) said.

AAAN has appeared at every commission meeting since Abuatelah was assaulted in July 2022. Since then, organizers have demanded an independent investigation and the prosecution of the officers who beat Abuatelah, including Patrick O’Donnell and Mark Hollingsworth.

O’Donnell was charged by States Attorney Kim Foxx, but had his charges dropped by the current States Attorney Eileen Burke. Hollingsworth was one of the officers who lied to Fadia Muhammad, Murod Kurdi’s mother, about the facts of her son's murder.

“We don't need to imagine what would have happened if Leanne Cusack hadn't been white because we already saw what happened to Hadi,” said Kobi Guillory with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). “We're gonna keep coming here until we get justice for Murod, Hadi, and the whole community.”

Despite the heavy police presence in the meeting room, as the public comment session ended attendees started defiantly shouting “Justice for Murod Kurdi” before they left the building.

For more updates on the campaign for justice for Murod and Hadi, follow @aaanmarkaz on Instagram. The next action will be, as always, the first Wednesday of the month during the Oak Lawn Board of Police and Fire Commissioners monthly meeting. On Wednesday December 3, we encourage anyone who can to be there.

#ChicagoIL #IL #InJusticeSystem #AAAN

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

Chicago, IL – On September 9, 3200 people from across Chicago came together to protest the heightened ICE operations in the area in what is dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.” This protest was organized by both the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA) and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). The mobilization showed a powerful resistance against ICE and possible National Guard in Chicago. 

It is our turn to resist!

“What is happening is terrible for all of our neighbors and families,” said a member of Anakbayan Chicago and Tanggol Migrante Network. “The fact that I see all of you here today taking the time and energy shows me the true power of the people, with more education, more collaboration, and a concerted effort we can push back against the administration, push back against ICE, and begin to address critically the root causes of migration.”

The progressive mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, has taken a public stand against Trump with many statements showcasing his opposition. He has thoroughly defended the sanctuary city status of Chicago. Two weeks ago, he also signed an executive order that seeks to limit federal agents activities in Chicago by banning the use of face masks by agents, something which ICE agents are notorious for.

The protest continued to echo the power of visible resistance and how, despite communities being in fear, coming out to show solidarity is important. A representative from Centro de Trabajadores stated, “When ICE and this administration changes their tactics, we change our strategy and we organize and we fight back. She continued, “We need to come out and continue to stand up against the actions they continue to do to harass us in our own communities.”

“The same states attorney that refuses to charge criminal cops for their abuse against our people also refuses to free those tortured and wrongfully convicted, and is now expressing a willingness to work with the racist Trump administration in carrying out their campaign of terror,” said Alec Ozawa, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). He highlighted how Eileen O’Neill Burke, the new Illinois states attorney has expressed a willingness to work with Donald Trump and go back to a policy of conservative prosecuting.

Rania Salem from the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) highlighted Trump's recent threats to deploy the National Guard against Chicago, stating, “He threatens us with war, lies about it, and then verbally attacks a reporter who calls him out because he is exactly who we say he is, a racist, sexist moron who continues to control a political party and political system that is rotten to the core.” 

Salem continued, “In the past two months we have seen brave resistance from LA, DC, Miami, New York and New Jersey and now it is our turn!”

After the program of speakers, thousands marched in the loop, chanting, “Chinga la migra!” and “Adelante, adelante, la lucha es constante!”

Join the resistance!

Donald Trump so far has been unsuccessful in deploying the National Troops to Chicago. Our movements and these mobilizations play a key role in that. This is the power of people daring to struggle, taking to the streets and fighting back! Anyone interested in getting involved or learning more about the movement against Trump can check out CATA at: https://www.coalitionagainsttrumpagenda.org/ 

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #CATA #ICIRR #CAARPR #AAAN #CDT

Chicago, IL – On August 31, 200 people protested outside the Broadview ICE facility. The protest was organized by the Immigrant Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (IRWC – CAARPR), which launched a campaign earlier in the summer with aims at closing the Broadview facility.

Kayla Nguyen of the IRWC opened the rally, stating “The so-called Broadview Processing Center has no beds, no showers and no hot meals. They are holding people in there for days. That’s not a processing center, that’s a de-facto detention center. Today we’re protesting to call on State Attorney Eileen Burke and Attorney General Kwame Raoul to launch an investigation into these injustices, uphold the Illinois Trust Act, and close the Broadview facility!”

The Broadview ICE facility has been a key location for federal immigration operations around Chicagoland, and where many kidnapped community members have been taken for processing. Under Illinois law, ICE can operate processing centers for very brief holding times, but is restricted from operating detention centers, including local jails. Many people kidnapped by ICE are taken to such processing centers and then shipped off to another state to await deportation. However, the Broadview facility has been holding people for prolonged periods of time, sometimes up to a week, which has made it into a de-facto detention center.

The Broadview facility lacks beds, meals, kitchen, showers, access to communication and basic dignities for those held there.

“I have seen firsthand the horror within this facility. I have worked within immigrant rights for almost ten years. We have never seen these kinds of conditions in the Chicago area. It’s important that we note them and that we stand against them because we cannot allow this to be our norm,” said Louise Carhart, a lawyer and member of the IRWC.

Carhart continued, “We have laws against detention in Cook County. We have laws against detention in Illinois. We need to enforce our laws and make sure we are showing up for immigrants like Tito Ernie who was released this past week. Tito Ernie was originally detained at the Broadview ICE Facility and at O’Hare. Chicago and Illinois are leaders in this fight and we need to show them why that is.“

Upon arrival, organizers and protesters were met with a significant response from local Broadview police, who eventually closed down the street to block additional traffic due to the amount of people. ICE agents hid inside the building, periodically sending out third party contractor security to pester and provoke those gathered. This protest took place just days after several protesters from an unaffiliated group were arrested for civil disobedience while blocking the entrance of the facility.

Outside the facility, protesters heard from various speakers in the immigrant rights movement, joined in chants to raise their demands, and blocked the entrance of the facility for two hours before departing.

The protest was attended by many people from the community who had heard or seen flyers online or in their neighborhoods, and by many members of endorsing organizations such as the Casa Dupage Worker’s Center, the Arab American Action Network, Tanggol Migrante, and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

Readers can take action by calling and emailing the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Illinois Attorney General to demand they investigate the Broadview ICE facility and shut it down. An automated message can easily be sent to these elected officials by using the form at: https://www.caarpr.org/irwc#send-letter-to-close-broadview

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #IRWC #CAARPR #CPWC #AAAN #TanggolMigrante #USPCN

Oak Lawn, IL- 30 people shut down the monthly meeting of the Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission on Wednesday night, August 6. They demanded an independent investigation into the racism of the Oak Lawn Police Department.

“None of you are fit to serve and protect our community,” Rania Salem, with the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) said to the commissioners, who have ignored the community's demands to fire the officers who assaulted 17-year-old Hadi Abuatelah in 2022 and let the killer of Murod Kurdi go with a ticket in 2023. Protesters turned their seats to face their backs to the commission.

Salem called for a moment of silence for Murod Kurdi shortly after the beginning of the meeting. Commissioner John Rolence spoke over her, then told police to remove her when she confronted him in particular for his disrespect of Kurdi’s family.

“Last meeting, Commissioner John Rolence called for a moment of silence, then laughed in the face of Fadia Muhammad, the mother of Murod Kurdi,” explained Nadiah Alyafai with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) after the meeting.

Oak Lawn officers shoved Salem out of the building and nearly pushed her down the stairs. Alyafai and other protesters disrupted with chants of “Justice for Murod Kurdi!” and left the building.

“We know this board will never change its ways. That's why we're demanding an independent investigation from Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” Alyafai said before encouraging people to confront the commissioners at their next meeting on Wednesday September 3.

“No matter how long it takes, we always have to fight for justice,” said USPCN member Rima Najia. “Our power is in our voices and our numbers. We have to be consistent.”

#OakLawnIL #IL #InJusticeSystem #USPCN #AAAN

Oak Lawn, IL – 50 people rallied outside the Oak Lawn Village Hall on Wednesday evening, July 2, before the monthly meeting of the Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission. The Arab community and allies have shown up at every meeting for three years to challenge the racism of the Oak Lawn Police Department (OLPD).

“In July 2022 we showed up after Hadi Abuateleh, a 17-year-old Palestinian American boy was beaten almost to death by three Oak Lawn cops, Patrick O'Donnell, Brandon Collins and Mark Hollingsworth,” explained Nadiah Alyafai, a youth organizer with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN).

“Today we are also here to stand up and call for justice for our brother Murod Kurdi, who was tragically killed in 2023,” Alyafai added, and recounted how the same police department that beat Hadi Abuatelah for allegedly driving under the influence let Leanne Cusack, a white woman, get away with a ticket after killing Murod Kurdi while driving drunk.

One of the officers involved in the assault of Abuatelah, Mark Hollingsworth, was also implicated in letting Murod’s killer go.

These two cases show a clear pattern of racist policing, and the Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission’s refusal to fire the officers shows how deeply embedded the racist discrimination is.

The crowd entered the Village Hall and shut the meeting down soon after it started with chants of “Justice for Murod Kurdi!” and “No justice, no peace! No racist police!”

The protesters were removed from the building by police and continued chanting outside. They ended with a message of love for Murod's mother, Fadia Muhammad, whose family has consistently kept up the fight for justice, and resolved to be back at the next meeting on August 6 at 5 p.m.

Rania Salem with the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) concluded the protest by saying “we will keep coming here month after month until the attorney general conducts an independent investigation into the OLPD and all the cops who assaulted Hadi are fired and charged!”

#OakLawnIL #IL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #ArabAmerican #USPCN #PoliceBrutality #AAAN

By Hatem Abudayyeh

Chicago, IL – To me, Ora Schub is a Palestinian. Her parents, who practiced Judaism, were born in Palestine before the founding of the settler-colonial state of Israel, so in essence, they were Palestinian Jews. And Ora took her nationality from her parents, so in my book, that makes her a Palestinian. But even if she didn't identify as one, Ora made a decision long ago to be an anti-Zionist and an anti-racist, and to join the movement in support of Palestinian self-determination, in support of the Right of Return for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants, and in support of ending Israeli colonization and occupation of all Arab lands.

When she was younger, she went to Hebrew school and probably learned much about the myths of Israel's founding, that Palestine was “a land without a people for a people without a land” and that the European Jewish settlers “made the desert bloom.” But as soon as she was old enough to make her own determination about faith, she decided that she wouldn't identify with Judaism or any religion. The issue, to her, was a simple one that had nothing to do with faith. It was as simple as white settlers from Europe stealing land and pushing out the indigenous Palestinians. And that, she flatly rejected.

The only solution to her was to defeat Zionism and build a pluralistic society in a single, democratic state for all who live in historical Palestine (which is what we Palestinians call the land, collectively, of present day Israel, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza – “from the river to the sea”). And so we easily hit it off, because that's what I believe as well.

My friend Ora Schub died on Monday, June 11, 2018, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her family and closest friends. I visited her a number of times while she was in hospice, and although it was sometimes a struggle for her to speak, she continued to be as thoughtful and funny as ever while we whispered our final words to each other. And for those who know her best, she was still able to raise her eyebrows and roll her eyes in semi-disgust when I said something obnoxious or not quite as funny as I thought it was.

I'm not sure that I got to say everything I wanted to her, or she to me, but I was at least able to tell her two undeniable truths: that she was as important a colleague as I've ever had at the Arab American Action Network (AAAN). And that I loved her.

When I met Ora, it was 1999, and I had just been hired as the AAAN's youth program director. Amongst the co-founders of the organization were the legendary Arab community organizers Camilia Odeh and Maha Jarad, who know my family well and asked me to apply. Ora was recruited by them as a member of the AAAN's founding board of directors and remained one until her death.

Full disclosure: she tried to resign many times, saying that she didn't want to be like the Mayors Daley and stay in a leadership position for decades, but I'd respond by inviting her out to lunch in Hyde Park near her home and office, and invariably convince her to stay.

Whenever there was a crisis I was dealing with at the AAAN, Ora was my first call. She had a way of calmly, thoughtfully, and honestly assessing every situation, and giving me advice that always helped resolve the challenges we were facing. As a long-time community organizer and advocate, she also played a leading role in shaping our youth organizing work, by reviewing grants and work plans, participating in site visits with funders, and supporting our programs, projects, and actions with her presence and her brilliant analyses and critiques.

She was always there for me in times of personal crisis as well, and I'll always appreciate that just as much.

Although I never had the pleasure of participating in any of her restorative justice circle trainings, and although it took a few conversations for her to convince me of its efficacy, the methodology became a staple of our work at the AAAN. Rasmea Odeh, our former associate director and Arab Women's Committee coordinator, was trained by her, as well as a few of our youth organizers over the years. We still use circles in the organization to this day, at every level of our work. Ora and Cheryl Graves, her close friend and together, co-directors of the Community Justice for Youth Institute, are the forebears of Chicago's restorative justice movement.

I never really understood how important Ora was in that movement until her cancer metastasized and she went back to the hospital for more chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries. I visited Northwestern Hospital the day she had a tumor removed from her spine, and over a number of subsequent visits, I read all the cards and notes people had left for her, saw the dozens of beautiful pictures people had pinned to a bulletin board in her hospital and hospice rooms, and met a number of extraordinary organizers and activists who all described Ora as their teacher.

Hundreds of people visited her near the end, people from all walks of life and all nationalities, ethnicities and races. She was truly a woman of the people – adored, loved and respected for her passionate defense of the marginalized, and for her “courage, tenacity, loyalty and hunger for justice,” as Camilia Odeh texted to me today when she heard the news.

This hunger for justice reminds me of two of my favorite Ora Schub stories. She had been the Chicago chapter president of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) at one point, and had helped organize – with the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) – a number of human and legal rights delegations to other countries. One of the trips was either in 1990 or ‘91, when the Kuwaiti government was extra-judicially expelling Palestinian residents from its state in the wake of Iraq's war with the Gulf country. (Kuwait was claiming that the Palestinians there were “5th columnists.”) The NCBL and NLG tried to stop those deportations.

A number of years later, Stan Willis, venerable attorney and a leader of the NCBL, invited Ora to speak at its Chicago gathering. He knew that she represented the AAAN, so he wanted an Arab statement of solidarity with his organization. Ora didn't think that she'd be the best person to give the statement, so she asked me to join her and address the crowd. Together, we came up with the closing sentence of “Black liberation in the U.S. will lead to liberation for all,” a political line that we still believe in and practice to this day.

As a close friend and ally to both the Black and Arab communities of Chicagoland and the U.S., Ora was one of the first mentors of mine to explain the importance of #BlackPalestinianSolidarity in our organizing work.

The second story was probably Ora's favorite. After Israel was forced to end its 18-year-long occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000, the prominent Palestinian-American scholar and intellectual Edward Said hurled a rock towards Israel from the emancipated Lebanese side of the border, in what he called a “symbolic act.”

A few years later, sometime after Said's death in 2003, Ora was on another human and legal rights delegation, this time in Lebanon, and found herself at almost the same spot as Said in 2000. There she and the other delegates were photographed by Lebanese press hurling their own rocks at the border. She said she did it “in honor of Edward Said,” and that newspaper picture remains framed on her office desk today. I've asked Cheryl Graves for a copy, and it will now adorn the wall next to my desk in honor of Ora.

The board, staff, and members of the AAAN are in mourning today. “She was an amazing activist, solid and committed, a person of all people, and above all funny,” said Louise Cainkar, another original AAAN board member. “She made me laugh all the time. That's what I told her when I saw her last.”

The AAAN offers its deepest condolences to Ora's family: siblings Zeva, Mo, and Drora Schub; nephews Isaiah Freeman-Schub and AJ Schub (Taylor); Karla Schub; Sharron Pitts; Leroy, Jordan, and Brittany Jemison; Cheryl Graves; Lou-Ellen Saidel; David Gordon; and Leslie Burns.

To Zeva, Sharron, and Cheryl, especially, we salute you for being so steadfast and kind, handling all the visitors and well-wishers with respect and love.

The AAAN will never be the same without Ora Schub. And I will miss my friend.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #Remembrances #AAAN #OraSchub

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Oct. 23 statement from the Arab American Action Network. We urge all our readers to participate in the national call in day.

Statement from the Arab American Action Network

The Arab American Action Network (AAAN) condemns the politically-motivated arrest and indictment of Rasmea Yousef Odeh, our beloved Associate Director. The sixty-five year old was arrested at her home yesterday by agents from the Department of Homeland Security, alleging an immigration violation on a 20-year-old application. Rasmea, who has made it her life's work to serve and help empower Palestinian and Arab families, is the victim of another witch-hunt by our federal law enforcement agencies, which continue to violate the civil rights of Arabs and Muslims with impunity, particularly those who are critical of U.S. support for Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people.

Rasmea is a leading member of Chicago's Arab and Muslim communities, and her decade of service here has changed the lives of thousands of people, particularly disenfranchised Arab women and their families. She has been with the AAAN since 2004, and as Associate Director, is responsible for the management of day-to-day operations and the coordination of our Arab Women's Committee, which has a membership of close to 600 and leads our work in the areas of defending civil liberties and immigrant rights. She is a mentor to hundreds of immigrant women, as well as many members of our staff and board, and is a well-known and respected organizer throughout Chicagoland, the U.S., and the world.

Earlier this year, Rasmea received the “Outstanding Community Leader Award” from the Chicago Cultural Alliance, which described her as a woman who has “dedicated over 40 years of her life to the empowerment of Arab women, first in her homes of Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, where she was an activist and practicing attorney, and then the past 10 years in Chicago.”

Rasmea is a community icon who recently completed a Master's degree in Criminal Justice from Governors State University. She overcame vicious torture by Israeli authorities while imprisoned in Palestine in the 70s, and is a proud reminder of the millions of Palestinians who have not given up organizing for their rights of liberation, equality, and return.

It is appalling that our government is now attempting to imprison her once again. We condemn this attack on our friend and colleague Rasmea, as well as the broader pattern of persecuting Arabs and Muslims who are outstanding and outspoken leaders in their communities in the U.S.

We ask all of our supporters to call Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, at 313.226.9501 or 313.226.9100, on Friday, October 25th, from 8 AM to 4 PM CST, to demand that she Drop the Charges Now!

We will also be mobilizing to support Rasmea at her next hearing in Detroit on November 1st. Details coming soon.

And for more information, email the Coalition to Protect People's Rights at cppr@aaan.org

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #ArabAmericanActionNetwork #PoliticalRepression #AAAN #JusticeForPalestine #RasmeaOdeh

Chicago, IL – 60 youth from the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), along with their supporters, held a rally and march here, Aug.15, to demand an end to racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims and and end to the criminalization of all communities of color. The youth who organized and led the protest reminded onlookers that harassment, surveillance and infiltration by the FBI and its local counterparts doesn't just happen in New York City and California, but is widespread in Chicago.

The key demands were: stop bullying and harassment of communities of color; end racist criminalization of Arabs, Muslims and all people of color; end the envestigation of the Midwest 23; and close National Security Loopholes in the federal ban on racial profiling.

The AAAN’s Youth Organizing Program has been providing political education, leadership development and organizing training for high school and college youth for close to ten years and has been focusing on FBI repression for the past three. Farreh Qatanani, youth leader with the AAAN and co-emcee for the day, said, “The FBI oppresses not only Arabs and Muslims, but all communities of color.”

After an early afternoon rally at Federal Plaza, the protesters chanted, “Out of our schools, out of our mosque! FBI go get lost!” while marching to the Chicago headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to protest another key part of the Department of Homeland Security's program of criminalizing Mexicans, Central Americans, Latinos in general, Arabs and Muslims, as well as other immigrants of color. There, Lulu Martinez of the Dream 9, who ‘self deported’ to Mexico but recently returned, talked about her experiences and the federal policies of detentions and deportations that have devastated her community for years.

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #Protest #Antiracism #RacialProfiling #AAAN #AAANProtest #AAANChicago