Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnsons latest attempt at feel-good politics has collided head-on with a brutal reality his administration helped create.
Only a week after the alleged murder of Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman reportedly at the hands of a Venezuelan illegal immigrant released under the Biden administration in 2023 Johnson chose to celebrate the winners of the citys You Name a Plow contest. According to Western Journal, the timing and tone of the announcement underscored just how detached Chicagos Democratic leadership has become from the basic duty of protecting its own citizens.
Local outlet WTTW reported that the top vote-getter in the contest was a snowplow named Abolish ICE, a direct swipe at the federal agency tasked with enforcing immigration law. Other winning entries included Pope Fro XIV, Stephen Coldbert, The Blizzard of Oz, Caleb Chilliams, and Svencoolie, a slate that might have seemed merely whimsical were it not for the citys ongoing crisis tied to illegal immigration.
Johnson, unveiling the Abolish ICE plow, wrapped the decision in the familiar rhetoric of progressive virtue-signaling. This name derives from our citys legacy of standing up for justice, dignity, and the rights of all people, no matter where they come from, he said at a press conference. Im going to continue to use every single tool thats available to me to protect the residents of the city of Chicago.
CBS News reported that this years naming contest was record-breaking, drawing 13,000 submissions and 39,000 votes from residents. Yet the citys choice to embrace an explicitly anti-enforcement slogan, at a moment when a Chicago student is dead in a crime allegedly involving an illegal immigrant, raises serious questions about whose rights and dignity are truly being prioritized.
When asked about Gormans killing, Johnsons public comments, relayed by Fox News, struck many as disturbingly nonchalant. This is a terrible tragedy, he said. This tragedy is not going to deter us from our work. He then added, In fact, its going to challenge us all to double down on our efforts to ensure that we are protecting every single individual across neighborhoods.
That pledge to double down is precisely what alarms critics, who see a city leadership more intent on shielding illegal immigrants than on preventing further bloodshed. Even within Johnsons own party, frustration is boiling over as the consequences of sanctuary policies become impossible to ignore.
Alderman Raymond Lopez, a Democrat, condemned Gormans death as 100% avoidable, directly tying it to the citys and states ideological choices. He argued, The culmination of the choices made here in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois to protect noncitizens even when they choose to engage in dangerous criminal behavior, that mindset has to change. Lopez went further, insisting, That mindset has to stop because Sheridan and the other 1,200 other individuals across this country whove been victims victimized by noncitizens deserved to be honored in a change in mindset and law, he said.
While the public may have submitted and voted for the Abolish ICE entry, city officials were under no obligation to ratify it. In light of Gormans death, basic decency and respect for victims should have compelled the administration to disqualify the name and send a clear message that law enforcement not lawlessness is the priority.
Instead, Johnsons vow to double down on his current course suggests a deeper ideological commitment that overrides public safety. A student was allegedly murdered by an illegal alien, and the citys response is to celebrate a plow named Abolish ICE and reaffirm policies that protect illegal immigrants from federal enforcement.
That leaves an obvious question: What about the safety of Chicagoans? For residents who still expect their leaders to uphold the rule of law, the answer from City Hall appears increasingly unsatisfactory.
Chicagos sanctuary status is not a symbolic gesture; it is a practical form of nullification, where local and state officials effectively declare that federal immigration law will not be enforced within their jurisdiction. Historically, nullification has a dark pedigree, most notably in 1832 when South Carolina attempted to defy federal tariff laws and threatened secession if Washington tried to enforce them.
Today, Johnson and other blue-state officials are engaging in a similarly reckless experiment, using immigration policy as the battleground. As federal officers attempt to carry out immigration enforcement without the cooperation of local authorities, the result is a dangerous patchwork that too often ends in violence and preventable loss of life a deadly game in which ordinary Americans, like Sheridan Gorman, pay the ultimate price.
Login