Des Plaines joins coalition against hate speech
Des Plaines is the latest community to join a suburban coalition against hate speech and hate crimes.
The city council on Monday approved a resolution supporting the Cook County United Against Hate initiative.
Championed by Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton, the organization formed nearly three years ago after antisemitic literature was left in residential driveways across northern Cook County.
“Even as a Catholic, having neo-Nazis in your driveway is a very disturbing concept,” Britton, a Glenview Democrat, told the Des Plaines council Monday night. “I can only imagine what it was like for my Jewish brothers and sisters.”
Similar deliveries of antisemitic propaganda — typically involving messages in weighted, plastic bags — have occurred throughout the Chicago area. Other recent suburban antisemitic acts have included vandalism at public parks and businesses, the shouting of hateful remarks at a girls soccer game in Deerfield and the display of violent and vulgar messages on a digital billboard in Northbrook.
The coalition’s mission isn’t limited to fighting antisemitism. It opposes all forms of hate and discrimination, including behavior targeting races, religions, genders, sexual orientation and disabilities.
Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Northbrook, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling are among the other suburbs supporting the coalition’s mission. So do organizations including the Chinese American Service League, Harper College, the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council.
Britton said the organization and its partners will work with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to ensure hate crimes are prosecuted.
“There should be no home for hate in Cook County or here in Des Plaines,” he said.
After City Clerk Jessica Mastalski read Des Plaines’ resolution aloud, Mayor Andrew Goczkowski spoke in favor of the proclamation.
“It reflects our city’s commitment to standing against hate, discrimination and violence in all forms,” Goczkowski said.
Learn more about the United Against Hate initiative at cookcountyunitedagainsthate.com. The site also includes information about how to report hate crimes in Cook County and elsewhere in Illinois.