Respond to crisis in our communities

In this time of great peril to our democracy, galling is the apathy displayed by our local governments. Even more repugnant is the manipulation of truth. At the Mount Prospect board meeting on Nov. 18 I listened for hours while shaking mothers, polite clergy and passionate citizens begged a group of seven adults to add an item to a calendar. Not even an ordinance limiting ICE, but demeaningly the time to discuss it.

What a privilege it must be to focus on a three-letter word, while some of your citizens are miles away, their family terrified for their safety. During my speech, I used a term considered offensive to Italians as a historical precedent. My Italian great-grandmother was undocumented. A few generations ago, my relatives were the dehumanized illegal aliens. Naively, I spoke the board members' names in hopes they would empathize with those in the crowd. I even offered to help.

If Trustee Dante was so upset, he could have contacted me; so action based, we would already have a public safety initiative beyond an ordinance. Hiding behind grievances does not absolve your responsibility or the urgency of concern. Misrepresenting the truth weaponizes the insecurities of your citizens.

Show respect by creating a cross municipal task force. Demonstrate strength by demanding ICE proactively identify themselves, approach unmasked, and carry a warrant for that specific individual. Express leadership by compelling the police union to pursue legal action against ICE, whose ethos challenges the moral validity of their profession. Writing solutions takes equal physical strength to pointing fingers. Muster it.

Humanity has been here before. Evil is not some omnipotent mastermind, but the insidious ambivalence of the masses. If these disappearances were gun deaths, this town would be in a crisis. Question is, why isn’t it a crisis to you?

Renee Stanko

Arlington Heights