On Monday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is expected to deliver an important statement regarding the recent deployment of federal agents in Chicago. This announcement comes in the wake of a troubling incident involving a federal agent who discharged a pepper ball at a CBS News Chicago reporter outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility located in Broadview, a suburb of Chicago.
The reporter, Asal Rezaei, reported that there were no active protests occurring at the time of the incident, and she was alone as she approached the facility. Rezaei was driving her truck with the driver's side window down when she pulled up to the 25th Avenue entrance to check for any activity. As she prepared to leave the area, a masked ICE agent, noticing her open window, fired a pepper ball from approximately 50 feet away, hitting the side of her truck. The impact caused the chemical agents to disperse inside her vehicle.
Rezaei described the experience, stating, "I was sitting right there with my window opened. A lot of it went inside my car and on my face. I immediately felt it burning. I started throwing up." Following the event, the Broadview Police Department initiated a criminal investigation, stating that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is expected to cooperate fully with the inquiry.
In a related account, CBS News Chicago reporter Darius Johnson recounted his own experiences while covering protests at the Broadview facility just over a week ago. Johnson and his photographer were exposed to tear gas when agents deployed it during a protest. He expressed concerns that, while he did not believe he was directly targeted, there was a noticeable lack of respect for the media's presence during these events.
Johnson noted that during a recent protest, he observed that whenever protesters came into contact with the fence surrounding the ICE facility, they were met with pepper balls or rubber bullets. This escalation in the use of force raises questions about the treatment of both protesters and the media in such high-tension environments.
On Sunday afternoon, federal agents were also spotted downtown along the Chicago River and on Michigan Avenue. Many of the agents were masked, armed with long guns, and patrolled in groups among shoppers and tourists. Video footage captured by CBS News Chicago revealed a disturbing scene where federal agents appeared to detain a mother and her children in front of a crowd, highlighting the controversial nature of their presence in the city.
Governor Pritzker has already publicly condemned the presence of armed agents in downtown Chicago, stating that they have "no place in the Loop or in Chicago." As tensions rise and public concern grows regarding the actions of federal agents, Pritzker's upcoming speech at 3 p.m. on Monday is highly anticipated. His statements may provide further insight into the state's response to these developments and the protection of civil rights in Illinois.
