Lightfoot on Fox 32: “If You Don’t Try, the Answer Is Always Going to Be No”

Former Chicago Mayor and ICE Accountability Project Founder Lori E. Lightfoot appeared on Fox 32 Chicago to expand on her recent Crain’s Chicago Business op-ed calling out the continued lack of criminal accountability following Operation Midway Blitz, including the killing of Silverio Gonzalez, the shooting of Miramar Martinez and other documented incidents involving federal immigration agents in Cook County.

The interview comes nearly four months after Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced a protocol for pursuing criminal charges against federal immigration agents when warranted, and more than a month after Illinois State Police confirmed it had opened an investigation into Gonzalez’s death. Yet nine months after Gonzalez was killed, no justice has been served. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, only three months elapsed between incidents, investigations and the resulting charges that were determined to be warranted.

Lightfoot directly challenged local officials’ repeated explanations for inaction, arguing that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement already have the authority and tools to investigate potential violations of state law.

“The impetus is a lack of any kind of accountability for the homicide, the murder of Mr. Gonzalez, the shooting and attempted homicide of Ms. Martinez, and the host of other abuses that are caught on videotape of federal immigration agents for which there has been no accountability, no investigations of any kind,” Lightfoot said. “That’s not acceptable in a democracy.”

During the interview, Lightfoot rejected the idea that local authorities are powerless to act.

“It really fundamentally comes down to a question of political will,” Lightfoot said. “And yes, the Supremacy Clause issue is real, but it is not an absolute bar. If one can demonstrate that officer or agent acted outside of the scope of his authority, you can get around the Supremacy Clause, period, full stop. But if you don’t try, then the answer is always going to be no.”

Lightfoot also pushed back on claims that existing law or local sanctuary protections prevent investigations into alleged crimes committed by federal agents.

“The TRUST Act is essentially the state version of the sanctuary city laws, which says that local law enforcement in the state of Illinois may not participate in federal immigration actions,” Lightfoot said. “That’s different than investigating a crime that’s being committed in your jurisdiction.”

Responding to a statement from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office citing its protocol for pursuing criminal charges against ICE agents, Lightfoot said a protocol is meaningless without action.

“So that and 10 cents doesn’t get me a cup of coffee,” Lightfoot said. “And what I mean by that — I don’t mean to be glib — is the fact of the matter is that protocol came out and made no reference to all of the incidents that had happened in the months beforehand.”

She continued: “You don’t need a protocol to investigate a homicide. That is in state law. That is prescribed and has been enshrined in law for decades upon decades. What we need is somebody to have the will to act, and that’s what’s been lacking.”

Lightfoot added: “Great that there’s a protocol. Great that it’s been adopted, but if it’s not put into action through leadership by the state’s attorney or by the local county sheriff, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a piece of paper.”

Lightfoot emphasized that the ICE Accountability Project is not a prosecutorial body, but a public accountability effort designed to collect reports, preserve evidence and demand action from the officials with legal authority to investigate.

“We are a repository,” Lightfoot said. “ReportICEnow.com, we are a centralized repository to collect this information. We’re not the prosecutors. All we’re saying is, why isn’t there an investigation by local authorities of the murder of Mr. Gonzalez and the attempted murder of Ms. Martinez? Where is that?”