The comments here about how law enforcement/fire safety is viewed as saving people "no matter what" are interesting, as they hinge on how that particular commenter views them to be. I see the point of your article more about how non-whites/POC/non-white immigrants would see this, and I'm with you, Tom. It doesn't really matter how people who aren't in that demographic view law enforcement in your community. I am a POC American citizen, and that picture repulses me. I do see how that would cause fear for individuals coming to a sanctuary city for a reason. Heck, I drove around Evanston with my children's birth certificates in my glove box for 8 years (before we moved) because I was constantly asked if I was their nanny. CONSTANTLY: At the library, in Jewel-Osco, on the street walking them and my dogs. They present white, and I lived in fear of getting stopped by law enforcement and asked to prove they were mine. It really doesn't matter what non-POC think; it matters *how POC view* things to be. It's important that you shared this pic and the investigative text because POC of Evanston need to see it and decide for themselves what reassurance they need from the City to call for help when needed. For the record, since moving South almost 3 years ago, I have not been asked once if my kids aren't mine. Not one single time. The assumption first is always that they're with mom, and the caregiver is then given the opportunity to correct that. Evanston is some other brand of weird cultural "awareness" that actually comes back 360 to offensive.
I do not like Trump. I did not vote for Trump. Trump scares me. I do not think for one minute that if my house were on fire these guys would not save my life and the lives of my pets because I voted for Harris. They absolutely would safe my life. They would also save my pets’ lives. While holding 100 pounds of gear. Even though I voted for Harris.
I think so too but I think it’s important that everyone view the fire dept this way, including people who are not documented or super hater Trump. Especially if I share an apartment wall with them
If you are living in the United States I think it’s pretty fair to assume a large portion of your law enforcement/fire department voted for Trump. Probably around 95% of that population. Does it mean they wouldn’t break down a door to rescue even pet Rover? Absolutely not. They would rescue Rover. Even if Rover were wearing a Harris tee shirt. Does it mean I should get scared and not call them because they didn’t vote for Harris? NO.
I hate Trump. But this is giving Trump power he does not deserve.
Yeah but when I lived on Hinman, I had an immigrant family next door with a lot of people in the unit. If there was a fire in their place and they worried some fireman was a hardon who would call ICE and hesitated to call 911 for that reason - I am the one who would get burnt.
But do you think it is this picture that makes people hesitant to call? I understand firefighters should not do this on firefighter time; however, do you think the picture actually changes anything??? Surprise!!!! A Republican Firefighter?????
I had no idea you were a Republican until I saw this???
It’s probably not the photo itself that would make someone hesitant to call. In fact, if the photo is a signal of anything, it is probably irrelevant. I guess, in a country and in a moment when marginalized and vulnerable people are feeling even more marginalized and vulnerable, these kinds of clubby, MAGA bro antics are at best not a good look and, at worst, a gross display of poor judgment by city employees who are sworn to protect ALL of us.
You’re right - I have no idea how things like this are received by literally anyone other than me and the folks who post here. That is what makes this such a murky topic (and I am glad we can all hash it out here).
Unfortunately, with everything going on it is easy to question just that. Making judgement calls about who deserves fire dept help is not something you want your local firefighters to be thinking about. Luckily, 99% of firefighters are built in such a way that they HAVE TO, they are COMPELLED to run into a burning building or a hoarders collapsing home without thinking about themselves. It’s who they are, how they were born. My dad was a firefighter for 35 years and I cried so hard on 9/11 for all the people who were lost, but also because so knew that if my dad was within 50 miles he would have answered the call and we would have lost him too. It’s who he is.
Donald J Trump does not deserve a firefighters support. Maybe someday these guys will see that he is not on the same level as them and certainly in no way as brave.
With regard to the EFD, was this a private photo someone leaked, or a photo the department shared? If these same guys in 2012 wore Obama Yes We Can tee shirts in a similar photo while watching the inauguration, would it cause the same uproar? Of course they wouldn’t be wearing Obama masks because that’s blackface. So let’s just say teeshirts. My take is that not a single person in Evanston would give a rat’s ace. I have to live like a g-d ostrich for the next four years to protect my mental health, not listening to even my beloved NPR or play the NYT news quiz because I cannot stomach hearing about this royal orange DB. But even I, a rabid DT detester, thinks this is much ado about not much. Are the optics bad in Evanston? Yeah. Bad look. But- it’s a slow news week I guess. These guys are still gonna fight the fire in the immigrants’ apartment. I concede to your point that they might be disinclined or at least reticent to call. I sure hope they don’t leave the hallowed grounds of Evanston 60201 or 60202 because, uh, reality.
Now, about this Nichols principal or whatever, she said it was great people in our community are running for office. Does that mean Evanston, or just the Nichols community? I immediately thought the former, and I agree that it is great that so many people in our community are running, especially when you consider how abused folks were who dared to in the recent past. It didn’t sound like she was saying, “vote for Daniel”, did it? Also, promoting a local organization that is running a forum for people to get the chance to k now the candidates doesn’t feel partisan, either. There are only a few of these opportunities planned, as far as I know. Again, much ado…but now I hear she is a Horton era employee? Ok, burn it down. I thought her letter sounded like someone proud that a school parent is one throwing their hat in the ring, and she’s encouraging people to learn about the issues and candidates. I guess that’s not cool.
There is a crucial difference between the fire fighters and the Nichols Principal. There is a clear prohibition against 'political activity' for both set of workers. The state of Illinois clearly defines political activity as being stuff related to campaigns for office--collecting signatures, soliciting for contributions, endorsing candidates, etc....).
Trump is not a candidate for anything. The election was months ago. He is a lame duck President. Maybe he will run for senate or governor or something, but he is not a candidate. There isn't even a federal election for 22 months. These guys were not using any resources for electioneering. They were just sitting in chairs with the equivalent of halloween masks on. They weren't even on a call.
The Nichols principal called out in admiring terms ONE candidate and used the District email list to share her view. Sure, she didn't say "vote for this guy," but she is excluding all of the other candidate names. I read it as "hey this guy has a kid at our school, maybe he will look out for us."
She sends this just weeks before an election. And it is an election for a board that directly oversees her job.
I'd be curious to know where in the State Code you're finding this.
Suppose a high school teacher began handing out anti-abortion pamphlets. This would surely be political activity without an active election. Or I would argue that some of the D65 staff including Free Palestine stuff in their email signatures is also political activity.
This is what the ethics act for State employees (5 ILCS 430) says regarding prohibited political activity. Because municipalities are creations of the state, I would think that a lawyer defending the firefighters could appeal to these state definitions:
I would be curious to see how you would fit wearing a mask with an elected official on it or having Free Palestine on your email sig into one of these categories.
"Prohibited political activity" means:
(1) Preparing for, organizing, or participating in any political meeting, political rally, political demonstration, or other political event.
(2) Soliciting contributions, including but not limited to the purchase of, selling, distributing, or receiving payment for tickets for any political fundraiser, political meeting, or other political event.
(3) Soliciting, planning the solicitation of, or preparing any document or report regarding any thing of value intended as a campaign contribution.
(4) Planning, conducting, or participating in a public opinion poll in connection with a campaign for elective office or on behalf of a political organization for political purposes or for or against any referendum question.
(5) Surveying or gathering information from potential or actual voters in an election to determine probable vote outcome in connection with a campaign for elective office or on behalf of a political organization for political purposes or for or against any referendum question.
(6) Assisting at the polls on election day on behalf of any political organization or candidate for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(7) Soliciting votes on behalf of a candidate for elective office or a political organization or for or against any referendum question or helping in an effort to get voters to the polls.
(8) Initiating for circulation, preparing, circulating, reviewing, or filing any petition on behalf of a candidate for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(9) Making contributions on behalf of any candidate for elective office in that capacity or in connection with a campaign for elective office.
(10) Preparing or reviewing responses to candidate questionnaires in connection with a campaign for elective office or on behalf of a political organization for political purposes.
(11) Distributing, preparing for distribution, or mailing campaign literature, campaign signs, or other campaign material on behalf of any candidate for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(12) Campaigning for any elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(13) Managing or working on a campaign for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(14) Serving as a delegate, alternate, or proxy to a political party convention.
(15) Participating in any recount or challenge to the outcome of any election
I can't actually find the COE Handbook, so TBD on accuracy. However, I did find the EPD definition, which is more specific than the state employee one, particularly around uniforms.
In a somewhat related matter, I do fear all the cities recent posturing with anti trump measures is just inviting attention that the new DOJ will take notice of and gladly take up the legal and cultural fight. I wonder if more covert preparation for future events would have been possible and wise.
100% - my concern is that certain politicians will go the mattresses to fight Trump and the legal bills + potential loss in federal funds is going to hurt us all, but benefit their political career. Bad incentives right now.
I’m not on Reddit and not about to add another rabbit hole of local social media content to my life…. But without more context of who and why this was released it’s hard to make any judgements. But I will venture a guess that much worse by city employees is in the Evanston social media ether from the other end of the political spectrum, and nobody batted an eye.
I hope to be wrong, but there is so much hypocrisy at all levels of government and society today that it’s hard not to be suspicious this far left city is (or will) apply such a double standard because Trump is so reviled and feared here.
Do I feel like this was inappropriate while on duty? Yes. Do I think city firefighters would call ICE? No. Is everyone entitled to their opinion and the right to vote for whoever they choose? Yes. However, it's probably best not to express these views while in a city uniform on duty. Should staff be formally disciplined? Not necessarily, but it would be appropriate to provide training on city policies and workplace expectations.
Another concern is the recruitment of future firefighters and paramedics, particularly women, minorities, or members of the LGBTQ+ community. Is this a department or city they’d want to work for? To take it further, consider the lakefront staff—will young staff feel comfortable working for the fire department? The lakefront staff is predominantly white; will this affect diversity efforts? What happens if an LGBTQ+ staff member has a workplace concern—can they trust the fire department to listen to them in a fair and objective manner?
I don't see how this is "political activity." Trump is not running for anything. He is the President, tho some of us in Evanston aren't happy about that.
Suppose some D65 staffers were wearing pro-Palestine shirts in the schools. Would you consider this political activity? An election is not a required condition for political activity
I know, thats why I used that example! That story is coming later in the Spring because its tied to a specific unit taught in 8th grade and I want the story to line up. Its almost as bad or worse, but isn’t an active story at the moment.
Didn’t something like this happen at ETHS? I really thought it was dumb that people got bent out of shape about it. What I didn’t like was when the Palestinian activists blocked roads and shut down city council meetings.
If there were any evidence the fire fighters were delinquent in their job I would be upset, but I haven’t seen any.
I think Trump is a complete disaster, but this is the right take.
He is a lame duck, holds an elective office and is not running for anything.
The D65 administrator getting involved in the school board election is a much different and more egregious situation. She was endorsing a candidate during election season for a person with direct influence on her job.
Again, this is not about how YOU feel. Its about how other people feel, including immigrants that I may share an apartment wall with. Everyone needs to feel safe that the FD is there to deal with the fire and nothing else. This is a matter of public safety, even if you think it doesn’t impact how you personally feel!
You’re asking me to prove something that I would never be able to prove, there is just no tracking or records on that stuff. ICE has an anonymous hotline, how many of the callers are cops or firefighters? 🤷
Those upset with this should do some introspection. Trump won just about half of all voters. He increased his vote total and share almost everywhere in the country and across all demographics. If you're citing concern among the hispanic community for Trump, the way that community just voted should show that it does not share this fever pitch of a concern. He won the highest vote share for people of color than any Republican has in decades or young people since the 80s. He won extremely heavy Latino areas, such as the Texas/Mexico border counties and Miami-Dade county. He made Florida and Texas bright red while almost turned New Jersey into a swing state. Trump is not the crazed lunatic fascist The New York Times or Rachel Maddow paint him to be, and the way people vote tend to show that most people agree. If you are really concerned about diversity, you should extend that to diversity of thought and belief.
I'm not. I'm suggesting you should learn more about what those who think differently from you think and their reasoning since the recent electoral outcome show he's not some crazy fringe thinker. If you think Trump is a fascistic danger to every non-white person, that would cause a normal person to wonder how he increased his vote share among that group.
Sure, I wrote a whole piece about that after the election! Trump gained ground in some of the non-white areas of Cook County bigly. But that doesn’t make it okay for public servants to broadcast their politics using public resources and create a genuine public safety risk. The 5-10% of latino voters who shifted to Trump don’t suddenly speak for the undocumented (who cant vote). I have no clue how they feel about this but any person hesitates in calling emergency services, we ALL lose
Nobody would probably think about hesitating to call emergency services until the issue gets blown up like this. You're doing a bigger job making people anxious than the firefighters were. When has it *ever* happened that somebody called a fire department and then got deported?
No, but if your concern about this truly is to minimize the amount of people who are anxious to call emergency services, publishing this and making it news is having the exact opposite effect. The prudent thing would be to not report it then with that goal in mind. Unless there is actual proof that fire fighters are reporting people to ICE after helping them, this is just fear mongering.
Dude there was a case in Chicago several years ago where a mother did not report her landlord for turning off the heat illegally and instead tried to improvise with a space heater. All 5 of her children burned up. She didn’t report her landlord because she was afraid police or fire dept would call ICE. This is real pendejo. REAL.
Have you noticed how white people (and those invested in white supremacist ideas) always want to make diversity about “diversity of thought and belief” bc 1) they feel entitled to speak authoritatively on the issue just by virtue of being white and 2) so they don’t have to engage in direct discussions of race/racism, gender/sexism/transphobia etc. which diversity discussions try to point to and address. It’s the usual deflection and whataboutism. Not unlike the litany of excuses being made for Elon Musk’s Nazi salute (which I guarantee is what that was and he knew it too).
I personally believe the best way to combat ideas you may find white supremecist is to face them head on. Let the bad ideas fail on their merits, which is why I only softly moderate the comment section here compared to Evanston Now or RT.
Exactly Tom! I recently told some weirdly defensive women on District65parentsandguardians page that I am not afraid to call out bigotry in whatever form it comes in the moment. The Evanston I know was never so strangely concerned with being woke or harboring MAGA. I don’t think any of us should stand aside and let bullies take over this city. There is a lot of work to do.
This is political activity, even when you agree with their politics, which makes it inappropriate. And - just a guess here - you wouldn't be quite so understanding if they'd been all wearing Obama masks in Jan 2013.
I voted for Obama in 2008, and 2012, so you might be wrong there, and how is this political activity as defined by the statute? He is no longer a candidate anymore as he cannot legally seek another term.
until he tries to change those rules. He's trying to override the 14th amendment, and he tried to overturn the 2020 election. what's to stop him from trying to run for a third term?
Most likely heart disease from all the Mickey D's he eats.
But yeah, it's frustrating to talk about this stuff because I'll be like "Trump says he's going to do bad thing X" and the response feels like gaslighting, "Well, he's not actually going to do that, he's just bloviating" -- it's like what the hell? I have to take him at his word because if I'm wrong, that very bad thing will happen!
Forgot where I heard it, but I heard once that liberals take Trump literally but not seriously; conservatives take Trump seriously but not literally. Funniest example of this was when The Washington Post wrote out a fact check against Trump when he said he had enough McDonald's hamburgers for the winning Clemson team that they could be stacked a mile high. If you're actually looking to understand some of the inner workings to help differentiate bloviating from seriousness, look up some of Scott Adams' analysis on Trump's rhetoric.
I think this is true and he has managed to get us all stuck into this position of reading the tea leaves in order to determine whether he actually means what he is saying or not. Lying and bloviating has always been part of politics but it's so much worse with him because he says such insane shit.
Current understanding of birthright citizenship via the 14th Amendment is pure legal precedent. The legal argument against it hinges entirely on the clause 'and subject to the jurisdiction thereof' and that the children of non citizens are subject to the jurisdiction of their parents' legal nationality, not the US. He's provoking a legal fight to take it to SCOTUS where they'll probably lose. The argument is too flimsy to get unanimous conservative support. Roberts and probably Gorsuch or Barrett will side with the left on that one. And even before then, the courts will likely give an injunction to prevent enforcement of that EO until the legality is decided. Term limits is a pretty clear-cut, black and white distinction in that they were passed with very clear language to prevent that exact thing after FDR had just won 4 consecutive elections.
I think your interpretation here is probably correct. It's such a frustrating issue because there are very legitimate cases of people abusing the 14th amendment - if someone flies to the US on a tourism visa and has a child, that child gets US citizenship. That seems weird and I suspect no other country on Earth does that? Like, why should you get citizenship in the place where your parents were vacationing?
But at the same time, we have folks like Dreamers who by no decision of their own, are practically citizens but have no actual status.
It's an issue that needs a subtle solution but we only have a hammer these days...
@Robert Paulson - did you see the latest? Rep Andy Ogles of TN annouced he's introducing a resolution to allow Trump to be elected again. It's happening....
to him it doesn't matter if it's clear-cut, he's already made statements that he thinks he should run again. to him rules don't apply. or to the jan 6th people that attacked police officers and he still pardoned them. what a slap in the face to those officers and their families.
Jan 6 was disgusting, but Biden pardoned cop killers the day before he left office. It's hard to take that concern for cops' safety as genuine from those who excuse or ignore what Biden just did, too.
C'mon -- you really don't understand why the optics are problematic? People are free to support whitherever they want, of course. -- but not as an official retentive for their employer typically.
If this site is unbiased, there is no way with a straight face anyone can think that rainbow flags and BLM on the district 65 equity weeks website live right now are not political but a trump mask is. The former school board president literally cited Donald Trumps 2016 executive orders as "something she took personal" and then rolled out this curriculum.
I have complained about a lot of that stuff but its all old news from like 2022, why should I write about a former school board presidents opinion like 5 years ago today?
Maybe you should define “political”. How is teaching and learning about equity political? What about equality? Could you consider NOT teaching about equity (or equality) as political too?
They should take off the masks and show us who they are.
I’m not offended by this in the slightest but understand everyone’s concern.
The comments here about how law enforcement/fire safety is viewed as saving people "no matter what" are interesting, as they hinge on how that particular commenter views them to be. I see the point of your article more about how non-whites/POC/non-white immigrants would see this, and I'm with you, Tom. It doesn't really matter how people who aren't in that demographic view law enforcement in your community. I am a POC American citizen, and that picture repulses me. I do see how that would cause fear for individuals coming to a sanctuary city for a reason. Heck, I drove around Evanston with my children's birth certificates in my glove box for 8 years (before we moved) because I was constantly asked if I was their nanny. CONSTANTLY: At the library, in Jewel-Osco, on the street walking them and my dogs. They present white, and I lived in fear of getting stopped by law enforcement and asked to prove they were mine. It really doesn't matter what non-POC think; it matters *how POC view* things to be. It's important that you shared this pic and the investigative text because POC of Evanston need to see it and decide for themselves what reassurance they need from the City to call for help when needed. For the record, since moving South almost 3 years ago, I have not been asked once if my kids aren't mine. Not one single time. The assumption first is always that they're with mom, and the caregiver is then given the opportunity to correct that. Evanston is some other brand of weird cultural "awareness" that actually comes back 360 to offensive.
I do not like Trump. I did not vote for Trump. Trump scares me. I do not think for one minute that if my house were on fire these guys would not save my life and the lives of my pets because I voted for Harris. They absolutely would safe my life. They would also save my pets’ lives. While holding 100 pounds of gear. Even though I voted for Harris.
I think so too but I think it’s important that everyone view the fire dept this way, including people who are not documented or super hater Trump. Especially if I share an apartment wall with them
If you are living in the United States I think it’s pretty fair to assume a large portion of your law enforcement/fire department voted for Trump. Probably around 95% of that population. Does it mean they wouldn’t break down a door to rescue even pet Rover? Absolutely not. They would rescue Rover. Even if Rover were wearing a Harris tee shirt. Does it mean I should get scared and not call them because they didn’t vote for Harris? NO.
I hate Trump. But this is giving Trump power he does not deserve.
Yeah but when I lived on Hinman, I had an immigrant family next door with a lot of people in the unit. If there was a fire in their place and they worried some fireman was a hardon who would call ICE and hesitated to call 911 for that reason - I am the one who would get burnt.
But do you think it is this picture that makes people hesitant to call? I understand firefighters should not do this on firefighter time; however, do you think the picture actually changes anything??? Surprise!!!! A Republican Firefighter?????
I had no idea you were a Republican until I saw this???
It’s probably not the photo itself that would make someone hesitant to call. In fact, if the photo is a signal of anything, it is probably irrelevant. I guess, in a country and in a moment when marginalized and vulnerable people are feeling even more marginalized and vulnerable, these kinds of clubby, MAGA bro antics are at best not a good look and, at worst, a gross display of poor judgment by city employees who are sworn to protect ALL of us.
You’re right - I have no idea how things like this are received by literally anyone other than me and the folks who post here. That is what makes this such a murky topic (and I am glad we can all hash it out here).
My only concern would be if they, in true Trump form, only put out the MAGA fires and drive right on by everyone else.
Unfortunately, with everything going on it is easy to question just that. Making judgement calls about who deserves fire dept help is not something you want your local firefighters to be thinking about. Luckily, 99% of firefighters are built in such a way that they HAVE TO, they are COMPELLED to run into a burning building or a hoarders collapsing home without thinking about themselves. It’s who they are, how they were born. My dad was a firefighter for 35 years and I cried so hard on 9/11 for all the people who were lost, but also because so knew that if my dad was within 50 miles he would have answered the call and we would have lost him too. It’s who he is.
Donald J Trump does not deserve a firefighters support. Maybe someday these guys will see that he is not on the same level as them and certainly in no way as brave.
I need some clarification here:
With regard to the EFD, was this a private photo someone leaked, or a photo the department shared? If these same guys in 2012 wore Obama Yes We Can tee shirts in a similar photo while watching the inauguration, would it cause the same uproar? Of course they wouldn’t be wearing Obama masks because that’s blackface. So let’s just say teeshirts. My take is that not a single person in Evanston would give a rat’s ace. I have to live like a g-d ostrich for the next four years to protect my mental health, not listening to even my beloved NPR or play the NYT news quiz because I cannot stomach hearing about this royal orange DB. But even I, a rabid DT detester, thinks this is much ado about not much. Are the optics bad in Evanston? Yeah. Bad look. But- it’s a slow news week I guess. These guys are still gonna fight the fire in the immigrants’ apartment. I concede to your point that they might be disinclined or at least reticent to call. I sure hope they don’t leave the hallowed grounds of Evanston 60201 or 60202 because, uh, reality.
Now, about this Nichols principal or whatever, she said it was great people in our community are running for office. Does that mean Evanston, or just the Nichols community? I immediately thought the former, and I agree that it is great that so many people in our community are running, especially when you consider how abused folks were who dared to in the recent past. It didn’t sound like she was saying, “vote for Daniel”, did it? Also, promoting a local organization that is running a forum for people to get the chance to k now the candidates doesn’t feel partisan, either. There are only a few of these opportunities planned, as far as I know. Again, much ado…but now I hear she is a Horton era employee? Ok, burn it down. I thought her letter sounded like someone proud that a school parent is one throwing their hat in the ring, and she’s encouraging people to learn about the issues and candidates. I guess that’s not cool.
On the latter issue, I thought it was fine but it creates major headaches if another candidate felt they were unfairly excluded.
There is a crucial difference between the fire fighters and the Nichols Principal. There is a clear prohibition against 'political activity' for both set of workers. The state of Illinois clearly defines political activity as being stuff related to campaigns for office--collecting signatures, soliciting for contributions, endorsing candidates, etc....).
Trump is not a candidate for anything. The election was months ago. He is a lame duck President. Maybe he will run for senate or governor or something, but he is not a candidate. There isn't even a federal election for 22 months. These guys were not using any resources for electioneering. They were just sitting in chairs with the equivalent of halloween masks on. They weren't even on a call.
The Nichols principal called out in admiring terms ONE candidate and used the District email list to share her view. Sure, she didn't say "vote for this guy," but she is excluding all of the other candidate names. I read it as "hey this guy has a kid at our school, maybe he will look out for us."
She sends this just weeks before an election. And it is an election for a board that directly oversees her job.
Again, I disagree that political activity requires an active election.
Neither the City code nor the EFD CBA defines the term.
https://www.cityofevanston.org/home/showpublisheddocument/89220/638179255216600000 (Section 3.2)
https://library.municode.com/il/evanston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT1GEAD_CH10COETBOET_1-10-2DE
I'd be curious to know where in the State Code you're finding this.
Suppose a high school teacher began handing out anti-abortion pamphlets. This would surely be political activity without an active election. Or I would argue that some of the D65 staff including Free Palestine stuff in their email signatures is also political activity.
This is what the ethics act for State employees (5 ILCS 430) says regarding prohibited political activity. Because municipalities are creations of the state, I would think that a lawyer defending the firefighters could appeal to these state definitions:
I would be curious to see how you would fit wearing a mask with an elected official on it or having Free Palestine on your email sig into one of these categories.
"Prohibited political activity" means:
(1) Preparing for, organizing, or participating in any political meeting, political rally, political demonstration, or other political event.
(2) Soliciting contributions, including but not limited to the purchase of, selling, distributing, or receiving payment for tickets for any political fundraiser, political meeting, or other political event.
(3) Soliciting, planning the solicitation of, or preparing any document or report regarding any thing of value intended as a campaign contribution.
(4) Planning, conducting, or participating in a public opinion poll in connection with a campaign for elective office or on behalf of a political organization for political purposes or for or against any referendum question.
(5) Surveying or gathering information from potential or actual voters in an election to determine probable vote outcome in connection with a campaign for elective office or on behalf of a political organization for political purposes or for or against any referendum question.
(6) Assisting at the polls on election day on behalf of any political organization or candidate for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(7) Soliciting votes on behalf of a candidate for elective office or a political organization or for or against any referendum question or helping in an effort to get voters to the polls.
(8) Initiating for circulation, preparing, circulating, reviewing, or filing any petition on behalf of a candidate for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(9) Making contributions on behalf of any candidate for elective office in that capacity or in connection with a campaign for elective office.
(10) Preparing or reviewing responses to candidate questionnaires in connection with a campaign for elective office or on behalf of a political organization for political purposes.
(11) Distributing, preparing for distribution, or mailing campaign literature, campaign signs, or other campaign material on behalf of any candidate for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(12) Campaigning for any elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(13) Managing or working on a campaign for elective office or for or against any referendum question.
(14) Serving as a delegate, alternate, or proxy to a political party convention.
(15) Participating in any recount or challenge to the outcome of any election
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=2529
Sandy - I maybe have an answer for you on this finally thanks to a sleuth on reddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/evanston/comments/1i6tqm6/comment/m92d42t/
I can't actually find the COE Handbook, so TBD on accuracy. However, I did find the EPD definition, which is more specific than the state employee one, particularly around uniforms.
https://www.citizensnetworkofprotection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/RELEASE_20200912_T144022_Evanston_Police_Department_Policy_Manual-1.pdf
That's the cops, though. So TBD on firefighters. I'm going to FOIA the handbook just to have anyway.
Thanks for this, very interesting. I still don’t understand whats stopping a state employee from doing specific non-campaign political advocacy?
And who are you?
In a somewhat related matter, I do fear all the cities recent posturing with anti trump measures is just inviting attention that the new DOJ will take notice of and gladly take up the legal and cultural fight. I wonder if more covert preparation for future events would have been possible and wise.
100% - my concern is that certain politicians will go the mattresses to fight Trump and the legal bills + potential loss in federal funds is going to hurt us all, but benefit their political career. Bad incentives right now.
I’m not on Reddit and not about to add another rabbit hole of local social media content to my life…. But without more context of who and why this was released it’s hard to make any judgements. But I will venture a guess that much worse by city employees is in the Evanston social media ether from the other end of the political spectrum, and nobody batted an eye.
I hope to be wrong, but there is so much hypocrisy at all levels of government and society today that it’s hard not to be suspicious this far left city is (or will) apply such a double standard because Trump is so reviled and feared here.
#NotATrumpFan
Do I feel like this was inappropriate while on duty? Yes. Do I think city firefighters would call ICE? No. Is everyone entitled to their opinion and the right to vote for whoever they choose? Yes. However, it's probably best not to express these views while in a city uniform on duty. Should staff be formally disciplined? Not necessarily, but it would be appropriate to provide training on city policies and workplace expectations.
Another concern is the recruitment of future firefighters and paramedics, particularly women, minorities, or members of the LGBTQ+ community. Is this a department or city they’d want to work for? To take it further, consider the lakefront staff—will young staff feel comfortable working for the fire department? The lakefront staff is predominantly white; will this affect diversity efforts? What happens if an LGBTQ+ staff member has a workplace concern—can they trust the fire department to listen to them in a fair and objective manner?
Looks like EFD is doing its level best to squander the goodwill that firefighters have rightfully been getting the last couple of weeks.
My first response was “come on, even the cops know better than this!!” 😂
I don't see how this is "political activity." Trump is not running for anything. He is the President, tho some of us in Evanston aren't happy about that.
Suppose some D65 staffers were wearing pro-Palestine shirts in the schools. Would you consider this political activity? An election is not a required condition for political activity
That has actually happened.
I know, thats why I used that example! That story is coming later in the Spring because its tied to a specific unit taught in 8th grade and I want the story to line up. Its almost as bad or worse, but isn’t an active story at the moment.
So I guess we need a definition of "political activity." Any suggestions?
Good point - its in the city code but I am on a plane right now and all I can do is shitpost. Will dig it up when I get home
I wouldn’t have a problem with that necessarily. It would be like someone wearing an American flag shirt or something
Are you serious, you be the first in here lighting them up!
Didn’t something like this happen at ETHS? I really thought it was dumb that people got bent out of shape about it. What I didn’t like was when the Palestinian activists blocked roads and shut down city council meetings.
If there were any evidence the fire fighters were delinquent in their job I would be upset, but I haven’t seen any.
I think Trump is a complete disaster, but this is the right take.
He is a lame duck, holds an elective office and is not running for anything.
The D65 administrator getting involved in the school board election is a much different and more egregious situation. She was endorsing a candidate during election season for a person with direct influence on her job.
This is a nothing burger
Again, this is not about how YOU feel. Its about how other people feel, including immigrants that I may share an apartment wall with. Everyone needs to feel safe that the FD is there to deal with the fire and nothing else. This is a matter of public safety, even if you think it doesn’t impact how you personally feel!
When is the last time a fire fighter asked somebody for proof of citizenship?
I have no clue, do you? Whats to stop a random fireman from calling ICE after being in someone’s house to put out a fire?
Has this ever happened anywhere? Outside of Evanston, emergency personnel are probably full of Trump voters. When has that ever happened?
You’re asking me to prove something that I would never be able to prove, there is just no tracking or records on that stuff. ICE has an anonymous hotline, how many of the callers are cops or firefighters? 🤷
Great coverage as usual Tom!
This is completely inappropriate.
Those upset with this should do some introspection. Trump won just about half of all voters. He increased his vote total and share almost everywhere in the country and across all demographics. If you're citing concern among the hispanic community for Trump, the way that community just voted should show that it does not share this fever pitch of a concern. He won the highest vote share for people of color than any Republican has in decades or young people since the 80s. He won extremely heavy Latino areas, such as the Texas/Mexico border counties and Miami-Dade county. He made Florida and Texas bright red while almost turned New Jersey into a swing state. Trump is not the crazed lunatic fascist The New York Times or Rachel Maddow paint him to be, and the way people vote tend to show that most people agree. If you are really concerned about diversity, you should extend that to diversity of thought and belief.
Evanston MAGA finally coming out of the closet! Who the hell are you to tell me or anyone else how to feel?
I'm not. I'm suggesting you should learn more about what those who think differently from you think and their reasoning since the recent electoral outcome show he's not some crazy fringe thinker. If you think Trump is a fascistic danger to every non-white person, that would cause a normal person to wonder how he increased his vote share among that group.
Sure, I wrote a whole piece about that after the election! Trump gained ground in some of the non-white areas of Cook County bigly. But that doesn’t make it okay for public servants to broadcast their politics using public resources and create a genuine public safety risk. The 5-10% of latino voters who shifted to Trump don’t suddenly speak for the undocumented (who cant vote). I have no clue how they feel about this but any person hesitates in calling emergency services, we ALL lose
Nobody would probably think about hesitating to call emergency services until the issue gets blown up like this. You're doing a bigger job making people anxious than the firefighters were. When has it *ever* happened that somebody called a fire department and then got deported?
You’re arguing that I should cover this up because I cant prove that this has ever happened, even if I wanted to?
No, but if your concern about this truly is to minimize the amount of people who are anxious to call emergency services, publishing this and making it news is having the exact opposite effect. The prudent thing would be to not report it then with that goal in mind. Unless there is actual proof that fire fighters are reporting people to ICE after helping them, this is just fear mongering.
Dude there was a case in Chicago several years ago where a mother did not report her landlord for turning off the heat illegally and instead tried to improvise with a space heater. All 5 of her children burned up. She didn’t report her landlord because she was afraid police or fire dept would call ICE. This is real pendejo. REAL.
Undocumented people absolutely hesitate to call emergency services.
I hope I have drawn some attention to this, so we can work towards fixing this. We are all at risk when people hesitate!
Have you noticed how white people (and those invested in white supremacist ideas) always want to make diversity about “diversity of thought and belief” bc 1) they feel entitled to speak authoritatively on the issue just by virtue of being white and 2) so they don’t have to engage in direct discussions of race/racism, gender/sexism/transphobia etc. which diversity discussions try to point to and address. It’s the usual deflection and whataboutism. Not unlike the litany of excuses being made for Elon Musk’s Nazi salute (which I guarantee is what that was and he knew it too).
I personally believe the best way to combat ideas you may find white supremecist is to face them head on. Let the bad ideas fail on their merits, which is why I only softly moderate the comment section here compared to Evanston Now or RT.
Exactly Tom! I recently told some weirdly defensive women on District65parentsandguardians page that I am not afraid to call out bigotry in whatever form it comes in the moment. The Evanston I know was never so strangely concerned with being woke or harboring MAGA. I don’t think any of us should stand aside and let bullies take over this city. There is a lot of work to do.
Agree, Tom. And I appreciate you bringing incidents like these to our attention and then sticking around to moderate/engage in thoughtful discussion.
OMG Stephanie I think I’m in love with you! My thoughts exactly, just couldn’t articulate them as well as you!
This is political activity, even when you agree with their politics, which makes it inappropriate. And - just a guess here - you wouldn't be quite so understanding if they'd been all wearing Obama masks in Jan 2013.
I voted for Obama in 2008, and 2012, so you might be wrong there, and how is this political activity as defined by the statute? He is no longer a candidate anymore as he cannot legally seek another term.
until he tries to change those rules. He's trying to override the 14th amendment, and he tried to overturn the 2020 election. what's to stop him from trying to run for a third term?
Most likely heart disease from all the Mickey D's he eats.
But yeah, it's frustrating to talk about this stuff because I'll be like "Trump says he's going to do bad thing X" and the response feels like gaslighting, "Well, he's not actually going to do that, he's just bloviating" -- it's like what the hell? I have to take him at his word because if I'm wrong, that very bad thing will happen!
Forgot where I heard it, but I heard once that liberals take Trump literally but not seriously; conservatives take Trump seriously but not literally. Funniest example of this was when The Washington Post wrote out a fact check against Trump when he said he had enough McDonald's hamburgers for the winning Clemson team that they could be stacked a mile high. If you're actually looking to understand some of the inner workings to help differentiate bloviating from seriousness, look up some of Scott Adams' analysis on Trump's rhetoric.
I think this is true and he has managed to get us all stuck into this position of reading the tea leaves in order to determine whether he actually means what he is saying or not. Lying and bloviating has always been part of politics but it's so much worse with him because he says such insane shit.
Current understanding of birthright citizenship via the 14th Amendment is pure legal precedent. The legal argument against it hinges entirely on the clause 'and subject to the jurisdiction thereof' and that the children of non citizens are subject to the jurisdiction of their parents' legal nationality, not the US. He's provoking a legal fight to take it to SCOTUS where they'll probably lose. The argument is too flimsy to get unanimous conservative support. Roberts and probably Gorsuch or Barrett will side with the left on that one. And even before then, the courts will likely give an injunction to prevent enforcement of that EO until the legality is decided. Term limits is a pretty clear-cut, black and white distinction in that they were passed with very clear language to prevent that exact thing after FDR had just won 4 consecutive elections.
I think your interpretation here is probably correct. It's such a frustrating issue because there are very legitimate cases of people abusing the 14th amendment - if someone flies to the US on a tourism visa and has a child, that child gets US citizenship. That seems weird and I suspect no other country on Earth does that? Like, why should you get citizenship in the place where your parents were vacationing?
But at the same time, we have folks like Dreamers who by no decision of their own, are practically citizens but have no actual status.
It's an issue that needs a subtle solution but we only have a hammer these days...
@Robert Paulson - did you see the latest? Rep Andy Ogles of TN annouced he's introducing a resolution to allow Trump to be elected again. It's happening....
to him it doesn't matter if it's clear-cut, he's already made statements that he thinks he should run again. to him rules don't apply. or to the jan 6th people that attacked police officers and he still pardoned them. what a slap in the face to those officers and their families.
Jan 6 was disgusting, but Biden pardoned cop killers the day before he left office. It's hard to take that concern for cops' safety as genuine from those who excuse or ignore what Biden just did, too.
Maybe they really love responding to drug overdoses:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/01/22/who-is-ross-ulbricht-what-to-know-about-silk-road-drug-marketplace-founder-pardoned-by-trump/
I also don't understand the concern and don't see how this is political activity.
Your kitchen is on fire and you are an undocumented immigrant. Do you call 911 knowing that some MAGA guys will show?
Yes? Fire fighters aren't asking for citizenship documentation. They just put out the fire.
Sure, for you, white guy named Robert.
Show me EFD's policy that says they require proof of citizenship, and I'll admit I'm wrong.
C'mon -- you really don't understand why the optics are problematic? People are free to support whitherever they want, of course. -- but not as an official retentive for their employer typically.
I agree. I don’t care if they run the Trump fan club in their free time, they just need to not do it on the job. It shows a lack of professionalism
If this site is unbiased, there is no way with a straight face anyone can think that rainbow flags and BLM on the district 65 equity weeks website live right now are not political but a trump mask is. The former school board president literally cited Donald Trumps 2016 executive orders as "something she took personal" and then rolled out this curriculum.
https://sites.google.com/district65.net/d65equityweeks/home
https://truthout.org/articles/our-school-board-is-under-attack-for-putting-anti-racist-education-into-action/
I have complained about a lot of that stuff but its all old news from like 2022, why should I write about a former school board presidents opinion like 5 years ago today?
Maybe you should define “political”. How is teaching and learning about equity political? What about equality? Could you consider NOT teaching about equity (or equality) as political too?