| "Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the “tragic spirit of despair” overcome us when our country needs us the most." — Gov. JB Pritzker
Our Governor ended his state of the state address in February with those words, which I hope we take to heart now more than ever.
In the past week, ICE's inhumane targeting of our Latino community has led to a death, widespread panic, and major economic disruption to local businesses and commerce. Dozens of lives have been torn apart right here in DuPage. Fearless leaders such as Sen. Karina Villa have thrown themselves into the breech to stand up and mobilize to call out the cruel and authoritarian attacks on our community.
After the horrible murder of Charlie Kirk, rather than calling for national healing and recognizing that political violence has become a rising malady on both the left and the right (though more on the right), Trump and his administration have used the killing as a pretext for a truly fascist crackdown on the political opposition and the bedrock principle of free speech. JD Vance accused left-leaning non-profit organizations that fund social justice work of promoting violence and terrorism; their list of examples includes organizations like the Ford Foundation, the Sothern Poverty Law Center and the Open Society Foundations.
These accusations are nonsense and straight out of the authoritarian playbook. Their lies presage an assault on the First Amendment larger than under McCarthyism. Their aim is to create a false reality for their supporters that projects the hate and dehumanization of zealots like Stephen Miller and JD Vance onto the left as an excuse to erode American democracy into an authoritarian state that benefits billionaires, corporations, and right-wing extremists.
Now is the time for us to stand up and peacefully resist this tyranny. Our Governor's words above are extremely important — we have a massive amount of power as citizens to raise our voices, protest in the streets, and mobilize politically to elect leaders who fight for working families!
In Solidarity,
Reid McCollum, Chair | 
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