Governor JB Pritzker is creating the Illinois Accountability Commission to document what he says are examples of harassment, intimidation and abuse by federal agents during Operation Midway Blitz.
Pritzker says the panel will hold hearings and take testimony from those who have been detained or suffered abuses at the hands of federal agents.
The commission will be chaired by former federal judge Ruben Castillo and create a record to help seek accountability after President Trump is no longer in office.
“There will come a time when people of good faith are empowered to uphold the law,” Pritzker said.
President Trump launched a long-promised Chicago deportation campaign, dubbed ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ in September.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the operation would target immigrants without legal status who have sought refuge in Illinois and Chicago.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement site at 1930 Beach Street in Broadview has become a center of recurring protests since President Trump began the aggressive deportation campaign.
The facility has become a de facto detention center, though it was never intended to be one.
Protesters, often while trying to block ICE vehicles from entering and leaving the facility, have been met with numerous rounds of rubber pellets and chemical agents that Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson previously said endanger nearby residents and first responders.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.