A state commission scrutinizing the Chicago-area immigration crackdown this past fall sent its findings to law enforcement Tuesday, with some members and Gov. JB Pritzker pushing for investigations they said could lead to criminal charges against federal agents involved in violent episodes during the notorious Operation Midway Blitz raids.
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Since the 64-day crackdown, some advocates have been disappointed at what they see as a lack of accountability for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents who repeatedly used force against immigrants, U.S. citizens, protesters, journalists and neighborhood residents, including in the killing of Silverio Villegas González in September and the shooting of Marimar Martínez in October.
Pritzker last fall tasked the Illinois Accountability Commission with fact-finding about the sweeping Chicago-area raids for posterity, the public eye and potential future law enforcement actions, but the panel itself has no direct law enforcement power.
“The referral is not intended to say, you must prosecute. It is a set of evidence that they should be investigating,” Pritzker said.
He compared the report to a person approaching the police with an accusation or evidence.
“You would expect that the police, and then perhaps the state’s attorney, would then pursue that. You should expect that. … Obviously, some of us have opinions about whether somebody should be prosecuted or not, but I am not a judge,” he said.
The governor’s comments underscored the limited power of the commission, which could not issue subpoenas, file charges or compel anyone to do anything. In some cases, the panel couldn’t even identify ICE or Border Patrol agents involved in high-profile clashes.
That tension — between the gravity of what the commission documented and the limits of what it was empowered to do — defined Thursday’s release of its final report.
As Pritzker urged law enforcement to investigate, former federal Judge Rubén Castillo, whom Pritzker appointed to lead the commission, suggested Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neil Burke step aside for a special prosecutor if she declines to act.
“If these agents are not prosecuted, something is wrong with our system of government. And the report alone is enough to prosecute,” Castillo said early Thursday, adding later: “I would say to State’s Attorney Burke that if she doesn’t want to investigate, step aside. Step aside and let a special prosecutor come in and do what needs to be done.”
While Castillo’s call, which he described as being made in his “individual capacity” as a former jurist and not as head of the commission, carried no legal weight, it mirrored an effort by a coalition that has argued Burke’s lack of action prosecuting federal agents showed she had a conflict of interest and needed to appoint a special prosecutor for such cases.
The coalition is made up of more than 200 elected officials, attorneys, activists, clergy and organizations, including the Chicago News Guild, a union that represents some journalists at the baiduhai.
Responding to the commission’s report, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office wrote in a statement that it looked forward to reviewing it, but added it can “bring charges only after receiving a completed investigation from a law enforcement agency,” not from a governor’s commission.
“Allegations received from other sources are referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency for investigation. This process protects the integrity of our cases and helps ensure that any resulting conviction will stand,” the statement from Burke’s office said.
The commission also sent its findings to the Kane County state’s attorney, the Chicago Police Department and police departments in towns where other major immigration enforcement actions occurred, including Elgin, Franklin Park and Evanston, Pritzker said.
“Our hope is that they will review this evidence and take any steps in their power to see that justice is delivered,” Pritzker said.
Many of the federal agents worked under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, Border Patrol and other agencies.
Following the release of the commission report, DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis wrote in a statement that the Illinois commission was “nothing more than a political stunt by Illinois sanctuary politicians.”
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“Federal officers acting in the course of their duties can only be investigated by other Federal agencies. The states do not have the authority to run such an investigation,” Bis wrote. “Governor Pritzker continues to refuse to do his job to protect his citizens from illegal alien crime and instead chooses to smear our law enforcement.”
While the commission was ostensibly independent, Pritzker spearheaded its creation and Thursday’s rollout. Beyond its potential impact on public perception and on possible prosecutions arising from the Operation Midway Blitz efforts, the commission could serve as a political résumé builder for the governor, who is in the midst of seeking a rare third term as head of the state and is a prospective 2028 presidential contender.
Pritzker brushed aside any political framing on Thursday.
“There’s nothing tainted about gathering evidence,” he said.
Designed by Pritzker to examine and document what happened on public streets and inside private homes and businesses and determine if misconduct or abuses occurred during those 64 days of raids, sweeps and arrests, the commission issued findings alleging unconstitutional use of force, deception of the public, discriminatory stops and arrests and inhumane detention conditions. The commission said federal agents created an “environment of occupation” throughout Chicagoland and insisted that high-level federal officials encouraged misconduct by agents.
In gathering evidence, the commission received videos and testimony from officials and ordinary citizens, and held five public hearings that wrapped up on Tuesday.
In the final hearings earlier this week, the commission, at a packed downtown room, addressed immigration enforcement and use of force against residents in the Little Village, Lakeview, Old Irving Park and East Side neighborhoods and suburban Evanston, as well as the shooting of Martínez in the Brighton Park neighborhood, the shooting death of Villegas González in Franklin Park and other violent episodes.
The episode drawing the most attention during the last hearing and at Thursday’s announcement was the shooting of Martínez, a U.S. citizen and teaching aide at a Montessori school. Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot her five times following a traffic crash in the 3900 block of South Kedzie Avenue. Federal prosecutors initially charged Martínez but later dropped the accusations.
The report said Martínez had followed a vehicle driven by a Customs and Border Protection agent for 15-20 minutes before the crash and shooting. Investigative material made public after the shooting revealed Exum joked and bragged about the shooting in a text chat with colleagues, was called a “legend” by a fellow agent and received praise directly from his supervisor, Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.
“We can’t let Americans forget the offenses that happened here in our cities,” Pritzker said.
Bovino, who led much of the immigration enforcement operation in Chicago and the suburbs, as well as in Minnesota before retiring this year amid criticism, declined to appear before the commission. Other leaders in the Trump administration’s enforcement raids also did not attend.
Beyond the question of criminal referrals, the commission’s report urged DHS to restrict certain ICE and Customs and Border Protection practices, including the use of chemical agents, physical force and vehicle pursuits during civil immigration enforcement.
“Civil immigration enforcement should not escalate to the point that officers need to use any type of crowd control device,” the report said.
The commission also called for congressional investigations into federal immigration leadership — a highly unlikely prospect in the current Republican-controlled Congress — as well as internal discipline for agents involved in misconduct. The report also asked for an end to agents wearing face coverings to hide their identities, brandishing weapons to intimidate and using other “paramilitary tactics.”
Further, the report said the operation harmed Chicago’s civic life, businesses and public trust in law enforcement. And it celebrated the Trust Act, the Illinois law that generally prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from assisting federal agents with immigration enforcement, which the administration of President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted.
“The Trump Administration targeted Illinois on the faulty assumption that the TRUST Act made Illinois unsafe,” the report said, “when it was actually the conduct of ICE and CBP agents that put Chicagoans in harm’s way.”