The Walgreens parking lot had turned into an all-out festival ground. Hundreds gathered to eat and listen to music. Members of the Palestine Youth Ensemble played “Mawtini,” a renowned unofficial anthem of Palestine. Palestinian flags waved in the air.
They were there in Bridgeview last weekend to celebrate a new “Little Palestine Way” honorary street sign, a recognition of the contributions of Palestinian Americans in the southwest suburb. Over recent years, Harlem Avenue has become a hub of Palestinian business and tradition, and Bridgeview has served as the cultural and economic heart of the community for decades.
There was just one problem. The Illinois Department of Transportation did not install the new brown street sign on time for the July 11 party. But with more than $13,000 already spent on the “Little Palestine Way” celebration, the show had to go on.
“One thing about us is that we’re used to every obstacle coming at us, especially when it comes to Palestine and we don’t let that stop us,” said Jinan Chehade, one of the event organizers. “If anything, it motivates us and it brings the community even closer together.”
Sabha Abour, a community organizer who worked behind the scenes to obtain the sign, said that less than 48 hours before the community event, IDOT officials told her that the sign installation would not happen on time because of scheduling conflicts with local lawmakers.
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Transportation confirmed to the Tribune that it did not install “Little Palestine Way” street signs in time for Saturday’s celebration. Abour called it “a bureaucratic overreach.”
“IDOT never once told us that we had to coordinate with the legislators,” Abour said. “For them to tell us in the eleventh hour, less than 24 hours before the sign was meant to be installed, that we have to invite all the legislators, that they all have to be there, that’s unheard of.”
In the absence of the official IDOT “Little Palestine Way” sign, the village of Bridgeview stepped up. A temporary sign from the village was created and installed at the intersection of 87th Street and South Harlem Avenue, along with a separate planned honorary sign in memory of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old boy killed in 2023.
It is unclear how long the temporary sign will remain up as officials from Bridgeview, including Mayor Steven Landek, did not respond to requests for comment.
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The greater Chicago area holds the highest concentration of Palestinian Americans in the United States, with more than 85,000 people of Palestinian descent living in the region, leading to efforts to officially recognize the many contributions of Palestinian Americans to the village.
In October 2025, state Rep. Lisa Davis, a Democrat who represents Bridgeview, introduced a resolution that would designate Harlem Avenue from 79th Street to 111th Street as “Little Palestine Way.” It passed with bipartisan support and the nickname became official June 1, with state Senate support from Sen. Willie Preston, a Democrat who also represents the area.
Scheduling conflicts are typically outside the scope of IDOT’s purview, according to Davis, who attended the July 11 Little Palestine celebration.
“It’s the bureaucratic norm for them to make the sign and install the sign. So the fact that they are trying to coordinate schedules now is baffling to me,” Davis said.
Preston, on his part, did not respond to questions about what schedule conflict precluded his participation in the original July 11 festivities. However, Preston said he looks forward to “participating in an event that brings everyone together to celebrate this important achievement for the community.”
“I appreciate the Illinois Department of Transportation’s continued partnership and commitment to working with everyone involved to ensure this historic milestone receives the celebration and recognition it deserves,” Preston said.
Chehade told the Tribune that there are currently no plans underway to celebrate IDOT’s official sign installation in Bridgeview. There is no timeline for when that may happen.
“We are not at the mercy of whoever is telling us when we can celebrate or who we celebrate or when we celebrate us,” Chehade said. “We decide when we celebrate us and when our community can come together.”