Waukegan: Libertyville Man Charged With Hate Crime After Racist Posters Target Mayor and Immigrant Community

Arrest marks escalation in months-long poster campaign

A Libertyville man has been charged with a hate crime after threatening posters appeared across Waukegan and neighboring Lake County cities over the past several months. The investigation began in April when anti-immigrant signs first surfaced in Waukegan neighborhoods.

Derek Webb, 38, of Libertyville, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of a hate crime, a Class 4 felony, and one count of disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor, according to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.

Webb is alleged to have posted a bullseye sign with the handwritten words "Good Shot ICE" near businesses and a church, according to the state's attorney's office. He remains held in the Lake County Jail pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

"Clear threats of physical violence that are motivated by hatred, bias, or racism must be strongly condemned in the community and responded to by the legal system. True threats are not protected by free speech, and they are particularly dangerous when they are directed towards groups who are historically and wrongfully attacked," Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement.

Posters depicted Mayor Cunningham as ape

The arrest comes amid a broader wave of racist posters that have appeared on utility poles in Waukegan, Zion, and North Chicago since April. Some of the posters required residents to stand on vehicles or ladders to remove them, according to community organizers.

One poster recently affixed to a utility pole in Waukegan's Sixth Ward depicted Mayor Sam Cunningham, the city's first Black mayor, as an apelike creature. The poster was removed the same night it appeared by community activists, according to the Chicago Tribune.

State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, called the image "a racist stereotype designed to perpetuate hate against the Black community."

"Using the caricature of Cunningham as an ape triggers a longstanding and historic racist trope," Cunningham said in an email Tuesday. "It is one of the oldest and most hateful racist acts in the country's history. Combined with hateful attacks on immigrants, these anonymous acts of intimidation are a cowardly attempt to spread fear, division, and prejudice."

Cunningham said the poster used "the exact same playbook" as a February video in which President Donald Trump posted caricatures of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes on social media.

Community organized to fight back

Residents formed Waukegan Residents United Against Violent Extremism in early April after the first posters appeared, according to Rev. Julie Contreras, pastor of United Giving Hope church in Waukegan. The group patrols neighborhoods to remove signs and turns them over to police for investigation.

Aurora Flores, a Waukegan resident and member of the organization, is among those who regularly search for and remove the posters, Contreras said.

"Waukegan is a proudly diverse city, built by generations of hard-working people from various countries, cultures, and backgrounds. I condemn any sign, message, or action that promotes hatred, intimidation, discrimination, or political violence towards the immigrant community or towards anyone in the strongest possible terms," Cunningham said.

Waukegan Police Chief Edgar Navaro said the investigation began in April and is ongoing. His department has been communicating regularly with the state's attorney's office, he said.

"We don't like what these people are doing to the good people of Waukegan," Navaro said. "They are working and contributing to the community. This should not be part of their daily lives."

Officials condemn the campaign

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, said he was "disgusted" by the posters. He called them a clear attempt to "scare, intimidate, and divide our communities," especially immigrant neighbors.

State Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Gurnee, said the posters showed ignorance of Cunningham's record. She noted that the mayor stood between a constituent and federal immigration enforcement officials during Operation Midway Blitz last fall.

"He has stood with the Hispanic community," Mayfield said. "He has been very vocal. We have passed resolutions in Waukegan all denouncing (immigration enforcement) action. I commend Mayor Cunningham for providing sanctuary and assistance to those whose family members were terrorized."

Dulce Ortiz, executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and a Waukegan Township trustee, said the posters spread fear and embolden perpetrators.

"What they are doing is a hate crime," Ortiz said. "It's an anti-Black and anti-Brown racist post. It leads to the killings in Minnesota. It encourages people because they see the (Trump) administration is not going to hold them accountable."

Keith Brin, the Republican state central committeeman for the 10th Congressional District, condemned the posters in a text message. He said the language and images have no place in political discourse.

"I think whoever put up the signs ought to be ashamed," Brin said. "It's one thing to have honest political dialogue about illegal immigration, but to use disparaging and racist depictions of anyone, never mind the mayor of Waukegan, should be condemned by everyone."

Investigation continues across jurisdictions

The investigation remains ongoing across multiple jurisdictions, according to the state's attorney's office. Rinehart thanked the Waukegan Police Department, Lake County Sheriff's Office, Gurnee Police Department, and Lindenhurst Police Department for their work identifying Webb and collecting evidence across dozens of scenes.

The state's attorney's office has been consulting with federal partners on threat assessment, Rinehart said.

Residents with information about the posters can call police at (847) 360-9000.

"Like all of us, these members of the community hope for a brighter future in which hate is forever extinguished from our community. Hate must have no home in Lake County," Rinehart said.