Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot stepped back into the spotlight Thursday, not as an elected official but as what she called a “private citizen” determined to shine daylight on federal immigration enforcement. From a podium in Chicago, Lightfoot unveiled the ICE Accountability Project, a new initiative centered around a website — ReportICENow.com — designed to collect and publish vetted videos and documentation of alleged abuses by federal agents.
Lightfoot pointed to the fatal shootings of Silverio Villegas Gonzales outside Chicago and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis just one day earlier as evidence of a crisis long in motion. “I, like many, have watched with horror, anger and frustration to see the forces of our own government seem to relish terrorizing and traumatizing communities,” she said. “There simply must be accountability.”
To that end, Lightfoot assembled a team of six attorneys and former federal agents to review submissions sent to the portal. The website will not publicly identify agents but will catalog the incidents, maintaining identifying information privately in hopes of eventually handing the files to “someone with a grand jury subpoena.” Early entries include records of shootings and the use of force against protesters during the federal immigration crackdown known as Operation Midway Blitz.
Asked whether local police or prosecutors should already be pursuing charges against federal personnel, Lightfoot deflected: “I think people should do their jobs.”
Her project follows similar efforts by Gov. JB Pritzker, who established a state commission to document alleged misconduct, and Ald. Andre Vasquez, who launched his own evidence portal. Lightfoot insisted her initiative “will work in harmony” with the state effort. “This is my doing something,” she said.
The project is privately funded, though Lightfoot declined to identify donors. She said the website is hosted overseas to protect it from potential takedown attempts.
The effort has already drawn fire from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who warned Lightfoot against encouraging actions that could endanger federal agents. Lightfoot brushed off the criticism, arguing her work is protected by the First Amendment and inspired by Chicagoans who have protested peacefully. “I’m not going to let anyone in the federal government intimidate me,” she said.
Lightfoot said the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis demands a criminal investigation, comparing it to the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald. Her renewed activism reflects a return to the accountability work that first propelled her into public life.
