Paltry number of 'hate incidents' deemed 'bona fide' cries out for public education, alderpersons say

Six months ago, a spike in hate crimes not seen in decades, apparently triggered by the war between Israel and Hamas, prompted the City Council to start tracking “hate incidents” — a possible precursor to hate crimes — and invite Chicagoans to report them to 311.

Now results are in from the first six months of that reporting, and the Council member who pushed to change the law said the numbers underscore the need for more public education.

From Jan. 1 through June 13, there were 114 reports of so-called “hate incidents,” but only 17 were deemed “bona fide.” Another 83 incidents were determined to be “unfounded,” with 14 categorized as “undetermined.”

Human Relations Commissioner Nancy Andrade released the report Thursday during a joint meeting of the Council committees on Health and Human Relations and Public Safety.

Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), who championed the hate crime rewrite, finds it impossible to believe only 17 “hate incidents” were reported, with 50 “anti-Jewish hate crimes” reported this year through June 13 — same as all of last year.

“I did ask that question in committee today and they said some of those calls — they just left names and numbers, but they didn’t give any information,” said Silverstein, the Council’s only Jewish member.

“It’s telling me that we’re not getting the information out well enough," said Silverstein, who held a community meeting to spread the word. "We need to get it out there on billboards and CTA stations. They need to promote it. ... We really need to get the word out to people that you should call 311 for a hate incident. ”

Public Safety Committee Chair Brian Hopkins (2nd) said the paltry numbers of bona fide incidents demonstrate a “lack of understanding about what a hate incident is.”

The ordinance defines it as a “noncriminal hostile expression or action that may be motivated by bias against another person’s actual or perceived identity or status, including but not limited to actual or perceived race, color, sex, gender identity, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry or sexual orientation.”

The new category of “hate incident” is further defined as “noncriminal incidents of hateful graffiti or vandalism; derogatory insults; name-calling or gestures; bullying; use of identity- or status-based slurs or pejoratives; verbal online or written abuse and harassment and the placement of hateful or offensive material in public view.”

“We need to do a better job of telling people what we want them to report and maybe even provide some more specific examples,” Hopkins said.

"We’re not going to treat as a crime. You’re not gonna get the police. No one is going to be arrested. So, what’s the point of calling 311 to report it? It’s on us to do a better job of explaining what that is and how it works.”

During and after Thursday’s joint committee hearing, Silverstein used the spike in hate crimes during the first six months of this year — more of them in the West Ridge neighborhood she represents than in any other Chicago neighborhood, according to the report — to condemn what she views as a lack of leadership by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

“The Jewish community has been begging the city to take antisemitism seriously,” Silverstein said, amid protests by students and others over Israel's attacks on Gaza, and U.S. support for Israel.

“We have watched the city turn a blind eye to illegal encampments, inflammatory social media posts and unsanctioned walk-outs in our public schools. We experienced silence from City Hall when protesters blocked highways, burned flags and vandalized Buckingham Fountain."

Johnson’s decision to cast the tie-breaking vote on a non-binding resolution demanding a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas strained his relationship with Silverstein and some other Jewish leaders.

More recently, Silverstein called out the mayor for failing to condemn and demand the resignation of Health and Human Relations Committee Chair Rosanna Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd) for posting a picture on Facebook with her son that said, “Looking for an anti-Zionist pediatrician for this baby. Give me your recs.”