Protesters rallied before an Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday night and called for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to investigate local police over three incidents involving individuals of Arab descent.
The Arab American Action Network and other community activists held the protest before the meeting over claims a 14-year-old boy was assaulted by officers during a Fire and Police Commission meeting on Aug. 5. The teen had approached the podium to comment on what he said were acts of racism against individuals of Middle Eastern descent.
However, the police claim the teen used obscene language and when the officers tried to escort him from the podium, a woman, who was later described as his mother, intervened. The woman was arrested and charged.
According to police, several other individuals caused a disturbance and knocked over chairs and interfered with officers trying to restore order. Additional charges were pending as of Tuesday, according to police.
But members of the Arab American Action Network and other individuals of various ages spoke out during the public forum during the board meeting Tuesday, stating that the teen was assaulted due to the fact that Jim Baker, the chairman of the police and fire commission, got into a verbal argument with him. The incident in which he was removed from the podium followed that exchange.
But many of the speakers pointed to an incident in which they said Hadi Abuatelah, who was then 17, was arrested in 2022 and assaulted by police. Officers said he had a hidden gun, which they found.
Many of the speakers also commented on the death of Oak Lawn resident Murod Kurdi, 28, who was struck by a passing motorist in the 9100 block of Tulley Avenue on June 5, 2023, as he was standing outside his vehicle near his home. The driver of the car, Leanne Cusack, continued to drive down the block before stopping and returning to the scene of the incident, according to reports.
Cusack reportedly said she had been drinking but was not arrested at the scene. Kurdi later died from his injuries. Protesters before the meeting and during the public forum believed Kurod’s life was not given serious consideration because he was of Arab descent and Cusack was white. Police denied that was the case.
Fadia Muhamad, who was Kurdi’s mother, spoke at the meeting. She did acknowledge that Mayor Terry Vorderer attended her son’s wake and thanked him for that. But Muhamad added that she wanted more than sympathy.
“I’m still asking for justice,” Muhamad said. “She killed my son and should have been taken in for testing. If this was one of your children, what would you do? If this was your son, how would you feel?”
The series of speakers said that the three incidents have followed a pattern in which Oak Lawn police have treated Arabs and other people of color unjustly.
Muhammad Sankari, lead organizer for the Arab American Action Network, spoke at the rally before the meeting and during the public forum. He said that the board refused to show a video of the alleged incident at the police and fire commission meeting.
“But I’m not surprised,” Sankari said. “They are not interested in any kind of justice.”
Sankari said before the meeting they would continue protests before Oak Lawn meetings in the future.
“We have been out here every month, and we are going to continue that,” Sankari added.
Upcoming events
Trustee Paul Mallo (3rd) said the last summer concert will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, at the Village Green Gazebo. The Oak Lawn Fall Music Festival will be held Sept. 11, 12, and 13.