The Illinois Accountability Commission (IAC) was established by Governor Pritzker in October 2025, in response to the federal immigration enforcement surge in Chicago. The Commission issued report on April 30, 2026. Here are highlights, followed by a summary of the “Broadview 6” case which ended with charges withdrawn and the judge severely criticizing the prosecutor.
Some milestones in ICE engagement in Chicago
September 8, 2025: ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz, claiming it targeted “the worst of the worst” — individuals with criminal records.
ICE detained persons in the Broadview Processing Center in Broadview, Illinois. Detainees reported 80 people sharing one toilet, sleeping on concrete floors, no hygiene products, extreme cold, lights on 24 hours, food withheld as a threat, and pressure to sign voluntary deportation forms. People were transferred to out-of-state facilities with no notice to families or lawyers.
September 10, 2025: CBP Commander Gregory Bovino arrived in Chicago to oversee operations. Hundreds of ICE and CBP agents were deployed plus a counterterrorism tactical unit.
September 12, 2025: ICE agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop in Franklin Park. A Mexican national, he had lived in the U.S. since 2007and had just dropped his two young sons at school and daycare.
October 22–23, 2025: A two-day military-style occupation of Little Village (“La Villita”), the heart of Chicago’s Mexican American community and its second-highest retail district. CBP Commander Gregory Bovino led dozens of masked, armed agents. Tear gas, pepper balls, and flashbangs deployed against non-violent crowds; bystanders tackled; businesses locked their doors.
October 24, 2025: Stephen Miller told Fox News: “To all ICE officers, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties… no city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist can prevent you.”
October 28–31, 2025: Gregory Bovino’s deposition in a court case. Judge Sara Ellis later found his testimony “not credible,” saying he was “evasive” and had “lied multiple times.”
December 23, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federalization of National Guard troops to protect federal personnel in Illinois was unlawful.
Late 2025 – early 2026: Aggressive ICE presence in Chicago ends.
Some findings:
ICE acknowledged to Congress that 81% of the persons arrested had no convictions and only 40% had a final order of removal.
There were 314 separate uses of physical violence by federal actors between September 2025 and January 2026, and at least 63 deployments of chemical weapons. Two people were shot — one killed. Multiple chokeholds were used. High-speed vehicle pursuits in residential neighborhoods occurred regularly.
Out of hundreds of criminal arrests made during Operation Midway Blitz, only one resulted in a conviction.
DHS issued false press releases about both shootings and numerous other incidents. Body camera footage consistently contradicted official accounts
The Broadview Six
On September 26, 2025, protesters confronted federal agents outside ICE’s Broadview. A grand jury indicted six defendants on a count of felony conspiracy for their involvement in the protest. The case was before Judge April Perry of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, a former prosecutor in the office which had brought the case. Federal prosecutors dropped the felony conspiracy charge. The remaining defendants faced a single misdemeanor count of forcibly impeding a federal agent.
Defense attorneys pressed for access to the grand jury transcripts. Judge Perry agreed to review them herself. Prosecutors wound up redacting portions of the transcripts they provided to Perry. She demanded unredacted copies — but moments into the April 29 hearing, prosecutors instead announced they were dropping the conspiracy charge altogether.
On May 21, 2026, Perry outlined misconduct by prosecutors. They communicated with grand jurors outside the jury room, excused dissenting jurors, and redacted misconduct acts from transcripts. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros then dropped all remaining charges with prejudice, meaning they can never be refiled. Perry said: “I was incredibly shocked by the redactions that were made. I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of grand jury transcripts involving prosecutors who are the most junior of prosecutors to several U.S. [Attorneys].” She floated the idea of sanctions against the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecutorial misconduct and ethical violations.