PILSEN — City Council members are criticizing Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) for speaking at a Friday rally where a protester burned an American flag, with at least one alderperson considering calling for Sigcho-Lopez to be censured.
Sigcho-Lopez spoke Friday evening outside City Hall at an event where demonstrators were calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and said they planned to march at the Democratic National Convention. Photos from the demonstration show someone — not Sigcho-Lopez — set fire to an American flag on the sidewalk outside City Hall.
Sigcho-Lopez, a progressive alderman and a staunch supporter of a ceasefire, spoke near the charred remains of the flag. He has said he did not know someone had burned a flag.
In a statement, representatives from Sigcho-Lopez’s office said “at no point was his attention drawn to the flag, nor did he endorse or support such actions.” The alderman attended the rally to address “critical issues such as the genocide in Gaza and the failure of the DNC to prioritize immigration reform.”
“Contrary to false claims, videos and photographs clearly demonstrate that Alderman Sigcho Lopez arrived after an individual had burned an American flag earlier in the event,” according to his office. “He categorically denies ‘choosing’ to speak in front of a burned American flag.”
A Marine Corps veteran contacted Sigcho-Lopez’s office in Pilsen to say he was the person who burned the flag, according to Sigcho-Lopez’s office. The veteran said he did it in solidarity with ceasefire and pro-Palestine supporters, as well as with Air Force serviceman Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., in February, according to the alderman’s office.
Still, Sigcho-Lopez, a member of City Council’s Democratic Socialist caucus, has faced heavy criticism from some fellow alderpeople for speaking near the burned flag.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), a veteran, said he and “quite a few” other council members are considering calling for Sigcho-Lopez to be censured — and might say he should resign as the council’s Housing Committee chair, according to the Sun-Times.
“He’s not only speaking in front of a flag that had been burned. He’s also standing in front of a banner that accuses the president of the United States of genocide. A person that the Democratic Party, of which he’s a member, [supports],” Taliaferro told the Sun-Times. “So there should be action taken by the Cook County Democratic Party, as well.”
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), who’s also a veteran, told Block Club he felt “obligated” to speak out against an elected official speaking in front of a charred American flag.
On X, Villegas wrote, “This is totally disgusting and disrespects the millions of Americans who have defended this country and the thousands who have died to ensure we remain a beacon for democracy and freedom around the world.”
Villegas said he and Sigcho-Lopez spoke over the weekend to share their perspectives on the issue, and they agreed to disagree.
“As elected officials, we’re held to a higher standard,” Villegas said.
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), who previously chaired City Council’s Progressive Reform Caucus, also blasted Sigcho-Lopez’s participation in the rally.
“Ald. S[i]gcho-Lopez is anti-American and divisive as can be,” Waguespack wrote on X. “While burning and desecrating our country’s flag is not illegal, it is his right to be despicable and on par for him.”
Waguespack didn’t immediately respond to Block Club’s request for further comment.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) posted on X that the flag burning is a “totally unacceptable and a disgraceful act.”
“This is what we can expect from Johnson’s pick to replace Rosa as Zoning Chair? No thanks!” Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) wrote on X.
The alderpeople who criticized Sigcho-Lopez have often clashed or disagreed with him and other Democratic Socialists over progressive proposals.
Sigcho-Lopez said his critical colleagues’ comments are putting him and his family at risk, and they are “falling for the MAGA propaganda,” according to the Sun-Times.
In a statement, Illinois Veterans For Change said the group respects the right to free speech and noted veterans risk their lives to defend the fundamental right.
“Those elected to public office through a free and fair democratic system should be the first to recognize what the American flag represents,” according to the group. “We ask anyone burning the American flag to appreciate how hurtful, discriminatory, and divisive this action is to veterans, their families and supporters.”
Burning the American flag has been a protected right since a Supreme Court ruling in 1989.
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