NW Illinois News

State Senator Andrew Chesney commented on Tom Homan's willingness to jail Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, stating, "I cannot wait to watch this situation unfold next year, especially in Illinois," in a November 26 Facebook post.

"I cannot wait to watch this situation unfold next year, especially in Illinois," said Andrew S. Chesney, Illinois State Senator (R), according to Facebook.

According to Chesney's Facebook post, he shared a link to an article from ABC News that focused on Homan’s pledge to jail Johnston over his mass deportation protests. The article quotes Homan as saying: "But look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing -- he's willing to go to jail, I'm willing to put him in jail because there there's a statute. It's Title 8 United States Code 1324 (iii). And what it says is it's a felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien from immigration authorities. It's also a felony to impede a federal law enforcement officer," Homan told Sean Hannity on Fox News on November 25. Johnston has said he’s willing to go to jail to stop mass deportations.

Screenshot of Sen. Andrew Chesney's Nov. 26 Facebook post | State Senator Andrew Chesney's Facebook page

Homan, a former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will be the incoming administration’s "border czar," announced President-elect Donald Trump on Truth Social in November, according to a November 11 report from ABC News. Trump wrote on Truth Social: "I've known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders. Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job." Homan was in charge of ICE during the first Trump administration and enforced zero tolerance policies that included separating parents and children at the border.

The Denverite reported on November 20 about Johnston’s response to threats from President-Elect Trump that could see sanctuary cities defunded. Johnston said in a November 15 interview: "The short answer is, we won't change that because those are one of our core values. And we're not going to sell out those values to anyone. We're not going to be bullied into changing them. I think we are gonna continue to be a welcoming, open, big-hearted city that's gonna stand by our values."

Andrew S. Chesney has represented the people of Illinois' 45th Senate District since 2022. Prior to that, he represented the 89th District from December 2018 onward. He has served as an elected member of Freeport City Council and has been a past board member of Regional Access Mobilization Project (RAMP), an organization providing support services and advocacy for people with disabilities. He is also a former mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters.