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REPORT: Elevated Extremist and Hate Incidents in Illinois
The new “Hate in the Prairie State” report reveals an alarming trend of growing hate and extremism in Illinois. The report, authored by the ADL Center on Extremism and ADL Midwest office, identifies the unique forces driving alarming levels of extremist activity in the state. Illinois has seen a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents in recent years, with the number of incidents in 2022 increased by 128% from 2021 levels, rising from 53 to 121. Overall, there has been a 430% increase since 2016.
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| Antisemitic vandalism in a Jewish cemetery in Waukegan, IL in 2022. |
The report was released at a news conference attended by ADL Midwest leadership, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and representatives from leading advocacy organizations in Illinois representing the AANHPI, Black, Jewish, LGBTQ+, immigrant and refugee, Latino, and women’s health communities — all targeted by extremist activities and hate in Illinois in recent years.
“We are deeply disturbed by the trends outlined in this report. Tackling this problem requires a multi-faceted approach, including working with policymakers, anti-hate leaders, and the broader public to turn the tide,” said David Goldenberg, ADL Midwest Regional Director.
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Profiting from Hate:
Social media platforms are potentially profiting from advertisements being placed alongside the results of searches for antisemitic and hate groups, according to a new review by ADL and the Tech Transparency Project. Of the major platforms reviewed, YouTube was the worst offender. “Social media platforms should not be profiting off of online hate and extremism, plain and simple,” said Yael Eisenstat, Vice President of the ADL Center for Technology and Society. Findings show that YouTube is not only likely profiting from searches for hate groups, but also auto-generating music videos for white supremacist bands. The review also revealed that YouTube ran ads in search
results for numerous antisemitic and white supremacist groups.
→ READ the full report.
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Growing Support to Fight Hate:
In a sukkah on the national mall last Friday, ADL Board Chair Ben Sax (pictured at right) joined Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt to announce our partnership to support their implementation of the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. We are looking to announce more partnerships centered on the strategy with federal agencies in the coming weeks and months. In his speech, Sax outlined the key ways that ADL will advance this plan and reminded the audience that “The only way forward is forward together, to ensure we are working across all levels of government, across all facets of society to combat antisemitism and hatred.”
→ READ the speech for more details.
Eradicate Hate:
Oren Segal, VP of the ADL Center on Extremism, went to the Eradicate Hate Global Summit last week to explain the alarming trends in antisemitism and other extremist incidents. Watch this sobering session for insights from Oren and his fellow extremism experts, including panelists from the FBI, thinktanks and other nonprofits.
→ VIEW the video.
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Join us in thanking the US Department of Agriculture for following through on the agency’s commitments in the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. These messages from you and other members of the ADL community to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack take just a moment and will reinforce the importance of each federal agency in recognizing and combatting antisemitism under this new White House plan.
Please use ADL’s form to thank Secretary Vilsack today for being a partner to ADL in the fight against antisemitism.
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The @ADL_tracker feed of news and developments in antisemitism activities.
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