A sign commemorating the thousands of people who died in the United States as a result of Covid-19 aims at vandalism in a suburban Chicago city.
The “Covid Death Dashboard,” as it has been called, has been vandalized five times since it was installed Friday in Northbrook, Illinois, organizers said.
“We already had acts of vandalism when we installed screens, but I was surprised because we’re all in this virus scenario together,” Lee Goodman told CNN. “Frankly, when we set it up, I didn’t think anyone would pay attention to everyone. “
The signal made to evoke the emotion that America is leading the world in the deaths of Covid-19, however, has provoked other outrage.
The spray paint basically covered President Trump’s call, which is painted on the back of the panel. Goodman said the president’s call was included as a measure of duty for the U. S. government’s role in managing the pandemic.
“There are certain things, such as coverage that opposes a global pandemic, that you want to do at the federal point, and that deserve leadership. And that’s very poor,” Goodman said.
He said he created the signal to remind others to be vigilant about the virus and for others to talk and hold our leaders accountable for how they treated the pandemic.
Goodman is part of Peaceful Communities, a voluntary social action organization, which unveiled the signal on Friday and said the organization had received a 30-day leave from the town to install the signal in the forum’s designated audience.
Four police reports were filed on vandalism cases, Northbrook Village spokeswoman Cheryl Fayne-dePersio said. Goodman said he filed a fifth police report on the most recent incident.
“The deterioration of the signal is investigation,” Fayne-dePersio told CNN. “So far, no one has been charged. “
When the village board met on Tuesday, Goodman said he won a police call that the signal had been smashed with spray paint.
The reaction of the community was mixed, with many citizens sending emails and calling the village board.
During the meeting, village council president Sandra Frum commented on the residents.
Some of them were angry that the people allowed a signal to be displayed with a political message, others were unhappy with the boos that happened when the signal was released, while others shouted at each other.
“When my 11-year-old son was cycling with his friends last weekend, he told me that mothers and fathers were screaming and pushing across the street from the train,” josh Kaplan, a local commercial manager, wrote. Meeting.
“Why with all the hatred and animosity that exists in our world and our country today, why would we have to exploit this in downtown Northbrook on a platform that our young people will have to practice every day and every single day?once they make a stopover in our beloved center, ” said the letter through Dit Frum.
Steven Elrod, the northbrook Village attorney, explained at the assembly that the signal had been placed in a public forum. The park district owned and allowed public exhibitions until 1994, when the village decided not to use it as a public forum, he said. .
After a dispute in federal court, Village of Northbrook designated it as a public forum with certain restrictions.
“When an asset is a public forumArray . . . then all speeches on these assets should be treated in the same way,” Elrod said at the meeting.
The people prevent teams from posting their messages because it would be a violation of freedom of expression, he added.
The suffocation of free speech scares Goodman, he said.
Goodman said he was concerned about protesters screaming on the sign’s website, saying they could deter others from sharing messages on the public forum and otherwise.
“They intimidate other people and that means others won’t participate the way they did,” he said. “This is a genuine threat to our society. “