Pritzker, Krishnamoorthi Support Trustee After Racist Comments

BOLINGBROOK, IL — After racist comments were made toward a DuPage Township Trustee last month, Governor J.B. Pritzker and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi have both denounced the comments and expressed support for Trustee Reem Townsend.

The comments were made at a town hall meeting for DuPage Township in April.

Townsend, who is Muslim and Palestinian, was breaking her fast while observing Ramadan. Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims, marked by a period of fasting, which is broken after sunset.

Townsend said she began eating during the meeting, after the sun had set. She was speaking to a resident during the meeting when they mocked her and said, "go back to eating your lunch."

Later in the meeting, a resident can be heard on video saying how they voted for Townsend, and a person in the audience can be heard saying, "He didn't know that she was a suicide bomber."

Townsend told Patch last month that the remarks were "upsetting" and "dehumanizing."

"It's something we constantly hear," Townsend said, adding that it's upsetting because people feel comfortable saying those kinds of remarks out loud.

Pritzker expressed support for Townsend in a tweeted statement on Monday.

"I commend Trustee Townsend for her bravery and perseverance in the face of such attacks, and stand by her and other Muslim and Palestinian Illinoisans calling for an end to the hateful rhetoric perpetuated against their communities," he said.

Krishnamoorthi released a statement Tuesday and said he was "disgusted by the racist and Islamophobic remarks recently directed at Reem Townsend, an elected trustee, during a DuPage County town hall-style meeting, and I condemn these remarks in the strongest terms possible."

"Bigotry has absolutely no place in our community," Krishnamoorthi said.

He added that he is hosting an interfaith breakfast on Thursday in Schaumburg, and Townsend will be in attendance.