Racist Remarks Directed At DuPage Township Trustee During Meeting

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Racist and hateful comments directed toward DuPage Township Trustee Reem Townsend are "upsetting" and "dehumanizing," the trustee told Patch. The comments were made at a town hall meeting for DuPage Township last week.

Townsend, who is Muslim, 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. This year, Ramadan runs from March 20 to April 20.

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."

Townsend said she has broken fast during meetings before, when they have fallen during Ramadan.

Townsend said she heard that comment during the meeting, but she didn't find out about another hateful comment until later.

During the town hall meeting, the new planned food pantry/resource center in Bolingbrook was discussed. One 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."

"It was upsetting," Townsend, who is Palestinian, told Patch. "Especially because some people disagree with my politics and my views. But, to bring up something that attacks my faith...nobody does this to Christian people."

"It's dehumanizing," she added.

Townsend was elected as Trustee in 2021. She is a board member of the Will County Progressives and the DuPage Township Democrats Organization.

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

"The Will County Progressives stand with Reem and strongly condemn the hateful and racist remarks directed at Trustee Townsend at last week’s DuPage Township Town Hall meeting. Reem Townsend is a board member of Will County Progressives, a friend, a wife, and mother, and an elected public servant as a Dupage Township Trustee," the group said on its Facebook page.

The Township Board will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday for its regular meeting.