Elmhurst Hopeful On Black-On-White Crime

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst school board candidate Tom Chavez wrote on Facebook more than a decade ago about Jesse Jackson and black-on-white crime.

The 2012 post resurfaced recently, and Chavez said he stands by it. But he also said he has directly helped the African American community.

In the post, Chavez referred to Jackson's statement, "Blacks are under attack," which was in response to the death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American. Many believe his killing was racially motivated.

Chavez said Jackson was "full of s---." He pointed to statistics from the National Crime Victimization Survey and the Department of Justice's Uniform Crime Reports.

"Blacks are seven times more likely than people of other races to commit murder, and eight times more likely to commit robbery," Chavez wrote.

He also said African Americans are 39 times more likely to commit a violent crime against whites than the other way around. That number appeared in many publications in the years before Chavez's post.

"The Trayvon Martin incident is tragic, but I do believe that the justice system will eventually sort this out," Chavez said. "How unfortunate though that race baiters Jackson and (Al) Sharpton are using this to validate their racist platforms."

Martin's killer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted.

It was Elmhurst resident Jim Colbert who recently made the public aware of the 2012 message, posting it on Patch's comment boards. The liberal Colbert frequently debates the conservative Chavez on the boards.

"Do you really want this guy anywhere near our School District?" Colbert wrote. "Thanks to the people who put Tom Chavez signs on your property, you told us who you are and we believe you."

Colbert's post drew 150 comments. Many criticized Chavez, but no one disputed his numbers.

In 2017, the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center said crime statistics are often used misleadingly to suggest nonwhites are the source of most crime against whites.

Citing Justice Department numbers, the center said 57 percent of crimes involving white victims were committed by white suspects, while only 15 percent were committed by blacks and 11 percent by Hispanics.

In a post on Patch in response to Colbert's, Chavez said others will attend an anti-racism rally in Wilder Park with a sign, then go to Starbucks to have a latte.

"I actually go into the neighborhoods, roll up my sleeves and do the hard work that makes a difference," he said.

In his post, Chavez said he helped a young man by the name of Emmett, an African American. Over the last couple of years, Chavez has told a Patch reporter off the record about this work.

Chavez said he used a connection to get Emmett a job opportunity. He said he then assisted Emmett in getting a birth certificate, a state identification, a drug screening and finally employment.

For nearly three months, Chavez said, he was Emmett's ride to work, often at 2 a.m.

"He went from a hopeless situation to getting his first apartment on April 1st," Chavez said.

In an email to Patch, Chavez said, "You won't find me marching through Elmhurst with a sign, but you will find me in the Austin neighborhood, tutoring and mentoring, and providing a hot meal at my own expense to needy families."

This work, he said, started before he got involved in District 205.

On the comment board, he wrote, "Condi Rice, Robert Woodson, Ben Carson, Thomas Sowell. These are incredible people of color who I admire. You can have Jesse and Al. They are part of the problem, not part of the solution."

In 2021, Chavez attracted local attention by accusing Elmhurst School District 205 of promoting critical race theory and indoctrinating students with Marxist ideology. He then formed a group called Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum.

Chavez is one of the nine school board candidates in the April 4 election.