Elmhurst Shop's Free Speech Rights Defended

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst alderman on Monday defended a shop owner's free speech rights to post a controversial sign that read, "Pray For The Removal Of Demonic Chinese Influence In Our Country."

Alderman Mike Honquest was responding to comments from resident Andrew Kim at last month's meeting denouncing the sign posted by John Dulles, owner of Dulles Cleaners, 128 N. Addison Ave. The sign was posted for a few days late last year, but became widely known after a photo of it was published online in March.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Honquest said the First Amendment gives people the right to say and write offensive things.

"We all have a right to be offended," Honquest said. "I don't think it's the appropriate place for people challenging local government or any government for that matter to start censoring what people say, so I responded to that because I obviously feel very strongly about it. I think it's a basic tenet of being an American."

At the same time, he said he did not agree with Dulles' language on the sign or with the merchant in general.

"We've had trouble with him in particular as a city and I know now as a community," Honquest said. "But I still defend his right to say what he wants to say."

In his public comments last month, Kim never asked the City Council to censor Dulles' or anyone else's speech. He asked the city to condemn the language in the anti-Chinese sign and urged officials to foster "a community of inclusiveness."

"What is the city doing to condemn language that promotes racism and hatred on the very streets of this city?" Kim asked.

Dulles defended his sign in a March story in Patch.