Where Does Ex-LTHS Student Leader Live?

LA GRANGE, IL — An online search does not give any definitive answer on where Nicholas Fuentes lives. He is the former Lyons Township High School student body leader and now an admitted racist.

If you check the Wikipedia entry for Fuentes, it says he lives in Illinois. In his America First podcast, he uses a nighttime Chicago skyline as a background. Whether it's real or fake, it implies that Fuentes resides in the Windy City. His website says he is "Located in U.S.A." And an Associated Press photo of Fuentes in 2017 shows him in his basement studio in La Grange Park.

So where does Fuentes, a 2016 LTHS graduate, live?

Patch filed a public records request with the Cook County Clerk's Office for Fuentes' voter registration. The office returned with a document showing that Fuentes is registered in his hometown of La Grange Park.

That's a good sign that he lives in the town. Under state law, voters must live where they are registered.

Fuentes, who has attracted national media attention, makes no bones about being a racist. In his podcast shortly after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, he described himself as unapologetic.

"I thought the Capitol (riot) was awesome; it was awesome! And so was Trump. And Trump was awesome because he was racist. Trump was awesome because he was sexist. The only thing Trump wasn't awesome for was being antisemitic; he wasn't antisemitic. But the rest was awesome. And people have got to get racist," Fuentes said.

Both conservatives and liberals have criticized Patch's coverage of Fuentes. Conservatives contend the stories imply that Fuentes and former President Donald Trump are allies. They say Trump does not even know Fuentes. And they further argue that Patch should cover the racism they say is displayed by liberals.

Some liberals, meanwhile, say Patch should not shine the spotlight on someone who holds such racist views.