Petition Urges Chirico Not To Appoint Adcock To SECA

NAPERVILLE, IL — A petition has been started to urge Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico not to appoint Awake Illinois founder Shannon Adcock to the city's Special Events and Cultural Amenities (SECA) Commission.

The Change.org petition alleges that Adcock's political views clash with the SECA commission's mission.

It calls Adcock an "extremist" and alleges that Awake Illinois is "looking to only allow the voice of cis, straight white far right people to be amplified at the detriment to all of the minority groups that also live in and are affected by the policies they are trying to push in Naperville. "

Per the City of Naperville website, the SECA commission helps advise the city council on programming and funding for social and artistic events. Members should have "professional expertise in the various facets of the duties of the board, including business, nonprofit management, arts, social or artistic events, Naperville heritage, diversity and culture."

This isn't the first time a petition has been launched against Adcock. In 2021, Adcock was accused of sending a racist email to a parent when she ran for the Indian Prairie School District 204 board of education. The parent, Asafonie Obed-Horton, started a petition online alleging Adcock used "racist rhetoric" in her email, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The current petition against Adcock again brings issues of race and diversity to the foreground. The petition contends, "Several members of the LGBTQIA and BIPOC communities have already voiced the fear of their families' safety and wellbeing if Shannon were to be appointed to ANY position of any capacity in the city of Naperville. "

It cites an op-ed Adcock wrote in April on the Awake Illinois website entitled "The Perversion of K-12 Education."

In the piece, Adcock speaks out against Critical Race Theory and what she calls "worrisome" content related to sex education and gender identity. Adcock writes, "This hyper-fixation on race and equity is harming children and distracts from the proper goal of public schools: Academics."

Organizers for the petition against Adcock's appointment encouraged residents to contact Chirico before the city council meeting on May 3. They wrote, "By then it might be too late."

Jennifer S., who signed the Change.org petition, wrote, "I won't spend a dime at a Naperville business if Shannon Adcock is in a leadership role for cultural or diversity initiatives. She spreads hatred and I won't fund it."

Another signer named June G. wrote, "Shannon Adcock has an agenda that is toxic to Naperville's goals of inclusivity."

Chirico told Patch via email Thursday, "I have worked very hard over the past seven years to make our boards and commissions look like our population. I have included people with views that are very different than mine and I have diversified our boards so all views may be represented. At the end of the day, I believe inclusion and diversity on well-functioning boards leads to better public policy."

In lieu of comment, Awake Illinois referred Patch to a blog post urging residents to support Adcock's appointment, along with the appointment of Kevin Coyne to the Naperville Library Board.

As of early Thursday, 2,019 people had signed the petition opposing Adcock's appointment.