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Chicago’s yearly struggle against its notorious weather has turned into a clever blend of practicality and politics.
The phrase “Abolish ICE” emerged as the leading choice in the city’s “You Name a Snowplow” competition. This dual-purpose slogan offered voters a crafty way to express discontent with former President Donald Trump, following his deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to the city and surrounding areas last autumn for a significant immigration sweep.
Starting in September, the arrival of ICE agents marked the onset of “Operation Midway Blitz,” which led to over 4,000 detentions, a deadly shooting, and growing disapproval from Chicago’s Democratic leadership and many residents, especially in communities with large immigrant populations. Despite the biting winter chill, “ICE Out” protests have persisted in recent weeks, occurring downtown, near ICE centers, and across suburban areas.
The snowplow naming contest, now in its fourth year, also spotlighted winners celebrating figures from the city like the new pope with Chicago roots, a local horror maestro, and the star quarterback of the city’s NFL team. The top six contenders will see their names emblazoned on city snowplows.
Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed his gratitude to Chicagoans through a statement, applauding their “unmatched creativity, sense of humor, and civic pride.”
When asked whether he was reticent about the potentially prickly response to the name, a spokesperson said that “Abolish ICE” was the runaway winner, adding, “The people of Chicago clearly have no issue with the name of this snowplow.”
Requests for comment were also emailed to ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security.
Contests in many cities produce names of snowplows, but they rarely carry the edge of Chicago’s top pick. In Nashville, “Dolly Plowton” pays homage to Tennessee native and country music legend Dolly Parton, while in Minnesota, pop superstar Taylor Swift is honored on a plow dubbed “Taylor Drift.”
Chicagoans are capable of more anodyne names, too. Other winning contest names this year include “Stephen Coldbert,” for late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert. There’s “Pope Frio XIV,” with the Spanish word for “cold” rhyming with the Chicago-born pontiff’s name, Leo.
Then there’s the “Blizzard of Oz” and “Svencoolie,” a play on the Chicago TV horror host, Svengoolie; and finally, “Caleb Chilliams” for the quarterback whose last name is Williams, and who led the Bears to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.
Johnson said he and his Department of Streets and Sanitation, which maintains 300 trucks to clear 9,400 miles (15,000 kilometers) of streets, are “grateful and inspired by the record-breaking participation in the contest this year.” There were 13,300 plow names submitted and 39,000 final votes were cast.
The contest was conducted the same way as it was in the past three years, said Ryan Gage, spokesperson for the Streets and Sanitation department. Submissions are made to the Chicago Shovels website. A survey app is used for both initial and final phases of the contest.
A group of Streets and Sanitation staff members then reviews all the submissions and chooses the finalists, which are then forwarded to the mayor’s office for final approval, Gage said.
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O’Connor reported from Springfield, Ill.