Evanston-area residents turned out Sunday afternoon for what organizers promoted as an emergency protest called “Evanston-ICE Out For Good” at the Unitarian Church of Evanston.
The Jan. 11 event was planned to protest the Minneapolis shooting death of motorist Renee Nicole Good, 37, on Jan. 7 during a confrontation with ICE agents.
Retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky on left listens to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss before the Evanston-ICE Out For Good event on a Sunday mid afternoon at the Unitarian Church of Evanston (1330 Ridge Ave.) on Jan. 11, 2026. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
The Evanston church was packed and people in the overflow crowd were asked to watch the program in standing-room-only fashion via a screen in the atrium. Many people went outside to watch or listen to the livestream on their phones in sunny 33 degree weather.
Candace Davis, an Evanston resident since 1987, has served as co-leader of Indivisible Evanston for several years.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss addresses the audience at the Evanston-ICE Out For Good event at the Unitarian Church of Evanston on Jan. 11, 2026. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
“We are planning this protest to object to the increasing intrusion of ICE into our communities and their increasingly outrageous actions as evidenced by the murder of a U.S. citizen, Renee Good, in Minneapolis,” Davis indicated in a statement to the Evanston Review.
“We are gathering to mourn her loss and the loss of the 32 or more people that died at the hands of ICE last year and to demand accountability,” Davis stated.
Protesters gather along Ridge Avenue during the Evanston-ICE Out For Good event at the Unitarian Church of Evanston on Jan. 11, 2026. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
Retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky sat next to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, whom she has endorsed in this year’s Congressional election to succeed her, during the program.
Biss offered remarks at the lectern about ICE agents and the emerging situation.
“They are more scared of us than we are of them,” Biss said to applause.
“That horrifying crime, that murder, that execution, that nightmare that happened on Wednesday in Minneapolis, followed by those shootings that happened in Portland on Thursday, are a reaction to the fact that they know that when we all stand up, they cannot be successful,” Biss said.
“And so we grieve and we will continue to grieve, though we’re going to stand up,” Biss said.
“We will stand up in peace, we will stand up with love, we will stand up with an ethic of deescalation, we will stand up.”
While the program continued inside with more podium remarks and live music, people assembled outside to protest with signage along Ridge Avenue. There were chants and eventually a march around the block as motorists honked.
Protesters gather along Ridge Avenue during the Evanston-ICE Out For Good event at the Unitarian Church of Evanston on Jan. 11, 2026. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)
Michael James of Evanston, an author and community activist, played hand drums on the sidewalk to a beat along Ridge Avenue.
“I am giving support to people that continue to be terrorized,” James said. “It is wrong, it is wrong and it could be us next.
“It is wrong to treat people like this.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/evanston-protests-death-minnesota-woman-ice/
