Scores of antisemitic flyers, placed inside small bags containing a substance with the “appearance of rat poison,” were spread across doorsteps in central Lincoln Park Monday morning, Ald. Timmy Knudsen, 43rd, said in an email to constituents Monday.
Nine clear zip-close bags containing flyers and the substance were found on various vehicles and doorways on the 500 block of West Belden Avenue at around 8:30 a.m., according to police. At 9 a.m., 75 additional bags were discovered on the 500 block of West Grant Street.
Ansley Schrimpf, 40, was walking her dog after dropping her son off at school when she first noticed one of the bags. Inside, there was a folded piece of paper and small pellets “that looked like rat poison,” she said. A bag was placed on the doorstep of nearly every house she passed.
“By the third or fourth house, I could tell they appeared antisemitic,” Schrimpf said. “It alarmed me and disgusted me.”
After bringing her dog home, she went door to door to remove them with gloves and a garbage bag. She then brought the bags to Knudsen’s nearby office.
“The city needs to take this seriously, because it appears to be an escalation and it’s endangering everyone,” Schrimpf said. “You can’t lace hate speech with poison and get away with it.”
Mendy Benhiyoun, a rabbi with Chabad of Lincoln Park, said the neighborhood’s Jewish community is frustrated. It’s at least the second instance of antisemitic flyers being spread around the neighborhood in the past few months.
“It’s a violation of people’s feelings of safety and privacy. It’s infuriating,” Benhiyoun said. “We want to see if there will be action, and not just words.”
Knudsen said in a statement that his staff alerted police as well as the Anti-Defamation League, whose logo was printed on some of the flyers.
“To the people who are spreading these flyers, I have a clear message: you are committing acts of hate,” Knudsen said. “Your threats against the Jewish community are repulsive, and vile, and will not be tolerated in our community.”
In 2023, there was a 30% increase in antisemitic propaganda from the previous year, a total of 1,112 incidents, according to the ADL.
“Enough is enough,” said David Goldenberg, a spokesperson for the ADL Midwest. “We have asked CPD to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the individual or individuals responsible and support residents who found these hateful flyers.”