Chicago police won't explain suspended DHS case
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A Ring camera screenshot of a worker being apprehended by federal agents on Lakeview resident Leo Feler's property in October 2025. Image: Courtesy of the Institute for Justice
Mayor Brandon Johnson wants Chicagoans to file police reports on potential crimes by federal immigration agents. But after a Lakeview homeowner did just that, Chicago police suspended his case and won't say why.
Why it matters: The unexplained suspension of Leo Feler's police report, one of the only known reports filed with the Chicago Police Department against federal agents, makes the entreaties by Johnson, police officials and Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke ring hollow.
Backstory: Ring camera, phone and Department of Homeland Security bodycam videos show U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Oct. 24, 2025, entering Feler's property, assaulting workers and apprehending one, whom a judge freed a few weeks later.
- Feler filed a police report on Oct. 27, but later, he was called by a sergeant who said the case "couldn't continue because higher-ups told him not to pursue it," Feler says.
- Last month, interim CPD Superintendent Fred Waller joined Johnson in urging Chicagoans to report potential agent violations that occurred during Operation Midway Blitz, saying, "Community assistance is essential to ensuring that every reported incident is fully evaluated."
Despite this call, Chicago police would not tell Axios why it suspended Feler's report, saying, "A suspended status means the case cannot proceed further at this time.... We do not comment on details of specific cases."
What they're saying: "Here's how I understand it: That CPD has gone through their diligent process, and, I'm going to obviously review and continue to work with the state's attorney to encourage families who believe that they've been violated by federal agents to file those cases," Johnson told Axios on Tuesday.
- But neither Johnson nor Burke responded to Axios' questions about what effect the suspension of Feler's case might have on other residents' enthusiasm to file their own reports.
The other side: "Residents coming forward for justice must be taken seriously," Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vasquez tells Axios. "I am working with a coalition to address some of the issues raised by victims and hope to work with law enforcement to provide true pathways to justice."
The bottom line: Feler tells Axios the situation makes him feel "powerless."
- "How do we get an investigation or some attempt at even seeing if there needs to be accountability if we can't even have the beginnings of an investigation into what happened?"
What we're watching: How Feler's case proceeds on another track as he pursues accountability through a civil lawsuit.