Politics
Charged With ‘Impeding’ Federal Agent at Broadview ICE Facility, Cook County Board Candidate Drops Out
Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, left, is seen along with a crowd around a vehicle on Sept. 26, 2025, outside the Broadview ICE facility. (Credit: Kat Abughazaleh)
A candidate for the Cook County Board, who was indicted along with five other people on charges they conspired to impede a federal agent while protesting outside the Broadview ICE facility, ended her bid for office, citing the toll of the criminal charges she is facing.
Catherine “Cat” Sharp said she was ending her bid to represent Cook County’s 12th District on the Board of Commissioners in order to “focus on winning the legal battle against the Trump administration.”
“I know that we will prevail against these unjust, ridiculous charges, which were designed to force people like us to sit down and shut up,” Sharp wrote in a message to supporters. “I’m ready to continue that fight, because I know it’s what is required of me and all of us in the face of the inhumane, brutal treatment of immigrants and refugees. And I know it’s what is required of me as we face unprecedented attacks on our First Amendment and other constitutional rights by this authoritarian regime.”
Sharp, who will continue to work as chief of staff to Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward), said “navigating this unimaginable legal process and all the costs — emotional and financial —that come with it, have made running for office much more difficult,” calling her move to end her campaign the “responsible decision.”
There are now four candidates vying to win the Democratic nomination in the still-crowded race to replace Commissioner Bridget Degnan, who is not running for reelection.
The candidates are Liz Granato, the chief of the county’s Bureau of Asset Management and the daughter of former Ald. Jesse Granato; public health and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Jose “Che-Che” Turrubiartez Wilson; Chicago Public Schools teacher Isaiah White and Rob Moon, whose website says he has been in law enforcement for 22 years.
Sharp was charged along with Kat Abughazaleh, who is running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, Oak Park Village Board Trustee Brian Straw, Andre Martin, Abughazaleh’s deputy campaign manager, and Joselyn Walsh, a garden store worker and musician who lives in Pilsen.
The charges involve a confrontation just before 8 a.m. on Sept. 26 between protesters and federal agents outside the west suburban facility that has become the focus of protests against the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort in Chicago dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”
All six have pleaded not guilty. They are due back in court on Jan. 28, court records show.
While surrounding the vehicle, the defendants “among other things, banged aggressively on the government vehicle’s side and back windows, hood, and other vehicle body parts; crowded together in the front and side of the government vehicle and pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement; scratched the body of the government vehicle, including etching a message into the body of the vehicle, specifically the word “PIG;” broke one of the government vehicle’s side mirrors; and broke a rear windshield wiper off the government vehicle,” according to the indictment.
Federal charges have been dropped for a wide range of reasons against at least 13 people charged with committing crimes during the series of aggressive raids that began in September, records show.
Vasquez, the chair of the City Council’s Immigration and Refugee Rights Committee, praised Sharp for her work to educate Chicagoans about their rights under federal immigration law and said on social media he was proud to see her stand up when the “President of the United States has thrown trumped up federal charges at her shows both a commitment and a courage that I am honored to stand with. I’m proud to call her a best friend and will ALWAYS have her back.”
The 12th District stretches from Streeterville north to Mayfair and Portage Park.
The winner of the March 17 Democratic primary will face Xiaoli “Alice” Hu, the only candidate running for the Republican nomination.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
