"Abolish ICE" among six winners of Chicago snow plow naming contest
"Abolish ICE," a tongue-in-cheek reference to protests against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts, was among the six the winners of this year's Chicago snow plow naming contest, after Chicagoans submitted a record number of entries in the annual competition.
The city's Department of Streets and Sanitation said more than 13,300 entries were submitted this year before being whittled down to 25 finalists earlier this month. Chicagoans then voted for their six favorites through Feb. 14 before the city announced the six winners on Monday:
- Abolish ICE
- Stephen Coldbert
- Pope Frío XIV
- The Blizzard of Oz
- Svencoolie
- Caleb Chilliams
"I want to thank the people of Chicago for their unmatched creativity, sense of humor, and civic pride," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. "We are grateful for the record breaking participation and encourage act Chicagoans to continue interacting and engaging with local government."
The person who was the first to submit each winning name will be given the chance to have their picture taken with the snow plow that will soon bear the winning name. They will also be gifted some city swag.
Johnson himself endorsed the "ABOLISH ICE" name for a snowplow.
In December, Mayor Johnson wrote in part on X, "'Abolish ICE' has my full endorsement for the name of one of Chicago's next Snow Plows." He accompanied the post with a clip of an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton on MS NOW in which he denounced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration.
In response, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Cmdr. Greg Bovino, who had been in Chicago during the fall for the federal Operation Midway Blitz immigration enforcement operation, wrote on X, "Oh oh, i've got a nomination for the mayor. Name the plow 'Reality Check' and paint it green while your at it. Johnson obsesses over Border Patrol it seems!!"
In turn, Mayor Johnson corrected Bovino's grammar, saying he meant "you're." The mayor added, "And reality check, Greg: Chicagoans vote on the snow plow names. The same people who want you out of our city."
"Abolish ICE" has become a popular refrain for critics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly during the ongoing federal immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area.
Not everyone on X was so thrilled with the "ABOLISH ICE" suggestion for a snowplow name when it was first issued, with one user responding, "The snow plow names are suppose[d] to be fun and light hearted. Not political. Don't ruin a fun thing."
The original poster of the "ABOLISH ICE" submission responded, "this IS a fun, light-hearted and nonpolitical. not sure why you're trying to bring politics into it — i am merely stating an objective fact that snowplows 'abolish ice,'" to which the mayor's press office replied, "True."
"Abolish ICE" has become a popular refrain for critics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly during the ongoing federal immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area.
Past winning Chicago snowplow names include "Mrs. O'Leary's Plow," "Sears Plower," "CTRL-SALT-DELETE," "Ernie Snowbanks," and "Snower Wacker."
