City announces 25 finalists for new Chicago snowplow names, including "Abolish ICE"
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Streets and Sanitation on Sunday announced the 25 names chosen in Phase I of the city's fourth annual snowplow naming contest.
The list includes cheeky references to Chicago sports figures past and present, a famous bird who nested at Chicago's Montrose Beach for three years, Macaulay Culkin's iconic character in "Home Alone," and a meteorologist from another local TV station. But the first finalist alphabetically on the list is a political message.
- Abolish ICE
- Blizzard of Oz
- Buckingham Plowntain
- Caleb Chilliams
- Chance the Scraper
- Cheryl Scott Warned You About This
- Daniel Brrrnham
- Derrick Froze
- Italian Ice Breaker
- It's Time for the Plowcolator
- Joffrey Plowlet
- Kevin McPlowister
- Live, Laugh, Plow
- Minnie Minosnow
- Monty the Piping Plower
- Mueve La Nieve (Move the Snow)
- Mustard, Snow Ketchup
- Plow it Through the Garden
- Plowasaurus Sue
- Plowin 6-7 Inches
- Pope Frio XIV
- Stephen Coldbert
- Svencoolie
- This isn't Florida
- Urbs in Hortsnow
"Chicagoans have once again displayed their unmatched creativity and civic pride in submitting names for this year's contest," Streets and San Commissioner Cole Stallard said in a news release. "We are grateful to the community for engaging with us, and we encourage all residents to submit votes for the top six names."
City residents may view the list of finalists and vote for up to six names at Chicagoshovels.org by Saturday, Feb. 14.
Once the six winners are chosen, signage will for the winning names will be placed on snowplows, and residents who submitted the winning names — or those who came in with the earliest timestamp for multiple submissions of the same name — will receive photo opportunities with the named snowplow and city swag.
Mayor 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."
