This is the tale of two teachers in the leftist dump that is Chicagoland. One teacher supported Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as leading school-choice advocate Corey DeAngelis discovered for the world to see. She still has her job. Another teacher made a social media post supporting ICE. He no longer has his job. This situation is an indefensible disgrace. There is a cancerous spread of Chicago’s radical leftist politics into the once-idyllic suburbs.
On Sept. 10, 2025, Tyler Robinson sat perched atop a roof on a Utah college campus. He allegedly aimed his rifle and fired, putting a bullet through the neck of the legendary Charlie Kirk, a model husband and father. Why? Robinson, who had a transgender lover, despised Kirk’s political views. Among those views was the commonsense belief that biological males should not compete in sports while masquerading as females and competing with biological females. Kirk sought dialogue with all sides; indeed, he was at Utah Valley University that tragic day to engage in it. Robinson, by contrast, is a leftist domestic terrorist. He has no interest in dialogue; rather, he believes that assassinating those with whom he disagrees is the proper course of action. Robinson hopefully will receive the death penalty if convicted for his barbaric act.
Lucy Martinez is a teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary School in Chicago. Like many radical leftists, Martinez attended one of the farcical "No Kings" protests that occurred across the country. Martinez, however, did far more than protest President Donald Trump, the object of the demonstrations. She was filmed pointing a fake gun to her neck. While doing so, she shouted "Bang, bang!" This protest occurred in October, the month after Kirk’s assassination. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand what Martinez was doing. She was mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination, just as many so-called professionals — including doctors, nurses, lawyers and even a former official with the Carolina Panthers — had done. The difference between Martinez and other degenerates, however, is that she still has her job. There was little outrage in the community over her abhorrent conduct.
ICE is the federal agency tasked with enforcing our immigration laws. These brave men and women jeopardize their lives to rid our nation of illegal aliens, many of whom are violent — and all of whom are criminals. Radical leftists have doxed ICE agents and their families because these Marxists desire open borders and the resulting destruction of America. These Marxists have led anti-ICE protests across the country, most recently in Minneapolis. The Grammy Awards contained several anti-ICE diatribes, including one artist who profanely attacked ICE.
James Heidorn was a physical education teacher at the Gary Elementary School in West Chicago, one of the aforementioned once-idyllic Windy City suburbs. He has a different view of ICE; that is, he supports the agency. Heidorn expressed his view with a simple post on Facebook: "GO ICE." Nothing more. He expressed support for a law-enforcement agency. The reaction, however, was nothing like that which occurred after the Martinez fiasco. Outrage erupted from parents in the community. Illinois state Sen. Karina Villa, a pro-illegal alien leftist, railed against the post as hurtful. West Chicago Mayor Daniel Bovey held a listening session where people could come and whine about the post. All because a teacher expressed support for law enforcement.
Heidorn got placed on leave after his post which, again, merely expressed support for a law-enforcement agency. Heidorn has since resigned. What if Heidorn had posted "ABOLISH ICE" instead? How about "ICE IS HORRIBLE!" There is no doubt that the school would have done nothing to him. In other words, this school — a government institution — would be just fine with a teacher who criticizes law enforcement. A teacher who supports law enforcement, however, is placed on leave and subject to an investigation. That teacher is now unemployed.
Martinez was never placed on administrative leave after celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder. Neither Villa nor any other leftist senator expressed outrage. The mayor did not hold a listening session. Instead, Martinez continues merrily along, entrusted with dozens of young, impressionable minds. These are the consequences for a teacher who supported an assassination. And the claim that she merely mocked it, and that mockery is different from support, is risible. Political violence must be condemned, for it tears at the very fabric of the Republic. Martinez’s conduct warranted termination because no one who supports murdering political opponents belongs anywhere near a classroom of young children. Anyone who supports the conduct Robinson is accused of is an utterly sick individual who needs profound help.
The education landscape in Chicagoland is simple and sad. A teacher can support the assassination of a political opponent and face no consequences. Another teacher can support law enforcement, face excoriation from local leaders, and lose his job. Chicago is a crime-infested hellhole, and it will remain so as long as the mentality of these leaders controls the machinery of government. This is clearly now spreading to the suburbs too. Heidorn deserves to be in a classroom; Martinez belongs nowhere near one. Yet, the opposite is reality. That reality illustrates Chicago’s leftist insanity.
Mike Davis is the founder and president of the Article III Project.
