Lawmaker calls out "hateful" messages disparaging Israel on Chicago area billboard
Messages disparaging Israel appeared for multiple hours on a digital billboard in Chicago's north suburbs on Wednesday.
The messages appeared on a billboard near the Tri-State Tollway between Lake Cook Road and Deerfield Road near Northbrook and included one that said "F*** Israel" and another that read "Death to Israel," according to U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider. OutFront Media, which owns the billboard, confirmed the incident on Wednesday and said the copy had been removed and that the situation was being investigated. The company said the message was not approved or condoned by OutFront or their advertisers.
Schneider said in a post on X at 6:15 p.m. that he was "aware of the hateful, antisemitic billboard signs located on Edens Spur Tollroad in Northbrook, one that says 'F*$% ISRAEL' and one that reads 'DEATH TO ISRAEL.' This disgusting, intimidating display has no place in the 10th District, or anywhere in America."
The Village of Northbrook said in a statement police were made aware of the billboard messages around 5:30 p.m.
The congressman, who represents much of Chicago's northern suburbs in Cook and Lake counties, added it was "notable that this sign is located in a community with a large Jewish population, in close proximity to a Jewish day school, at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot."
The Northbrook Village Board said in a statement it "unequivocally condemns anti-Semitism and all acts of hate speech. We stand together with the Jewish community, family members, friends and neighbors. Northbrook is an inclusive community and welcomes all."
Schneider added around 7 p.m. that he had spoken with local police and reached out to OutFront Media about the removal of the messages and an explanation of how they came to be posted.
The Jewish United Fun of Chicago also said it became aware of the imagery and reached out to OutFront Media to remove the messages. The Jewish United Fund of Chicago said OutFront "believes they were hacked."
"Any human being would feel threatened and upset, but you have a lot of kids coming back and forth, you have a lot of high school students driving back and forth on that highway," said David Prytowski, who worked with the Jewish United Fund of Chicago. "You have families who are not as aware sometimes as what's happening and they see that language."
The timing of the messages was even more hurtful for Jewish residents as it came in the middle of the high holidays for those who celebrate. Wednesday marked the first official day of Sukkot, which commemorates the exodus of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, according to Prytowski.
Northbrook police said they received multiple complaints about the messages on Wednesday.
The images displayed appeared to say they were "Paid for my MrBeast LLC," a reference to YouTube personality MrBeast best known for his videos featuring lucrative giveaways and elaborate challenges. CBS News Chicago reached out to MrBeast's production company for comment. It did not immediately respond.