Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, candidate for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, has refused to respond to allegations that he helped organize student walkouts at three separate District 214 high schools to protest federal immigration enforcement.
“Screw ICE and thank you for joining us!” Morrison said to a crowd of Elk Grove High School students in a video posted on X by the “The Real Story” on AM560 co-host, Amy Jacobson.
“[Morrison] looked like the Pied Piper leading the kids,” Jacobson told North Cook News. “They went two miles down…all the way to Elk Grove Village City Hall. And then they walked all the way back to Elk Grove High School. The teachers didn’t know what was going on.”
She described how video shows students continuing to march without supervision.
“They kept going around like circling the school. Not one teacher was out there with them and Arlington Heights is a busy road, I don’t care what anybody says.”
North Cook News reached out to Morrison in multiple emails—sent to both his commissioner and campaign addresses—regarding his alleged role in the anti-ICE student walkouts at James B. Conant High School, Elk Grove High School, and Prospect High School. As of publication time, he did not respond.
“Kevin Morrison will not call me back,” Jacobson said. “I call him every day. I’m going to call him every day.”
Questions North Cook News sent to Morrison asked how he communicated with students, whether parents or administrators were notified, what safety measures were taken and whether parents should be concerned about elected officials engaging directly with students during school hours without oversight.
“When you send your son or daughter to school, you think that they’re being protected and not walking around like feral cats. You think they’re in class studying,” Jacobson said. “I think kids should be in school and not out on the streets roaming around walking without any teacher supervision. They’re indoctrinating our children to be social justice warriors. They’re putting their safety at risk.”
Jacobson highlighted an ABC7 report showing an 11-year-old special needs student left unsupervised after a Dundee Middle School walkout.
The student, Harley Blasdell, wandered miles from campus before getting lost during the student-led protest. His mother, Alexa Blasdell, said she was not notified and criticized the school for allowing her son to leave without supervision or parental consent. She said Harley called her in a panic, and she found him near a busy intersection, prompting concerns for his safety and consideration of legal action or a school change.
“He was left unprotected after a chaotic event,” she said. “He wandered miles from campus, ended up on Route 72 on Randall Road. He had to call his mom to help him.”
Jacobson also recounted other incidents across the country.
“You had a girl in West Palm Beach on Feb. 19, she was hit by a vehicle,” she said. “And then 200 students marched onto a highway in Asheville, North Carolina on Feb. 18.”
Jacobson connected these local and national incidents to a broader concern about student safety during unsupervised protests.
“If they can’t keep kids safe, they need to take accountability for that,” she said.
Screenshot of Kevin Morrison shouting “Screw ICE” to Elk Grove High students. In the video post shared by Jacobson, she wrote: “An Anti-ICE walkout at Elk Grove HS, Illinois appears to be organized by @KBMorrison15 A security guard told me ‘no teachers are out here with the students,’ Do their parents know? Shouldn’t they be in school? How does Commissioner Morrison have access to these children?” (X / @amyjacobson)
Following the Elk Grove High School student walkout, Jacobson said Morrison marched with students at Prospect High School where they were bused to downtown to protest.
In a separate post on X, Jacobson said: “He’s at it again! So how does @Kevin4Cook gain access to our children? No teachers are present at these Anti-ICE walk outs. Kids from Prospect HS were bused to downtown Mt Prospect to protest Thursday. Why won’t you return my calls? Why are you hiding? Same with @District214 Parents have a right to know.”
Jacobson said District 214 Communications Manager Stephanie Kim responded after two days of contacting the school district to ask how Morrison was coordinating with students.
“That’s the part that bothers me the most, the school doesn’t know how he has had access to our children,” Jacobson said. “[Kim] flat out said, ‘I don’t know how he’s communicated with the students.’”
Elk Grove High School students march through Elk Grove Village during an anti-ICE walkout, with questions raised about supervision and safety during the protest. (X / @amyjacobson)
Jacobson followed up with another post on X in which she noted District 214’s response to Morrison’s involvement in the walkout.
“They told me this: —They have NO idea how @Kevin4Cook is communicating with students. (3 HS Anti-ICE walkouts) —No background check needed bc @KBMorrison15 isn’t “inside” the school. —Most kids on lunch break but they “can’t stop a child from leaving the school.” —No parental notification is needed,” Jacobson said on X.
Morrison, a Democratic member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners representing District 15 since December 2018 after he was elected at age 28 as the youngest and first openly gay member of the board. He won reelection in 2022 and is serving a term that ends in December 2026.
Morrison is currently a Democrat primary candidate for the 8th Congressional District election scheduled for March 17.
“He’s totally woke,” Jacobson said. “And I think he’s desperate, because he’s trying to take [Raja Krishnamoorthi’s] congressional seat.”
