Residents of a Chicago suburb are demanding the resignation of a township official a year after she made social media posts about Middle Eastern immigrants.
About 100 protesters attended a Palos Township board meeting Monday and called for Trustee Sharon Brannigan's resignation, the Daily Southtown reported.
Activists have come to the board's monthly meetings since the posts surfaced last year. The protests will continue until Brannigan steps down or is voted out of her position, said Emily Biegel, founder of Southwest Suburban Activists.
"Can't stop, won't stop," she said. "The only solution is that racists are not in power, and that racists are not public officials."
But Brannigan has refused to resign, saying her posts weren't meant to be racist.
"Obviously, name calling doesn't get anyone anywhere," Brannigan said. "People, who scream, yell, whine and carry on when they do not get their way."
Brannigan's posts cited the demographics of the 3rd district in Illinois, where Muslims make up 25 percent of the population.
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"Everywhere you turn, from Orland Park to Bridgeview, those numbers are increasing in leaps and bounds," Brannigan said in her posts. "We are allowing these people whether they have peaceful intentions or not into our country without question."
