Waukegan's Thomas Jefferson Middle School won't be renamed after Barack and Michelle Obama following protests

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) -- A Waukegan middle school will not be named for former President Obama and his wife Michelle.

The school board voted to rename Thomas Jefferson Middle School after late Georgia Congressman John Lewis.

Members of Waukegan's Latinx community opposed naming the school for Obama because of his deportation policies.

RELATED | Waukegan Latinx activists protest school's renaming after Barack and Michelle Obama

Daniel Webster Middle School will be renamed for local civil rights activist Edith Smith.

Jefferson, who was the nation's third president, owned slaves. Webster was a former senator who supported slavery.

Renaming committees were formed for each school, and included people in the community, students and staff.