The businesses in Little Village acted quickly to remove the vandalism off their property. Chicago police reported at least four different buildings were targeted.
Community leaders said these acts of hate are part of growing safety concerns for people living in the area.
The crimes happened around midnight, Friday night into Saturday, at three buildings in the 2700 block of West Cermak Road and one building the 2500 block of South Central Park, police said.
An unknown offender, or offenders, spray painted the exterior walls of the buildings, CPD said.
Latinos Progresando is a nonprofit that was vandalized, with their front door spray painted with a swastika.
"We were targeted along with at least four other entities that are based in and provide services for the Mexican community," a statement from the group read in part. "Latinos Progresando will not back away from our values or be deterred from our work because of this heinous criminal act. We are not going anywhere."
"We're frustrated or angry but equally as determined to continue providing the services we provide," said Nubia Willman Chief Advancement Officer at Latino Progresando. "We realize this is an attempt to terrorize our community... Mexican community that's targeted, and we're not gonna abide by that."
Baltazar Enriquez with the Little Village Community Council said the vandalism creates more fear for residents within the neighborhood.
"Our community is already suffering with this administration launching ICE into our neighborhood, and to see these hate crimes or hate signals does bring fear to our community," Enriquez said.
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The businesses said they've already been in touch with local aldermen as well as Chicago police. They're confident with the amount of surveillance cameras around that they will be able to find the people responsible for the crimes.
"They're fearing their business might go down because of these types of acts, so for us, we have to show the community we're not gonna stand with our hands crossed, we're actually gonna find the aggressors," Enriquez said.
The city of Chicago just released a report on hate crimes in 2024, saying those are down 25% overall compared to the previous year. But within those numbers, there are two outliers: a 58% rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes and a 25% increase in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has committed to new policies to try and decrease those numbers.
The Little Village business leaders said these acts of hate won't deter them from bringing good to the community.
"The time is now to show our resilience as a community and as a unified Chicago," Willman said. "There's an obviously an attempt to frighten folks, but we are a resilient community."
The businesses are now working with the city in the investigation. So far no one has been arrested.
State Senator Celina Villanueva released the following statement Sunday:
"I am outraged and disgusted by the recent acts of hate and vandalism that have taken place in our community- including outside of my own district office, on a pro-Palestinian mural on the side of a small business and two other community organizations. The display of swastikas and the phrase 'ICE rules'-symbols rooted in fear, white supremacy and intimidation-are deliberate attempts to spread fear, stroke division and intimidate people who are already vulnerable. What makes this especially disturbing is the complexity of what we're witnessing: a swastika-long recognized as a symbol of violence and genocide against Jewish people- scrawled across spaces in a Mexican immigrant community, attacking our neighbors, our office and those who stand with Palestineians and global movements for justice. This act is layered in its hate- it's antisemitic, anti-immigrant, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-Justice all at once. Let me be clear: there is no room for this kind of hate in our district or anywhere in Illinois. I stand in solidarity with all who have been harmed by this hateful act, who know too well the pain these symbols represent. I am working with law enforcement to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted and that those responsible are held accountable. In moments like this, we must not shrink-we must rise. We must respond with unity, with courage and with an unshakable commitment to justice. Hate may try to take root here-but it will not grow. Not in our district. Not on our watch."