Live updates, local reactions: DeKalb County mayors, politicians, leaders respond to chaos in Washington

4:15 p.m., updated 5:34 p.m.

Tim Bagby, chairman for the DeKalb County Republican Party, said he heard about the riots on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday after they happened – when his phone started blowing up with the news later.

Bagby said Thursday he believes that every person “of good conscience” should condemn that kind of behavior, whether it was Wednesday’s events or what he said were instances of “mayhem” during Black Lives Matter protests from over the summer.

“Violence, damage and mayhem is certainly regrettable,” Bagby said.

Bagby said democratic processes are the best way to move forward with any disagreement, whether it includes minorities receiving fair treatment from law enforcement or the integrity of the presidential election and results.

“Those are serious issues that we can and should debate,” Bagby said. “But no one should be resorting to violence.”

Demonstrations in DeKalb County over police brutality and racial injustice remained peaceful this past summer, save for one instance May 31 during which a small group separate from those marching began to loot several local stores on DeKalb’s north side. Since Wednesday’s events, many have called into question the stark differences in police response to demonstrations over the summer meant to foster a more equitable relationship between people of color and police, and the riots that occurred Wednesday when the Capitol building was overrun, primarily by pro-Trump supporters.

Bagby said he’s hesitant to jump all over law enforcement agencies on their response to the Wednesday incidents since he’s under the impression that Capitol Police were taken more by surprise than police were for the protests over the summer. He said it wasn’t his intent to make the insinuation that one set of circumstances is more morally sound than the other and taking issues and concerns to the streets is fine.

“But when you start damaging property, when you start assaulting people, when you start to make life of a law enforcement officer harder than it needs to be, that’s where I draw the line,” Bagby said in response to Wednesday’s riots.

Although charges are starting to be filed against extremists who took part in the incident, Bagby said he anticipates Capitol Hill law enforcement will have to evaluate staffing and take a closer look at how the Capitol is protected – especially with the presidential inauguration not too far away.

“There may be some additional things that they need to look at in terms of security,” Bagby said.

Bagby said there is an official election result now and believes everyone should move forward. As an alternate Republican delegate, he said, he didn’t vote during the Republican convention, but he is aware of what other area Republicans have said in response to the Wednesday chaos and some urging the vice president and Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.

“We’ll see whether anything happens along those lines,” Bagby said.

DeKalb County Board Chairman John Frieders, also a Republican who represents the county’s 12th District out of Sandwich, said he always had higher expectations for the country and thought “citizens didn’t do that kind of thing.” He said he believes the status quo is an “orderly transition of power” and the integrity of elections have been intact, despite whether anyone’s ideal candidate lost.

“I just found it very, very sad, what went on there yesterday, and embarrassing,” Frieders said. “I think it was embarrassing to our country.”

Frieders said he believes elected officials should be able to talk to one another to work out problems and not resort to such drastic actions. He said he thinks part of the issue is that elected officials don’t trust one another and that he’s “disappointed and disgusted with whole situation.”

“I think the whole situation in Washington is almost poisonous,” Frieders said. “All they do is blame one another back and forth. It’s just terrible and toxic in Washington right now.”

4 p.m.

Lisa Freeman, president of Northern Illinois University, and Beth Ingram, executive vice president and provost of NIU, issued a statement Thursday in response to the Capitol Hill events. They called the actions “nothing short of shocking, disheartening and unacceptable” in the statement.

“What we witnessed serves as a fierce reminder that true leadership is found in those who guide with integrity and respect for all,” according to the statement. “We appreciate that, despite disruption, Congress completed its important duty to certify the election and is working to move our nation forward through a smooth transition of power.”

In their statement, NIU officials said the community knows what work needs to be done to foster equity and social justice, as well as to continue to protect the community from COVID-19. There is opportunity for all to be involved in working together to accomplish the university’s goals, according to the statement.

“None of us wanted to start a new year in this way, especially after enduring so much in 2020,” according to the statement. “But we believe that our community is especially capable of taking the pain and frustration being felt and channeling it in ways that will improve our community and society. ”

1:05 p.m.

Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang said after the events Wednesday in Washington that he’s “very discouraged and frustrated to see the emotions in our country.”

“It appears that many Americans are so unhappy, whether they are Republican or Democrat,” Lang said. “I am grateful that in Sycamore, we are nonpartisan. We try to serve all citizens with decisions that are best for all, manage our taxes prudently and try to represent all.”

Lang also voiced his concern about the future.

“Personally, it is very frightening to listen and watch the national news, and I am so grateful to live in Sycamore,” he said.

12:45 p.m.

Illinois State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, said in a written statement Thursday that he condemns the events that occurred in the Capitol and the halls of Congress.

“While I strongly support our First Amendment, including the freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble, yesterday’s events were abhorrent and included violence, destruction and even the loss of life,” Keicher wrote.

Keicher wrote that Americans need to remain a beacon of hope and to shine a light for freedom in the days following the incident.

“I pray for peace and unity,” Keicher wrote.

12:20 p.m.

DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith said he was “appalled” at what he saw happening at Capitol Hill on Wednesday, describing what happened as “anarchists breaking into our nation’s Capitol.”

“It’s something I’d never believe would happen, and I’m disappointed in their reprehensible behavior,” he said. “I was embarrassed as a citizen of the United States of America. So many folks look to our country as an example of democracy and civility. I have family in the Philippines, in Southeast Asia and around the world. It was an event viewed around the world, with people appalled and in dismay with what they were seeing.”

Smith said he was pleased to see Congress reconvene and certify the election results and hopes that “impeachment and [invoking the] 25th Amendment will not be necessary for a peaceful transition of power to the new president on Jan. 20.”

“I think that ‘civility’ is the word of the day,” he said. “I hope now that Congress has certified the results, we’ll all settle in and understand that we need to work together, collaborate, communicate and be civil to one another.”

11 a.m., updated 12:45 p.m.

The DeKalb County Democratic Party is calling for President Donald J. Trump to be removed from office following Wednesday’s chaos in Washington.

“The DeKalb County Democratic Party stands in full support of our Republic at this moment of crisis,” according to the statement submitted by Jim Luebke, chairman of the party. “We condemn in the fullest terms the violation of the U.S. Capitol by insurrectionists operating with the treasonable support of the present occupant of the White House.”

The Democrats also are demanding that those responsible “from the Oval Office to the streets of D.C.” be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, according to the statement, and that Congress remove Trump from office immediately.

“These anti-democratic acts of domestic terrorism, meant to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, have no place in our country,” according to the statement. “We call on all of our elected representatives in Washington to uphold their oaths of Office and certify the election of President-elect [Joe] Biden and Vice President-elect [Kamala] Harris. Only when our Nation upholds the rule of law against armed insurrection, can we know that we truly have a government ‘of the People, by the People, and for the People.’ ”

Luebke said Thursday that the events at the Capitol sort of reminded him of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in a “where were you when” kind of way. He said he was working as a teacher’s aide in a behavioral disorder room at Clinton-Rosette Middle School in DeKalb in 2001 and that when the attacks happened, staff members agreed the line they would give the kids is that something has happened and their parents can tell them about it when they get home.

“And it sort of reminded me of that, in the fact that I knew what was going on and I’ll deal with it when I get home,” Luebke said.

Luebke said it didn’t surprise him this happened after Trump has been at this type of behavior since he was voted into office.

“It surprises me how much elected officials that support him, how much it took for them to see what they had done,” Luebke said. “That’s what surprised me.”

Luebke said in general that law enforcement has been way too lax about who they hire. He said he doesn’t object to police agencies hiring military veterans, but his concern is police becoming over-militarized and it’s more important now than ever to keep use of force in check.

“We should go by the law, period, and everyone is treated the same under the law, period,” Luebke said.

As the last time this happened at the Capitol was during the War of 1812, Luebke said it’s something he never thought he would see something like this in his lifetime. He said also he thanked U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, for upholding his oath of office and for being vocal about his disdain for the recent events, along with being the first Republican member of Congress to call for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office.

Luebke said he also saw local Republicans say they don’t condone the actions but are still members of the political party. If that’s so, he said, it’s time to say that the party needs to change.

“It’s maybe the wake-up call the rest of America needs,” Luebke said. “It’s completely wrong, undemocratic, unpatriotic, un-American, unacceptable.”

Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing story that will be updated.