By Shannon Adcock, Opinion Contributor
It’s not about ideology, it’s about power.
On October 17, 2024, Congressional Rep. Sean Casten’s (D-06) town hall at Indian Prairie Library in Darien was shut down due to protestor disruption. It’s a shame to see any public forum get shut down due to agitated disruptors. As the leader of a social welfare advocacy organization, I believe free discourse should free flow in a free Republic.
Sadly, Rep. Sean Casten is now experiencing how his Democrat Party and leftist ideologues do not seek discourse. Rather, they skip straight to destruction.
In stunning irony, Rep. Casten is getting canceled by the very culture he helped breed.
For years, Sean Casten has spread heinous lies about our organization Awake Illinois with the hopes of silencing us. In October 2022, we proudly led a grassroots awareness campaign to inform people of the Drag Queen Bingo event Downers Grove Library intended to host for minors. Internet searches of the scheduled Drag Queen resulted in graphic images. Parental notification wasn’t required and it is unknown who had access to child registration information. Walking into the library on October 3rd to provide public comment, I was met with antagonistic jeering. Cutting through the fog of hate permeating the meeting hall, I smiled and awaited my turn to speak – determined to represent the common sense citizens who stand against child exploitation.
The remarks went viral.
In a press statement Rep. Sean Casten responded to our successful efforts to halt the Drag Queen event for minors with, “Awake Illinois created an unsafe environment in our community. They should be ashamed of themselves. They have used their platform to promote hatred, homophobia, and bigotry.”
It’s a tragic truth that Rep. Sean Casten tried to limit the dialogue on child exploitation simply to keep his leftist ideologues happy. Here’s a tip, Sean: leftist ideologies are never happy.
Rep. Casten’s public supporters have falsely accused our organization as members of crimes simply because we work to protect all children and to advance ethical policies. Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt, a Democrat Downers Grove Commissioner said Awake Illinois “is responsible” for an alleged bullet that was sent to the library.
This was a blatant lie yet Rep. Casten never once denounced it nor the disruptions to our events.
Now Rep. Casten is lecturing on “love” and “tolerance” because his own party shut down his town hall? If you review his record, it is difficult to find love or tolerance in his political ethos.
On Black Lives Matter
Rep. Sean Casten supported the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that did not pass Congress in 2021. Had the Act passed, it would have made the already high-risk job of a police officer more dangerous and challenging.
On Border Security and Personal Safety
Sean Casten voted “No” on H.R. 7909, the “Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act” which would create a federal law to authorize the deportation of illegals that commit sex offenses. Rep. Casten would rather prioritize illegals convicted of sex crimes rather than the safety of his own constituents.
On Child Exploitation
Rep. Sean Casten supported Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker’s signing of the Illinois library bill that compels local libraries to permit minors’ access to pornographic materials or risk loss of state funding. Given how state funding is a small fraction of local library budgeting, many library boards are proceeding with ethical policies on pornographic books being age restricted, equal to other mediums such as mature-rated movies.
Awake Illinois has advocated publicly for improved dialogue on this issue. Dr. James Lindsay has shed light on the American Library Association’s agenda to “queer the catalogue” for children. (See video of constituent and father Terry Newsome who has had long-standing concerns over Casten’s radical policies).
Democrat Rep. Sean Casten is learning in real time that censorship and mob rule mentality always comes for its own and it has now come now for him.
This is how Communism and Marxism have destroyed countries around the world and it is indeed happening in America today.
When Awake Americans launch event took place in 2023 titled, Woke 101; Is Marxism in America?, leftist protestors unsuccessfully made repeated calls to the hotel asking them to cancel the event.
Fortunately, it proceeded without issue and during the event, Xi Van Fleet – a survivor of China’s Cultural Revolution under Mao-discussed how Communists seek power. Her story is powerful when she describes being taken from her family and sent into the fields to work. She shows the parallels between what happened under Mao and what she sees in America as “homegrown” communism.
Xi states, “The President of China was the #1 victim of Mao’s cultural revolution. He was purged and died alone and denied medical treatment. The President of China was a communist! He himself persecuted so many people, actually killed a lot of people. But he became a victim. The second was a General who led the troops in the Korean War against Americans. Victims of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. It’s not about the ideology. They are all communists. It’s all about power. The ideology, the identity are just a tool, a tactic. It is all about power. We’re not there yet in America, but it’s coming. I just want you to know what happened to communists in China.”
Cancel culture and communist tactics aren’t sustainable so Awake Illinois isn’t surprised to see the snake eating its own tail with Rep. Casten on the receiving end of his own ideology.
When you dare to think thoughts that deviate from leftist ideology, Xi Van Fleet asserts, “That’s communism. That’s where the Left has no idea. They don’t know history. They think they are on the winning side. It’s not the left going wild, it’s not just cancel culture. It is communism. We have to understand that, expose that, resist, and get organized.”
Awake Illinois has been victorious in rising above these communist cancel culture tactics. Our platform is organized and has persevered in elevating the people’s voices to effect positive change. Our organization asserts Rep. Sean Casten would do well to stop endorsing pornographic books for children and instead use his time to read Xi Van Fleet’s book, Mao’s America: A Survivor’s Warning.
Here’s your wake up call, Rep. Casten. Awake Illinois has been a strong wall of defense against communism and we cannot be canceled. If you need a role model on how to survive your own party, we invite you to follow our example.
Shannon Adcock is a mother of three and founder of two non profit organizations: Awake Illinois and Awake Americans, both based in Naperville, IL. Her motto is to “be uncancellable” while empowering others to advocate boldly on policy issues. Awake Illinois’ efforts resulted in the biggest legislative victory to date when they halted democratic Rep. Anne Stava-Murray’s radical “trans trafficking” house bill 4876. Subscribe to Awake Illinois at www.awakeIL.com and on X/Twitter @Awake_IL.
