Chicago has voted to name a snowplow “Abolish ICE” in a stinging response to President Donald Trump’s mass immigration crackdown in the city.
The annual “You Name a Snowplow” competition, now in its fourth year, invites Chicago residents to christen some of the hundreds of trucks responsible for clearing the city’s 9,400 miles of roads each winter.
This year drew a record 13,300 submissions and 39,000 final votes, and the reason for the surge in civic energy was not hard to find.
In September, the Trump administration launched “Operation Midway Blitz,” flooding Illinois with federal immigration agents.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, 49, thanked voters for their “unmatched creativity, sense of humor, and civic pride.”
When a city spokesperson was asked whether the administration had any misgivings about the name, the answer was succinct: “The people of Chicago clearly have no issue with the name of this snowplow.”
As Midway Blitz began last September, Johnson said he received “no notice” of the operation’s launch, which resulted in more than 4,000 people being arrested during the sweep.
A Mexican immigrant was fatally shot by federal agents in Franklin Park, Illinois, and a U.S. citizen, Marimar Martinez, 30, was shot multiple times by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago on Oct. 4. Charges against her were later dropped.
The other winning snowplow names were considerably less incendiary, if no less inventive. “Stephen Coldbert” pays tribute to late-night TV host Stephen Colbert, who launched his comedy career in the city.
“Pope Frio XIV” offers a bilingual pun on Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV—frio being Spanish for “cold.” Leo was elected last May as the first U.S.-born leader of the Roman Catholic church.
“Blizzard of Oz” and “Svencoolie”—a riff on Chicago TV horror host Svengoolie—also made the cut, along with “Caleb Chilliams,” a tribute to Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who led the Bears to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Submissions were collected via the Chicago Shovels website, with a survey app used for both rounds of voting. A panel of Streets and Sanitation staff reviewed entries before the mayor’s office gave final approval.
All six names will be assigned to dedicated plows.
Chicago is not alone in this tradition. Nashville honors country legend Dolly Parton, with a truck called “Dolly Plowton,” while Minnesota salutes pop star Taylor Swift with “Taylor Drift.”
The Windy City is also not the first to discover what happens when you ask the public to name things. In 2016, Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council invited the public to christen a £200 million polar research vessel.
“Boaty McBoatface,” dreamed up by a BBC local radio presenter, romped home with 124,109 votes.
Embarrassed officials promptly overruled the result, naming the ship RRS Sir David Attenborough instead, and placating the nation’s trolls by giving one of the vessel’s autonomous submersibles the Boaty name.
Happily, for Chicagoans, their city hall did not follow the U.K.’s lead.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment.
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