Illinois
Illinois woman attacked man in Panera Bread for wearing Palestine sweatshirt, police say
Alexandra Szustakiewicz, 64, of Darien, Illinois, was charged with two counts of hate crime and one count of disorderly conduct, officials said.
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An Illinois woman was charged with hate crimes after she attacked a man for wearing a sweatshirt with the word “Palestine” written on it at a suburban Chicago Panera Bread, prosecutors and officials said.
Alexandra Szustakiewicz, 64, of Darien, Illinois, was charged with two counts of hate crime and one count of disorderly conduct, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Downers Grove Chief of Police Michael DeVries announced in a statement Monday. The charges stem from an incident Saturday at a Panera Bread in Downers Grove, a village about 23 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.
Downers Grove police said Szustakiewicz was at Panera Bread shortly before noon, local time, on Saturday when she “confronted and yelled expletives at a man” who was wearing a sweatshirt with the word “Palestine” written on it. Szustakiewicz then allegedly attempted to hit a cell phone out of the hands of a woman who was with the man when the woman began recording the encounter.
According to the statement, officers responded to a report of a disturbance at the Panera Bread, and Szustakiewicz was taken into custody the following day without incident. A complaint filed against Szustakiewicz alleged that she “committed a hate crime by reason of perceived national origin” of the two victims.
During her first court appearance Monday morning, a judge granted prosecutors’ request that Szustakiewicz have no contact with the victims and that she may not enter the Panera Bread where the incident occurred, the statement said. Szustakiewicz is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 16 for arraignment.
“Every member of society, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or any other individual characteristic, deserves to be treated with respect and civility,” Berlin said in a statement. “This type of behavior and the accompanying prejudice have no place in a civilized society and my office stands ready to file the appropriate charges in such cases.”
Civil rights organization: Victim shielded his wife from punches
The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the incident on Monday. The organization called Szustakiewicz’s behavior “shameful and abusive.”
CAIR-Chicago said Szustakiewicz had verbally and physically attacked a couple, identified as Waseem and his pregnant wife, for wearing a Palestine hoodie. The organization added that Waseem “shielded his wife from several punching attempts” during the encounter.
The incident was captured on video, according to CAIR-Chicago, and shared on social media — including on X, where it garnered about 1.2 million views by Monday night.
In the video, a woman lunged at a person who recorded the incident with a cell phone. A man then attempted to stop the woman, pushing her back with his arm, asking: “What are you doing?”
The video then showed the woman trying to hit the man, with a beverage she held spilling onto the ground. The woman continued attempting to swipe at the victims while threatening to call the police.
Later, the man is heard telling the woman to stop. Footage then showed the woman approaching the cash register, asking an employee to call the police.
Moments later, the woman is captured on video trying to hit the person recording the incident, with the man stepping in between them. The man is heard telling the woman: “Get away from my wife.”
The man and the person recording the video are then seen walking away from the woman, while she appears to follow them. The video then shows the man pushing the woman back, prompting both to threaten to punch each other.
“I’m a born and raised American who took his wife out for lunch. I was not able to do that simply because I was Palestinian,” Waseem told CAIR-Chicago.
Latest incident amid surge in Islamophobia, hate crimes
CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said Saturday’s incident along with other recent hate incidents across the U.S. “reflect a broader pattern of hostility and intolerance towards Palestinian Americans and the Muslim community at large.”
Between January and June 2024, CAIR documented nearly 5,000 incoming bias complaints nationwide — a 69% increase of recorded complaints from the same period in 2023. The organization also released a report earlier this year, which found that CAIR received the “highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history” last year.
The report documented more than 8,000 complaints regarding anti-Muslim hate and nearly half of those complaints were reported in the final three months of 2023. The report noted that the wave of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim incidents is primarily due to the escalation of violence in Gaza following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Numerous incidents have sparked fear among Muslim-American and Arab-American communities. About a week after the Oct. 7 attack, an Illinois man was charged with a hate crime after he fatally stabbed a 6-year-old and seriously injured the child’s mother in what authorities said was a violent response to the Israel-Hamas war.
In April, prosecutors said a New Jersey man was convicted of hate crimes after he attacked a Muslim man near a New York City food cart. A Texas woman was charged in June after authorities said she tried to drown a Muslim child at an apartment complex pool.
Last month, a New York City woman was indicted for an anti-Muslim attack after she pepper sprayed an Uber driver earlier this year, according to prosecutors.
A number of schools from Chicago and the suburbs were recognized as among the top elementary schools in Illinois, according to a new list.
The “2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools” list from U.S. News and World Report examined more than 79,000 public schools in all 50 states, a press release revealed. Editors used publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze mathematics and reading performance at the state and district levels — while accounting for student background and achievement in core subjects.
For a school corporation to receive a district-level ranking, at least two of the top performing schools must rank in the top 75% of the overall elementary or middle school rankings, according to the website. In all, 47,573 elementary schools and 23,861 middle schools were assessed.
In Illinois, a total of 3,421 schools were ranked. Seven of the top 25 schools in the state were Chicago Public Schools, including the top school, Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center.
Almost all of the top 25 schools were in either the city or suburbs — except for No. 10 – Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Rockford and No. 22 – Congerville Elementary School in downstate Woodford County.
Following behind Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center was Hinsdale’s Oak Elementary School and Naperville’s Meadows Glen Elementary School at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, a Chicago Public School, and Brook Forest Elementary School rounded out the top five.
Here’s a look into the top 25 elementary schools in Illinois, according to the report.
- Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center – Chicago
- Oak Elementary School – Hinsdale
- Meadows Glen Elementary School – Naperville
- Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center – Chicago
- Brook Forest Elementary School – Oak Brook
- Elm Elementary School – Burr Ridge
- Forest Hills Elementary School – Western Springs
- The Lane Elementary School – Hinsdale
- Eisenhower Academy – Joliet
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary School – Rockford
- Skinner North Elementary School – Chicago
- Greenbriar Elementary School – Northbrook
- Westmoor Elementary School – Northbrook
- Ellsworth Elementary School – Naperville
- Prospect Elementary School – Clarendon Hills
- Walker School – Clarendon Hills
- Lincoln Elementary School – River Forest
- Highlands Elementary School – Naperville
- Bronzeville Classical Elementary School – Chicago
- George B Carpenter Elementary School – Park Ridge
- Madison Elementary School – Hinsdale
- Congerville Elementary School – Congerville
- Decatur Classical Elementary School – Chicago
- Lincoln Elementary School – Chicago
- Hawthorne Elementary Scholastic Academy – Chicago
Redshirt freshman 125-pounder Dedrick Navarro’s gutsy decision win over No. 27 Blake West set the tone for Northwestern’s statement 29-8 victory over Northern Illinois Saturday.
NU entered its dual season opener with a point to prove, having lost to Northern Illinois 18-17 to start last year.
“After dropping a match to them that stung for a whole year, it was nice to go out there and not just win, but to really put it on them and win in dominating fashion,” coach Matt Storniolo said.
The night got off to a flying start as Navarro pulled off a stunning upset over West. An escape and a takedown by West put Navarro in a 0-4 hole entering the third period, but he battled back, scoring a takedown of his own before a trip with seconds left vaulted him to a 7-6 decision win.
Navarro said he tried to push the pace in the moment, and it felt good to get his first win of the dual season.
“We’ve only got a few years of this, so I’m just soaking it in and being grateful, having fun and putting on a show,” Navarro said.
The Huskies notched their first team points of the night in the 133-pound bout as redshirt sophomore Markel Baker won by major decision over sophomore Massey Odiotti. Three Baker takedowns in the first period cemented his 14-3 victory.
Graduate student 141-pounder No. 10 Chris Cannon made his NU homecoming with a 9-3 decision win over NIU’s Charles Curtis.
A two-time All-American for the Wildcats, Cannon transferred to Michigan before the 2024 season but missed nearly all of it after suffering a head injury in his dual season opener exactly one year ago Sunday. Storniolo said Cannon was not back to full strength yet, but that didn’t stop him from competing and winning.
“It was good for him to know that he’s still got that fight inside him,” he said.
No. 20. redshirt freshman 149-pounder Sam Cartella’s 15-0 win by technical fall put the ’Cats in the driver’s seat, and they didn’t look back from there. Dominant decision wins by No. 12 graduate student 157-pounder Trevor Chumbley and No. 16 redshirt senior 165-pounder Maxx Mayfield ran up the team score. Then, redshirt sophomore 174-pounder Joseph Martin secured his first dual meet win of his career, lasting nearly a minute underneath NIU’s Jake Evans without conceding a takedown and holding onto a narrow 4-0 lead.
Graduate student 184-pounder Jon Halvorsen secured extra team points by scoring a late takedown in his match, upgrading his victory from a decision win to a major decision win. He said his feelings after the win were unexplainable.
“The guys around me believe in me, and the coaches I have believe in me,” he said. “It’s just a reflection of my team and how awesome these guys are.”
A professional 19-4 win by No. 25 redshirt junior 197-pounder Evan Bates put the finishing touch on the NU rout.
Redshirt freshman 285-pounder Dirk Morley lost his match with NIU’s Jacob Christensen to end the night. An initially strong defensive performance unraveled in the third period, ending the night with a 12-2 loss by major decision.
In its return to the mat nine months after posting a 1-9 record, NU matched last season’s win total in one night. Storniolo attributed the team’s improvement to Cannon’s return to Evanston, Cartella’s continuing dominance in the 149-pound weight class and new faces like Navarro entering the lineup.
“Guys are hungry this year,” Storniolo said. “They feel like they really have something to prove after last year. They want to let the rest of Division I wrestling know that we’re a strong program, and last year doesn’t represent who we are as a team.”
The ’Cats are back at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday at 2 p.m. to take on Little Rock.
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