要求将Suburban Express赶出芝加哥机场的公开信

Mayor Rahm Emanuel

121 N LaSalle St

Chicago City Hall 4th Floor

Chicago, IL 60602

CC: Anna M. Valencia

Office of City Clerk

121 N LaSalle St

Chicago City Hall Room 107

Chicago, IL 60602

CC: Commissioner Ginger S. Evans

Chicago Department of Aviation

10510 W Zemke Rd

Chicago, IL 60666

December 6, 2017

PETITION TO SUSPENDOR BAN SUBURBAN EXPRESS INC

FROM O’HARE ANDMIDWAY AIRPORTS

Dear Mayor Rahm Emanuel,

We are writing to ask the Great City of Chicago to ban Suburban Express Inc. (hereinafter the SEI) from O’Hare and Midway International Airports, and/or suspend the privilege of SEI to pick up passengers from these airports.

On or around 11:30 am, Saturday, December 2, 2017, the SEI sent a promotion email via “[email protected]” to subscribers of the email list, titled Christmas Break Schedule (hereinafter the Email). In the Email, the SEI uttered, “Passengers like you. You won’t feel like you’re in China when you’re on our bus.” This sentence bears discriminatory intent and exclusion of China messages against Chinese nationals and Chinese American. The general public was outraged by this racially offensive email.

In response to the public outrage, on or around 1:58 pm, the same day, the SEI sent a so-called apology email via “[email protected]” (hereinafter the So-Called Apology Email). In the Apology Email, the SEI libeled U of I that its mismanagement resulted in admission of large number of international students. The SEI wrote, “[n]early 20% of U of I students are natives of China, and this high percentage of nonnative english[sic] speakers places a variety of burdens on domestic students.” This So-Called Apology Email has no intention to apology for the discriminatory assertion they made earlier whatsoever. Moreover, the Respondent slandered in the quoted sentence that foreign students are burdenson domestic students. There is no truth in the So-Called Apology Email, and it further emitted discriminatory intent and exclusion of China messages.

In response to those discriminatory messages, University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign has issued a statement to condemn SEI, and revoked their privilege to pick up passengers on the university property.[1]

Those emails are not only morally wrong, but are also in violation of Section 5-102(B) of Illinois Human Rights Act, which reads,

“It is a civil rights violation for any person on the basis of unlawful discrimination to *** (B) *** Directly or indirectly, as the operator of a place of public accommodation, publish, circulate, display or mail any written communication *** which the operator knows is to the effect *** that any person is unwelcome, objectionable or unacceptable because of unlawful discrimination.”775 ILCS 5/5-102(B).

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Office announced on Monday, December 4, 2017, that it had launched civil rights investigation against SEI.[2] Chicago City Counsel Alderman Ameya Pawar “wants the Aviation Committee to hold hearings on the incident that could culminate in Suburban Express being evicted from O’Hare.”[3] We stand with Alderman Pawar, and ask this great city to condemn these racist behaviors of SEI.

The City of Chicago is a great harbor of diversity, where people of different color, race and national origins live and work together in pursuit of happiness and American dreams, where narrow-minded racism is notorious and discouraged, where minorities and majorities breath in the same air of freedom hand-in-hand as equals. The behavior of SEI is the opposite of the ideals that the Great City of Chicago stands on.

We ask for investigations of such discriminatory behavior and pray the City of Chicago ban SEI from O’Hare and Midway International Airports, or at least suspend the privilege of SEI to pick up passengers from these airports during the investigation conducted by Illinois Attorney General.

Signatures from communities, societies and the general public in support of this petition thereof,

Chuck Guo

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[1] Website: https://studentaffairs.illinois.edu/statement-suburbanexpress; Date of visit: Dec. 6, 2017.

[2] Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-university-of-illinois-bus-company-ad-pawar-20171204-story.html; Date of visit: Dec. 6, 2017.

[3] Website: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/suburban-express-controversial-ad-chinese-students-u-of-i-city-council-hearings/; Date of visit: Dec. 6, 2017.