Chicago’s teachers are sounding the alarm after ICE agents lobbed a tear gas canister on a busy Logan Square street, sending fumes toward Funston Elementary just as students were heading home. Cell phone and surveillance videos captured the Oct. 3 incident outside the Rico Fresh grocery store, steps from the school, and neighbors were furious that the clash unfolded in front of kids. “I can’t believe this is the United States of America,” said volunteer Tania Kadakia, who rushed to the school to help families navigate the chaos.
First-grade teacher Maria Heavener described Funston as a sanctuary, then watched that promise dissolve in a cloud of chemical irritant. “A 6-year-old should not have to know what a tear gas canister is,” she told reporters, adding that her students were “scared and worried” after seeing agents deploy gas across from their playground. The school moved recess indoors, and volunteers formed a ring at dismissal to make sure children could get home safely.
CBS reported that after an agent tossed the canister from an SUV, the officers drove off, leaving residents coughing in the street. The principal told parents that operations on campus continued safely but acknowledged the shock. City officials, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, condemned the tactics near school grounds.
The episode collided with a broader political fight over federal force in Democratic-led cities. President Donald Trump has framed Chicago as an urban war zone and is in court seeking authority to deploy National Guard troops, even as public data undercuts the narrative of spiraling violence. A WBEZ analysis found Chicago had its fewest summer homicides in 60 years, and overall violent crime remains near a four-decade low.
The price tag for Trump’s proposed show of force is staggering. Independent budget analysts estimate a National Guard deployment could cost about $1.6 million per day depending on troop levels, a figure that dwarfs the city’s struggling school budgets. Meanwhile, Trump’s July spending bill funneled nearly $30 billion to ICE, almost three times the $10 billion budget for the entire Chicago Public Schools system.
The White House and Pentagon leadership have leaned into martial rhetoric. At a September address to senior military officials, Trump urged using U.S. cities as “training grounds” to confront what he called an “enemy from within,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth talked about unleashing “overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy.” The comments drew swift condemnation from state leaders and civil rights groups, who warned that normalizing combat-style language for domestic operations invites excess and error — exactly what parents saw outside Funston.
What happened on Oct. 3 is now part of a grim pattern. In the same week, local outlets documented the forcible detention of U.S. citizens during immigration operations, including minors, stoking accusations that federal agencies are spinning or downplaying what the videos show. The Department of Homeland Security has defended its officers, while lawmakers have demanded full transparency and body camera footage.
Inside Heavener’s classroom, the fallout is immediate and intimate. Younger children are learning new vocabulary they should never need, and older ones are asking if their families will still be there at pickup. Teachers say they are improvising trauma care while counting inhalers and planning indoor days.
