Cook County GOP Chair and lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Del Mar said students should not leave class to participate in political protests after about 600 Lyons Township High School students walked out Feb. 17 to join an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstration in La Grange.
“They should be (protesting) after school hours,” Del Mar told West Cook News. “And certainly there should not be agitation or provocation by teachers or administrative officials.”
Patch reported that about 600 students — roughly 16% of the school’s enrollment — left class. Students from the North and South campuses gathered at a central location before marching to downtown La Grange and later returning to school.
A video accompanying a post on X by Midwest Millennial showed students chanting “abolish ICE!” and “this is what democracy looks like!”
“Earlier today—political indoctrination emptied classrooms in La Grange, Illinois Public Schools for an anti-ICE protest. Activism isn’t academics. These teachers who are using students to push their ideologies shouldn’t be in our public education systems,” Midwest Millennial posted on X.
Students carry a Mexican flag during an anti-ICE walkout at Lyons Township High School. (X / Midwest Millennial)
Del Mar questioned whether instructional time should be used for political demonstrations.
“When there is a limited amount of educational learning already taking place in schools, when there is a minimal amount of actual education happening, where kids are being taught what they need not only to survive in Illinois but to thrive, do we really need to take time out of the school day to engage in protests?” he said.
“Kids have more than enough time to express their political views or whatever else they choose,” Del Mar said. “They can do that after hours. A strong argument would be this: Let’s concentrate on school during school hours. If you want to protest after school, go ahead and do it then. There is more than enough space in Illinois for people to exercise their freedom of expression outside school hours.”
Del Mar, who has five children, also addressed school administration during student demonstrations.
“Since when do underage students dictate what happens to the administration?” he said. “My kids don’t tell me what they’re doing; I tell them what they’re doing. It feels like the inmates are running the asylum.”
Following the protest, Lyons Township High School District 204 Superintendent Brian Waterman said students have the right to peaceful expression.
In contrast, Del Mar said students are being manipulated at the expense of a balanced learning environment.
“They’re only hearing one side of a liberal movement,” he said. “These kids should just be in school learning the basics, like reading. When the state of Illinois, by its own account, says it is graduating kids at a 70% rate where they are able to function, read, write, and count at grade level, and that’s on the Illinois Board of Education site, that should be the focus.”
Cook County GOP Chair and lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Del Mar. (Facebook / Aaron Del Mar)
Del Mar said the broader issue is what he views as an ideological shift taking priority in public education.
“We’re being distracted by another liberal agenda that is not increasing our kids’ ability to learn,” he said. “That’s number one. Number two, teachers are supposed to be independent and not steer students toward their own political ideology. That should be the responsibility of parents. We don’t pay property taxes at a ridiculous rate in Illinois so teachers can dictate, adopt or indoctrinate our children with their political views. That stands counter to everything we should be doing in Illinois or in this country.”
Per Del Mar’s concerns about property taxes, in mid-2025 Illinois surpassed New Jersey to become the state with the highest property tax rate in the nation at 1.83%. Illinois homeowners now pay an average of $4,584 annually on a median-priced home, much of which goes to local schools.
Meanwhile, Wirepoints has reported on Lyons Township High School District 204’s student performance, spending and property tax levels. District data show that 49% of students read at grade level and 53% meet math standards, while 95% graduate and all teachers are rated “excellent” or “proficient.”
Operational spending and property tax revenues have increased in recent years.
Concerns about student safety during walkouts have also emerged.
ABC7 reported that during a student-led protest at Dundee Middle School, an 11-year-old special needs student left campus unsupervised and was later found near a busy intersection. His mother said she was not notified and criticized the school for allowing her son to leave without supervision or parental consent.
“The number one responsibility of teachers, prior to educating children, is keeping them safe, both physically and mentally,” Del Mar said. “I think it’s a serious issue when teachers provoke students to fulfill their own personal values and political beliefs.”
