Evanston’s state and federal officials have vocally opposed the war in Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes on Feb. 28.
In the month since the missile launch by U.S. and Israeli military forces — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by the Department of Defense — Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran to date, with regional casualties estimated in the thousands.
Iran has also effectively closed the critical Strait of Hormuz, triggering a major global oil supply disruption. As diplomatic efforts remain rocky, critics are condemning the war and calling for Congress to vote and pass a war powers resolution.
On the Senate floor last week, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) urged her Republican colleagues to vote in support of U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-Conn.) war powers resolution that would withdraw the more than 10,000 American military forces that have been deployed to the region without the formal authorization of Congress.
“I’m here to make sure that we never again get ourselves into an ego-driven forever war,” Duckworth said. “I’m here to stop a man who was never brave enough to serve in uniform himself from using our heroes as cannon fodder.”
The War Powers Resolution failed 53-47 last week, in the Senate’s third vote on the measure since Feb. 28. It is unclear if senators are planning to put forward another measure.
Duckworth has been among the most outspoken Illinois officials opposing the war. She appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Wednesday and said she hasn’t seen a reasonable justification for the war. She added that 13 service members have died and costs at home have skyrocketed.
In remarks at Evanston’s “No Kings” rally Saturday, Mayor Daniel Biss called the U.S.’ military action in Iran “an unjust, illegal, deranged war,” echoing his initial statement released on X on Feb. 28.
“Trump has abandoned diplomacy and put our service members and civilians at risk,” Biss wrote in the February statement. “He walked away from negotiations and tore up the Iran nuclear deal.”
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) placed blame for the war on President Donald Trump’s actions in his first term and expressed support for a war powers resolution in a Feb. 28 statement.
She wrote that Iran should not be permitted to have a nuclear weapon, and that she supports the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 10-year plan that aimed to cut off Iran’s nuclear development and subjected Iran’s nuclear program to international regulation. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
“We must return to diplomacy, uphold Congress’s authority, and prioritize the safety of U.S. service members and civilians above all else,” her statement read.
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