Human rights attorney Farah Chalisa is working in partnership with the legal team at CAIR to represent Figueroa and another victim, who was attacked by the same woman at the same mural in May.
“What happened was not simply an act of vandalism — it was a hate-driven assault,” Chalisa said.
A hate crime charge is a Class 4 felony in Illinois.
Spateen’s mural was commissioned as part of the Mural Movement, founded in 2020 by Delilah Martinez. All 231 murals Martinez has organized nationwide are related to social justice and peace. Spateen is from Bethlehem, a Palestinian town, and is staying in Chicago as part of an art residency. His mural, one of dozens in Pilsen, is the only work that the suspect has defaced. According to Figueroa and the other victim, she has thrown trash at the mural and placed feces around it.
“This mural — if that’s not an artwork of love, I don’t know what love is,” said CAIR Executive Director Ahmed Rehab. “The defacing of that mural — if that’s not an act of hate, I don’t know what hate is.”
Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez, 25th, explained that many people in Pilsen view the attacker as a threat. Last week, Lopez said, she showed up at a community meeting wearing a wig and sunglasses and prompted Lopez’s staff to call security.
Originally Published: June 18, 2025 at 7:54 PM CDT
