By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A prominent leader in Springfield and Illinois could be in hot water.

Teresa Haley, president of both the Springtfield and the Illinois NAACP, is recorded on a YouTube video making intemperate remarks about migrants, including name-calling.

“They’ve been raping people. They’ve been breaking into homes. They’re like savages as well. They don’t speak the language,” Haley says during the video, which runs just under two minutes. A Haley detractor says it’s from a Zoom meeting in October. 

That person, Patrick Watson, says Haley’s antics have led him to quit the presidency of the DuPage County NAACP. He says she also has spoken negatively of people in the LGBTQ community, though there is no recording of that.

Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher, asked for reaction after Tuesday’s city council meeting, said migrants are humans, “and I would hope that all of the leaders in our community realize that.”

Gov. JB Pritzker went much further, calling the words attributed to Haley “awful,” “reprehensible,” and “extraordinarily inappropriate.”

Haley has not responded to a message seeking comment.

Teresa Haley Uses Hate Speech to Describe Immigrants – YouTube

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].