Thread: Minutemen name rescued

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... hicago-hed

Minutemen name rescued
IDOT workers keep it even though immigration group uses moniker


By Jason George
Tribune staff reporter

July 16, 2006

When the state's tow-truck teams found their Minutemen nickname increasingly confused with immigration enforcement advocates of the same name, some managers decided to steer clear of controversy.

But last week, Illinois Department of Transportation officials decided to stick with the name motorists have gotten used to during the last four decades, regardless of who else is using it.

During the last several weeks, Minutemen managers in the Chicago area had begun replacing "Illinois Minutemen" patches on drivers' coveralls with ones that say "Emergency Traffic Patrol," the group's original and official name. Graphics on the lime-yellow tow-trucks that contained the phrase "Illinois Minutemen" also were scheduled to be removed, according to drivers.

The public relations tune-up was an attempt to distinguish the red-jumpsuited Minutemen, who patrol Illinois highways for disabled vehicles, from other Minutemen groups who have patrolled the U.S.-Mexican border for illegal immigrants and are a prominent voice for stricter immigration enforcement.

IDOT spokesman Mike Claffey said the Minutemen management took action with good intentions, but without authorization from officials at IDOT's district headquarters in Schaumburg, who learned of the changes from the Tribune last week.

"There was a proposal that was floated among personnel at Emergency Traffic Patrol. There was concern that people might mix up the IDOT Minutemen and this other group," Claffey said. "However, this proposal had never been signed off on by IDOT higher-ups.

"Upon consideration we are not going to go in that direction," he said, pointing out that most people can distinguish between the two groups. "We feel very confident that the motoring public understands that the Minutemen are there to help them when their car breaks down--regardless of what they look like or where they come from."

Emma Lozano, director of Centro Sin Fronteras, which advocates for legal and illegal immigrants, said the decision from IDOT headquarters was unfortunate.

"I wish they would have [made the change] because it would have shown such understanding about what the immigrant community is going through," she said.

Lozano said the word "minuteman" has developed a negative connotation for many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, especially new immigrants who know the word only from the immigration debate. She doesn't doubt that someone, somewhere has mistaken the tow trucks for an illegal-immigrant patrol.

Jorge Mujica, one of the organizers of the large immigration marches in Chicago this spring, agreed that it is confusing to have state employees operating under the Minutemen name.

"Immigrants don't know that these [IDOT workers] are good people--just the name scares people," he said. "They will think that state authorities are working with immigration to get them."

Such logic is laughable, said Rosanna Pulido of the Illinois Minuteman Project.

"This ought to be in some comedy show," she said. "Any straight-thinking American-born person knows that the Minutemen are there to fix your car--end of story."

Because of their rapid response to wrecks, the Emergency Traffic Patrol were given the nickname "minutemen" in the 1960s by Erv Hayden, a Chicago police sergeant who provided "eye in the sky" traffic reports for WGN radio, according to IDOT.

The nickname stuck, and over the years the tow-truck drivers have delivered babies, put out fires and saved the lives of countless motorists.

Zen McHugh, who's driven a Minutemen truck for six years, spent Wednesday evening patrolling the Dan Ryan Expressway, as usual. He already had the "Illinois Minutemen" patch replaced with the "Emergency Traffic Patrol" version. McHugh said he would have missed the Minuteman title if it had been replaced, but he understood the thinking.

No matter what he's called, he said, his focus will remain on clearing the roads safely.

"It's like Lake Michigan: It can be calm, and then the next minute, we're running like we've never run before," he said. "You don't know what's around the corner."

He then started up his truck and drove off to see what was there.

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jageorge@tribune.com

Lozano said the word "minuteman" has developed a negative connotation for many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, especially new immigrants who know the word only from the immigration debate. She doesn't doubt that someone, somewhere has mistaken the tow trucks for an illegal-immigrant patrol.

Well for white, black, indian, asian etc American Citizens......"minutemen" has the connotation of safety, security and the support of American Law.