Illinois State Police has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas González nearly eight months after he was killed by a federal immigration agent during a traffic stop in Franklin Park toward the start of Operation Midway Blitz.
Franklin Park police asked ISP to investigate on Thursday, when a state commission released a damning report detailing the actions of federal agents during President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign in the Chicago area last year.
The report urged Illinois law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes stemming from Midway Blitz.
The ISP probe is the most high-profile independent inquiry that’s been announced in response to the monthslong immigration enforcement operation, during which federal agents also shot Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park and routinely used pummeling force and chemical irritants.
It was launched amid a legal push to install a special prosecutor in the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to target the federal agents who carried out the campaign.
A coalition of elected officials, clergy, journalists and attorneys has argued that State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke “has an alliance with federal law enforcement that prevents her from taking action against the federal agents alleged to have committed crimes during Operation Midway Blitz.”
On Tuesday, O’Neill Burke’s office said prosecutors were contacted by ISP and will play a “supportive role” in the investigation, following the office’s guidance for handling cases involving federal agents.
“We are unable to comment further on a pending law enforcement investigation,” O’Neill Burke’s office said in a statement.
Villegas González, a father and cook originally from Mexico, was fatally shot “at close range” on Sept. 12, 2025, according to an autopsy report. He was allegedly attempting to flee the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who tried to stop his car.
A bullet struck the back of Villegas González’s neck, the report found. He was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
The FBI initially responded to the shooting scene and, according to ISP, was the “primary investigating agency.” ISP wouldn’t comment on the details of its new investigation. Franklin Park police didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The shooting happened just days after the Trump administration kicked off Operation Midway Blitz.
Department of Homeland Security officials initially claimed an ICE agent had been “dragged a significant distance” by Villegas González’s car and suffered “severe injuries.” But in body camera footage from the scene, the agent described his injuries as “nothing major.”
There have been mounting calls for Illinois law enforcement and prosecutors to hold federal agents accountable for the aggressive tactics deployed during Midway Blitz. Local agencies in Minnesota have taken a far more aggressive approach, swiftly launching investigations into the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office has maintained it’s limited in its ability to conduct investigations. According to guidance released by the office in February, law enforcement agencies should lead criminal investigations, then present evidence to prosecutors to review for charging.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Accountability Commission, assembled by Gov. JB Pritzker, has spent months conducting its own investigation, gathering testimony and reviewing video footage and legal records. The commission’s final report, released Thursday, found federal agents acted illegally and with impunity during its immigration enforcement efforts.
The report included a letter referring charges to O’Neill Burke, the Chicago Police Department, the Kane County state’s attorney, and the Elgin, Franklin Park and Evanston police departments.
O’Neill Burke responded that she couldn’t bring charges without a referral from a law enforcement agency.
Contributing: Jon Seidel