Racist letters sent to Evanston restaurants faked to look like court orders

At least two racist letters sent this week to north suburban Evanston businesses were made to look like they were court orders sent by Cook County judges, officials said.

At least one of the letters included the mailing address of the Cook County courthouse in Skokie and was written — poorly — to make it look like it came from a current circuit court judge.

The letters were first reported by local news site Evanston Roundtable.

In a statement Wednesday, Chief Judge Timothy Evans said the letters were forgeries and called their contents “appalling.”

“Highly offensive documents, falsely claiming to be orders from various current or retired Circuit Court of Cook County judges, are being circulated by some person or group,” Evans said in the statement. “The documents appear to be intended as a means of intimidating the recipients and others.”

Evans’ office said they are working with law enforcement to track down who sent the letters.

In one of the letters sent to a business that was shared online, the author makes several racist statements and uses racist and homophobic slurs. The letter concludes with the purported signature of a judge and a closing that says it was sent by “THE WHITE JUDGE CLUB.”

In a postscript, the author wrote “The best part about being a judge is that you can get away with anything.”