If I go to arrest you, you know what he's saying? I'm not here to arrest you.
But last time for trying my mom, he's got to arrest
me.
I've been arrested down here for this.
All right, here we go.
Gavel, gavel, gavel, gavel.
Good morning, Mr. Blakemore. The meeting of the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic
Safety is now called to order for May 12th, 2026.
We will now have a roll call to establish quorum.
Chairman Laspada, present. Vice Chair Cruz?
Here.
Alderman Hopkins, waiting in the wings.
Alderman Robinson. Alderman Yancey.
Alderman Chico.
Alderman Quinn. Alderman Moore. Alderman Curtis.
Alderman Burnett. Alderman Irvin. Alderman Knudsen.
Present.
Alderman Lawson.
Present.
Alderman Martin. And Alderwoman Manahappenworth.
We have nine members present. We have a quorum.
Alderman Robinson has requested to participate
in the meeting remotely pursuant to Rule 59.
Alderman Robinson, are you online with us?
Robinson's here.
Here we go. Can I have a motion to allow Alderman Robinson
to participate remotely?
So moved by Alderperson Martin. All those in favor say aye.
Aye.
All those opposed say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Alderman Robinson is present here today by video conference and will be counted
accordingly for the roll call. At this time, we will begin the public
comment period. Out of respect for everybody's time, each speaker is limited
to three minutes.
There we go. Good morning, Alderman Moore.
Speakers, in accordance with Rule 58 of the City Council Rules
of Order, please refrain from profane language, obscene
conduct, or disruptive comments.
Our first speaker is George Blakemore
These seats are empty. This is pedestrian
traffic. I was
here when it was packed with my Hispanic
brothers
and sisters about the
traffic and the safety,
and these
scooters and cyclists have taken over
in their area
because there was no parking,
and the delivery men
would be ticket. It was just terrible.
I don't see these people now.
I don't see them now.
So I don't know if they was paid off, or bought off, or what, but
I'm sure that problem still exists with this traffic,
with these cyclists. And it's dangerous when the buses come,
they turn, and then they have to make this turn
here. And I see this all over the city,
and the cyclists was there advocating.
I was totally against it, and I was so proud of my Hispanic
brothers and sisters protesting.
They say they was losing money.
They was losing money in their business because there was no parking.
Some kind of way,
these political hacks got to that
active group, and they are silent.
I don't see them here.
But I know the problem still exists.
So it was very important for me to come and
let that not happen again, that you have these
meetings the same date, the same time,
and the same place, uh, 15 minutes apart.
When the-- You got to think of the citizen, not yourself.
Don't be selfish and you're looking back at the clock wanting to hurry up and
tick my three minutes up. You, why would you do
this? For your convenience. Why would you do it?
Why would you do this? Both of you are aldermen.
The alderman's over here and there.
Why would you actually try to prevent the citizen
from coming to both of these meetings?
What's the rationale?
I can tell you the rationale, Mr. Blakemore. They don't care.
They're selfish,
they're arrogant, and they're all a member of one
political party, and it's the Democratic Party.
No check and balance. No different, uh, Liberal Party,
Communist Party, Socialist Party, Republican.
No, all one party. Corruption!
Fraud and abuse.
You have abused the citizens of this city.
Now I've got to run over here
and-
Thank you, Mr. Blakemore. Also, noting Alderman Hopkins with us for
purposes of quorum. Thank you, sir.
There we go.
Our next public speaker is David Soto.
Good morning. Good morning, uh, Alderman LaSpada.
Congratulations on the birth of your child. Welcome back.
Um,
I apologize in advance for not being prepared.
This was a last-minute, um,
decision, and I just want to ask several of you members
or all of you,
have you traveled down Milwaukee Avenue
between Damon,
Kedzie?
And can I have your opinion about the traffic
on Milwaukee Avenue?
Anybody? No. Well, it's atrocious.
Whoever planned and designed
the new configuration of Milwaukee Avenue
obviously does not live along Milwaukee Avenue or any
of the side streets, because it's hard for
anybody to travel north or south on Milwaukee Avenue.
It's hard for emergency vehicles, whether it be police, fire, or
EMT,
to get through Milwaukee Avenue at any time of the day, not just rush hour.
A lot of the businesses along Milwaukee Avenue have been forced to
close because of lack of parking.
If people cannot park
to
go to these businesses,
then the businesses will be forced to shutter, as they have.
It hasn't worked on Milwaukee Avenue, and it won't work on Grand
Avenue.
Grand Avenue,
west of Damon to Western,
has been dismantled
and disrupted. A lot of the businesses there have been
forced to close because of a lack of parking.
A lot of the residents have been forced to move because of the lack
of parking.
When it comes to tax revenue
for the city,
the city does not collect the revenue anymore because the businesses have been
forced to close.
So if the city is not collecting tax revenue, it falls on the
property owner,
and the property owner
will carry that charge onto the tenants of that property.
And the tenants will eventually say, "We cannot afford
this inconvenience anymore," so they'll move.
And then the owners will be forced to sell,
if they're fortunate enough to sell before they lose their property.
So all I'm asking is for comprehensive and common
sense bike lanes, which is what the city wants to install
along Grand Avenue. I've been a lifelong resident of
Grand Avenue-Ever since we were kids, we would ride our
bicycles to and from the lakefront.
Never had an issue, never had a problem, never needed bike lanes.
But because there are so many more cyclists in the area now,
Hubbard Street, which is already designated-
Thank you, sir.
Noting Alderman Burnett with us for purposes of quorum.
Our next speaker is Mickey Ortiz.
Good morning. For generations, Grand Avenue has been
more than just a street. It has been the backbone of our neighborhood.
My family has lived here for three generations.
We have seen businesses come and go, neighbors raise families,
and hardworking people rely on Grand Avenue every
single day to go to work, school, and home safely.
That is why I stand here today opposed to the installation of
protected bike lanes on Grand Avenue.
This proposal ignores the reality of how Grand Avenue functions.
Grand is a major corridor for working-class families, delivery
drivers, seniors, buses, and small businesses.
Reducing lanes and parking to accommodate a narrow special interest
will create more congestion, longer emergency response
times, more traffic spilling onto residential streets,
and greater hardship for local businesses already
struggling.
We all want safer streets, but safety cannot come at the expense of
accessibility, commerce, and common sense.
There are already alternative routes for cyclists that are
designated on Grand Avenue with signage to go
to Hubbard.
It is far less disruptive than transforming one of
our neighborhood's main arteries.
Instead of forcing bike lanes onto Grand Avenue, the city should focus on
improving, expanding the Hubbard Street bike path, and
strengthening connections to routes that already serve cyclists
safely and efficiently.
And I am tired of hearing that this is a done deal.
Nothing is ever a done deal when residents raise legitimate concerns
about their community. We have seen what happened on Archer Avenue, a
community now dealing with additional traffic disruption and
frustration after bike lane changes that many believe damage
traffic flow and accessibility. We should learn from those mistakes
and not repeat them.
The people making these decisions do not live with the consequences every day.
Residents do, store owners do, and families do.
What many residents are asking for is simple.
Real community engagement, not reference to meetings that were
held three years ago, which some of us weren't even invited to.
Not decisions made behind closed doors.
We deserve updated traffic studies, transparent data, and
meaningful input from the people who actually live here in the year
2026.
CDOT needs to survey West Town, just as it surveyed Portage
Park.
A meeting at Smith Park in the year 2023 does not reflect a Grand
Avenue with a new speed camera,
three schools, the artery to Navy Pier, and soon the
artery to the new casino.
Not including the overflow of traffic from the United Center
of patrons trying to get-
Thank you very much. This concludes the public comment period.
Our first order of business is the Rule 45 report from April, which was sent
out via email and distributed to committee members.
Can I have a motion to approve the Rule 45 report?
Everybody at once, but I'll give this one to Vice Chair Cruz.
Vice Chair Cruz so moves. All those in favor of passing the report, say aye.
All of those opposed, say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Moving on to the direct introduction ordinances on pages one through three.
Can I have a motion to recommend approval of all direct introduction ordinances on
pages one through three by the same roll call vote as was applied to
determine quorum?
Alderwoman Manaa-Hoppenworth so moves.
Hearing no objections, so ordered.
Let us turn to pages four through seven for the recommended
portion of the agenda. For items three and six on page four, we
received substitute ordinances that make minor changes to the language per
CDOT's recommendation. These substitutes were emailed out and
distributed today. Can I have a motion to accept these substitute ordinances?
Alderman Lawson so moves. Hearing no objection, so ordered.
Can I have a motion to recommend approval of all recommended items on pages
four through seven, including the previously accepted substitutes by the
same roll call vote as was applied to determine quorum?
Alderman Yancy so moves. Hearing no objections, so ordered.
We will now turn to pages eight through 11 for the no
recommendation portion of the agenda, which are items that received no
recommendation from city departments.
These ordinances were submitted as overrides, are on the agenda at the request
of the alderperson, or do not require departmental approval.
Can I have a motion to recommend approval of all no recommendation items
on pages eight through 11 by the same roll call vote as was
applied to determine quorum?
Alderman Martin so moves. Hearing no objection, so ordered.
We will report these items out at the next regularly scheduled city council
meeting. With there being no further business before the committee, can I have a
motion to adjourn?
Alderwoman Manaa-Hoppenworth so moves.
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
Aye.
We are adjourned. Thank you.