Oh, well, good afternoon, everyone.
Man, well, I feel like this is like the WNBA All-Star game or something.
All of these cameras and the energy and the voices of not just tomorrow, but the voices of today are in the room.
So thank you all for being here.
It's a true honor and a pleasure to join you all for my administration's first ever Youth Media Day right here.
You know, journalism is a core tenet of our democracy.
It's about holding those in power accountable to the truth and to the people that they are called to serve.
I'm grateful to see you all engaging in our democracy while also exploring this career as a possible pathway.
If you've ever had the opportunity to watch one of my press conferences live streamed on socials or on the news,
you will notice that we've provided the same setup for you here today.
And this is a real opportunity for you to ask me questions and to do it on behalf of your peers.
And then you can ask those questions as it relates to my plan to build the safest,
most affordable big city in America and the role that young people play in seeing that come to fruition.
Youth Media Day reflects my administration's commitment to investing in young people's careers,
pathways, and supporting their hands-on learning. That commitment is also reflected in our 2025
Youth Impact Report that is published today. The 2025 Youth Impact Report captures a year
of collaboration, investment, and prioritization of our city's young people, highlighting the work
that city departments, community organizations, and young people have achieved together.
And some of the key highlights in the report will show that there's a 10.6 percent increase in our youth employment.
For paid summer jobs from 2024 to 2025, over 49,000 unique users joined the MyShi, MyFuture app and website,
and over 14,000 attendees came out to Youth Plan Safe Spaces as a part of MyShi, MyFuture programming.
And behind every one of those numbers is a young person who earned a paycheck, learned a new skill,
started their career, and gained a mentor or a new friend.
The report also highlights our progress in building safer communities for all of you.
In 2025, we saw a 34% decrease in fatal shootings, victimizations among young people under the age of 17,
a 23% decrease in homicides among people under the age of 17.
Of course, these numbers are not a victory lap and it's not a cause for celebration.
Any number of deaths or violence in our city that harms young people is intolerable and unacceptable.
But from our data, we know that youth-focused budgeting decisions and programs are really making a difference,
effectively keeping people safe, our young people in particular.
It's keeping young people engaged and focused on their future.
Finally, I believe that we are effective in part because many of the youth programs have been designed by your voices, your ideas, your hopes and aspirations are coming to fruition in my administration.
We consistently seek your voices to inform city priorities, budgeting decisions, and program design.
We will continue to do that in the year 2026.
With your support, we will create more opportunities like Youth Media Day, where you and your peers can gain hands-on professional experience and explore career pathways.
It is important that we are meeting young people where they are.
And whatever social or digital platforms that they're on, we have to make sure that we are communicating through those means.
With that, I thank you all again for leading this press conference today.
Telling your stories and making sure that the voices of your peers are amplified in this moment
is key to not just building power, but it's key to ensuring that our democracy outlives us.
I believe that with your reporting, we can inform your peers about opportunities throughout the city
where they can gain professional and educational experiences.
And then maybe even one day, they'll get paid to do it.
So thank you all again, and I'm happy to answer all of your questions.
Thank you.
Mayor, we'll start with our first question right here.
Okay, are your mics on?
Hello.
Okay.
Hi, my name is Shania Newell, and I'm a senior at High Park Academy.
Today I wanted to ask you, are you aware that teachers are not engaged in classrooms,
such as teachers are eating during class time on their phones during class time?
This causes young people to lose motivation to go to school.
So how can you get CPS teachers more engaged during class time?
Wow.
Well, as someone who never ate in front of my students,
as someone who in particular had to clean up after my students,
I don't know if you all still, like, tear up rooms with sunflower seeds and Cheetos.
Do y'all still leave sunflower seeds?
Y'all know what I'm talking about.
So for you adults in the room who have never taught in the classroom,
the worst time of the day is at the end of the period
when you have to walk around all of the desks and pick up sunflower seeds
that somehow I managed to miss the entire time while I was teaching.
You know, look, I think it's imperative that our adults who are responsible for educational outcomes,
in part at least, are fully engaged.
One of the things that I think is going to be critical for that type of engagement,
it's not just about what they do in the traditional sense of classroom engagement,
because that is important.
But it's about making sure that our educators who have other and additional skills,
that they also use their expertise to help grow programming in our buildings.
So one of the things that I did, not only did I coach sports,
but I was also the teacher lead for MICFA Challenge to create more opportunities for young people to engage in politics.
So, you know, look, I know that there are examples when adults don't always show up in their very best presentation.
I think what could be a necessary step is to work with an educator that you trust.
Typically, and I hope you have at least one educator in that building that you trust,
most students will have at least one educator.
I don't know if the kids like me that much.
I had to convince my students to pay attention in social studies.
I know none of you all have ever nodded off in social studies class.
I know you all are very, very ardent students of history,
and now I've got to convince those same students to vote for me,
but that's a different conversation for another time.
But find that adult in the building that you trust
and have a very open, honest dialogue, and I'm confident that if you bring people together
around what you all want from your educators, not just within the confines of the typical workday,
but even after school, I would be happy to hear the outcome of that type of engagement
with someone that you trust, okay?
Thank you.
Thank you.
And y'all stop eating sunflower seeds in my class.
All right.
Go ahead.
Okay.
Hello.
My name is Waria.
I'm a senior at Hyde Park, and my question for you is, what's one decision you made as a mayor that was unpopular at the time,
but you believe will create a better long-term opportunities for young people?
Yeah, well, look, I will say that there are a number of adults in our city that act like they weren't children or kids.
And one of the things that's most frustrating to me as mayor of the city of Chicago is that we have adults in power who want to enact law that they would not have appreciated if they were in your position.
And one of the things that at the time within certain segments of the city, when there was an attempt to put forward what was essentially named the snap curfew that would have given the police superintendent unilateral control to enact a curfew regardless of the circumstances, I was incredibly concerned about the violation of human rights, particularly amongst black and brown students.
And so even though that ordinance went forward, I vetoed it with my power and my authority, because if we're going to keep young people safe, we have to do it with you all's voice, and we have to make sure that we are not setting you all up to have your constitutional rights violated.
Look, I don't want any harm to come to any of you.
I have a senior at Kenwood now.
He's graduating, and he's prepared to go off to college.
And y'all pray for me because I don't want my baby to leave Chicago, but it looks like he's going to do that.
But I want him to be safe.
And what I want for my children, I want for all of you.
And even though it wasn't popular with certain segments of city council members, I still believe it was the right thing to do.
We can keep you all safe without violating your constitutional rights.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Hello.
Hello.
My name is Evan.
I'm going to Hyde Park.
I'm a senior.
Hyde Park is well represented today, aren't you?
And I was going to ask you about the shooting on 79th in the Arbor and Gresham neighborhood involving a woman and her baby.
I was going to ask, what steps are being taken to reduce gun violence and create a positive opportunity for teens who might not be interested in some of the programs that exist?
Yeah.
You know, look, every time, that is the most difficult part about my job.
Every single morning, you all, I have an 8 o'clock call with my chief of staff
and a few other members of my administration,
and we go over what happened the night before or while I was asleep.
And it's probably one of the most anxious moments of my day
because I have to get the report of violence in particular that happens.
Last night, though there were a couple of shootings, no one lost their life.
So last night was a relatively decent night for Chicago.
I think in this incident, it just highlights a couple of things.
One, we have to get these illegal weapons off the streets of Chicago.
We, with our police department, we removed over 11,000 guns off the streets of Chicago just last year alone.
Think about that, 11,000 illegal weapons, right?
And working with our federal partners to do that is a concerted effort to keep illegal weapons out of the hands of people.
I think the second thing is, you know, as we talk about this report, this youth impact,
one of the reasons why you all's voices are so critical in this moment is because you're right,
every single young person may not identify with the programs that we are developing.
And so I need you all's voices to help us come up with ways in which we can engage young people
who may not, for whatever reason, don't connect with the programming that we're offering.
And that's why, three, we're utilizing more school-based programming to help meet young people where they are.
One of the things that I did in this last budget, we released over a half a billion dollars back into our public schools.
It's the largest surplus of TIP dollars to ever be released into our public schools,
because the more we can provide young people, particularly on the front end, with intervention, I'm sorry, with prevention,
it strengthens our ability to prevent those type of tragedies from occurring.
I think the final thing is this, you all. The best way you can demonstrate how much you care about someone is to invest directly into them.
And that's why I fought hard to make sure that the ultra-rich and these big corporations who get these incredible tax breaks from the federal government,
they have to pay their fair share in taxes because for every life that we save, we are saving black and brown lives
because these are the lives who are overwhelmingly impacted by disinvestment.
So I'm going to use all those tools that's available to me.
I need you all to partner with me to make sure that we're communicating effectively with young people who may not connect with these programs.
And then let's make sure that we have school-level-based programming and opportunities so that if those young people, for whatever reason, don't leave outside of their neighborhoods or they just feel more comfortable working within the school environment, that there are resources and services there available for them.
Thank you for that question.
Mayor, we've got two more questions on this side.
Okay.
Hello.
I'm C. Andrea Riley-Davis.
And by the way, I think from now on in my press conferences, I'm going to make reporters stand when they ask questions.
Thank you for being a good example.
I'm C. Andrea Riley Davis, a youth producer for Community TV Network.
Safety is such an important issue for youth in Chicago.
Recently, students are having to fear the presence of ICE agents.
Attendance rates have been dropping across some CPS schools.
How do you plan on keeping students safe from ICE agents?
Yeah, thank you for that question.
And I just want to, first of all, commend you all in this room for demonstrating true solidarity.
I want to just say something. I'm going to sound like a parent and a little preachy.
Don't allow certain public sentiment to dictate to you what's important to you.
because the federal government and its overreach and working outside of the confines of the Constitution,
that's a threat to all of us.
That's not just about our undocumented and our immigrant siblings.
This impacts black, brown, white, Asian families.
all of us will suffer under a federal regime that undermines our constitutional rights.
And so one of the things, well, there's three things that we've done.
One, I've used my executive authority to protect the people of this city.
Three executive orders in particular, making sure that people know their rights
and that every single city department and sister agency works within those rights,
which is guided by our welcoming city ordinance, which was passed 40 years ago
by the first black mayor in the history of this city, Mayor here in Washington.
The second thing is that I signed an executive order essentially creating parameters
around where ICE can set up its operations.
So we have ICE-free zones where the federal government cannot operate on city-owned property.
The third thing that we've done through an executive order is that we have created a pathway for accountability so that in the event one of these federal agents works outside of the parameters of the Constitution, that we can create a pathway for prosecution and accountability.
All three of those executive orders, cities around America have drawn strength from those executive orders, and now you have other cities enacting those same executive orders.
The final thing is, two more things, litigation.
So we're going to the courts, right?
The courts have made it very clear when the Trump administration tried to deploy the National Guard to the city of Chicago,
the courts ruled that that was unconstitutional.
And then finally, you all, it's going to take organizing on the ground.
Government responds when the people are united.
When the people are united, they always prevail.
You know, we are mourning the loss of Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., an incredible human being who fought for.
a room like this to exist. The Rainbow Coalition, a black, brown, white, Asian, young, old,
from every single corner of the universe can come together to make sure that we are protecting all
of our residents. As long as I'm mayor of the city of Chicago, I'm going to use every single
power that I have to ensure that we're protecting the people of this city. Whether you are documented
or not, you deserve to feel safe and confident and comfortable in the city that you call home,
which of course is the greatest city in the world, the city of Chicago.
Right here, Mayor.
Over here, Mayor.
Hi, my name is Nakaya Williams, and I'm a senior at Curie Metropolitan High School.
Before I get into my question, did you see that the Curie Condors beat the Kenwood last night?
Kenwood, my girls, yeah.
Let me just say.
And did you see that we're going to the championship?
Yeah, you bogus for that.
Yeah, I saw y'all little victory over there.
Big Condors, big Condors.
But my question is.
Congratulations to the Condors, right?
Yeah.
That's right.
Yeah, you know we Condors.
But my question is, in the Impact Report, we see that you have a lot of programs for the youth.
What are some new programs and job opportunities that you and your administration are working on for our young people in Chicago?
Yeah, that's a great question.
So one of the programs that I'm really excited about, and we want to figure out how to expand this.
So two years ago, Madam Condor, we instituted a pilot program where high school seniors could work in the summer for our streets and sanitation department, right?
It was a pilot program.
And I believe there were about 75 seniors who took advantage of that.
Fifty-five of them stayed.
They're going into their third year.
By the end of their third year, they will be earning, I believe, $90,000 a year.
Just to put that in context, and so these young people will be 22 years old, earning $90,000 a year with full benefits with retirement that they're paying into to secure their retirement, so they're benching.
My wife and I, this is, Owen is 18, when I first took my job as a public school teacher, I had a master's degree plus.
I was 30 years old, and between my wife and I, we had a combined salary.
She had two master's degrees. I had a master's degree plus some additional credit.
Combined, I believe we were earning about $75,000, $80,000 a year.
So we have 22-year-olds in this city who will be earning more with one job than my wife and I earned together with five, six degrees between the two of us.
I wish that was available to me when I was 18 years old.
And so what we're looking to do is to figure out how do we create those opportunities, not just in streets and sanitation, but in other entities of government.
And I'm willing to partner with you all to find other ways in which we can create pathways for your career to get jump started right as you come out of high school.
Now, if you decide that you still want to go to college, you can do that.
I did that.
I worked and had a job and took courses.
That was just the lot that was available for me.
but I want to create pathways for you all's careers as early as possible.
Why? Because I want to keep you in Chicago, you all.
Too much Chicago talent goes to other places, and I don't want to see you all leave.
Mayor, we'll go right here.
Good afternoon, Mayor Johnson.
Good afternoon.
My name is Beatrice Rosales.
I'm from Back of the Arts College Prep, and I want to ask,
were you made aware of the lack of art funding our Southside schools have?
And if you were made aware, how do you plan to tackle this funding problem in our Southside schools that grows day to day?
Yeah, that's a great question.
I am aware of it, and I've been aware of it for some time.
I remember when I was teaching middle school, I taught middle school primarily.
I taught a year of high school.
And I remember teaching the lesson, whether that's drawing, whether that's music, whether that's acting, all of that is important.
It's why I said to one of your colleagues earlier, it's why it was so important for me to release more TIF dollars into our schools to help support our arts curriculum.
But here's the thing, you all.
The real fight for more resources for our public schools, it's in Springfield.
There's a funding formula that the General Assembly agreed to fully fund our schools across the state.
Right now, based upon that funding formula, $1.6 billion more should be in our public schools
to be able to fund art and all of the programs that will help enrich our student success.
I need you all to join me in this collective work to challenge our state reps, our state senators,
our governor, to ensure that our schools are fully funded,
because I believe it's through the arts that allows us to protect culture.
If you think about the federal attacks that are coming, they're going after the culture because if you can erase someone's culture, you can erase their existence.
And preserving our culture is tied directly to our arts program.
The last thing that I'll say is, so that you all are aware,
we have an entire entity of government that is dedicated to the arts.
It's called D-CASE.
Right now we have an acting commissioner, Kenya Merritt.
And so if you are interested in connecting with her,
because there are a number of arts programs that we want to make available through the city,
as well as supporting our schools,
Please connect with us afterwards, and I'm happy to put you in contact with her.
So now you can say you know somebody.
All right.
You're welcome.
My name is Chanel, and I'm a senior at Dunbar, and my question is,
are you aware of the teen takeover crisis, and if so,
how is Team Bash a more safer engagement for teens?
Yeah, you know, I'm aware of this.
This goes back to a question that was asked earlier about a decision that I made
that perhaps made some people upset.
I am aware that there are young people who gather downtown, and some go down there because they want to have a good time, and some go down there to cause problems.
And, you know, what I've said repeatedly, if we give young people more activated spaces, then I believe that we can reduce those type of trends from happening.
But it has to be something that people want to go to.
So the Teen Bash is just one example.
There's other programming that we're doing, but I want to make sure that you all's voices are included as well as leading how we set up spaces for young people to want to go to.
Because the worst thing that you can ever do as an adult is to plan something for young people, and it ain't cool, right?
That's the worst, right?
And so now I like to think of myself as someone who is relatively cool.
So if you just want to kick it with me, maybe we should just do a big mayor's bash.
How about that?
That would be pretty cool.
All right.
Like four or five of you.
The rest of you is like, yeah, I ain't going to that.
All right.
All right.
Thank you.
We'll go right here.
Hello.
My name is Brayla Chambers.
I'm from Hyde Park.
I'm a senior at Hyde Park.
I know we've been hearing about Hyde Park a lot, but we love to represent ourselves.
Yes, y'all do.
I wanted to ask, kind of to piggyback off of her question, I know a lot of teens, they
don't have third spaces whether they feel don't feel comfortable in them spaces at all what are
how can we increase these third spaces where teens feel safe i know you talked about it just a little
bit but um i wanted to go more in depth because i know there's a lot of problems with like she said
teen takeovers on and all the things like that and it causes more violence so how can we kind of not
diminish it, but kind of
make the problem smaller instead
of increasing it.
Drive that violence down and diminish
these trends that are harmful for our city as a whole.
Right here, Mayor.
Good afternoon. I'm
Cordae McGee. I'm 16. I go to Dunbar.
And my question was, for the non-profit
organizations, do you plan on giving out
more grants so they can continue
to do better things for the youth, like
Champs Mail Mentoring and TrueStore Media?
Yeah, that's a great question. I'm glad you brought up
community-based organizations. Before I was a teacher,
I work for a lot of community-based organizations, one in particular.
I'm more of a YMCA than a person.
That's, you know, kind of the space that I utilize and grew up in and eventually worked in.
So, yeah, we have a number of grants through multiple divisions of government,
whether it's through our community safety, MOCS, Mayor's Office of Community Safety,
Department of Family and Support Services, where we provide grants and funding for these community-based organizations
to work with our young people in particular.
In fact, I was with Commissioner Green earlier today.
She is the commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services,
and we were talking through dollars for the programs inside of our schools
that provide mental health support for students as well.
That is also a revenue conversation.
So when I present my budget, the more engaged that you all are in,
as we fight for more revenue to go towards these community-based organizations,
working with your elders, working with your state reps and state senators,
to ensure that they vote for a budget that ensures that those dollars get to those community-based organizations,
you working alongside of my administration with the people in this room, I believe, can help deliver those resources for those CBOs.
Our final two student questions will be right here.
Lucas, y'all come in hard today.
My goodness.
Hello.
My name is Lucas Bluess.
I'm a senior at Back of the Yards.
And I'm not sure if you know this, but yesterday my school held a student-led walkout.
Basically, we went to Western and 47th, and we protested ICE and the atrocities that they're committing here in Chicago and across the nation.
However, despite its large turnout, I would like to say how there was, like, a group of students who...
Again, use that as an excuse, use the walkout as an excuse to just skip school.
So my question to you, it's like going back to the engagement, is like,
like why do you think that engagement isn't there?
And like, how can we help improve accessibility to these, like,
accessibilities to opportunities to those who aren't as politically active?
Yeah, you know, look, I'm going to just be very candid with you
because that's the only way that I know how to be.
is that organizing and bringing people together is one of the hardest tasks that I believe anyone can do.
It's difficult.
I talked about this earlier.
I had a chance to go to Selma with Reverend Jackson.
We were commemorating Bloody Sunday, the moment in which people across the Edmund Pettus Bridge
courage to take on the system of racism and segregation, and quite frankly, the American
version of an apartheid state. And when I was down there with Reverend Jackson, I'll
never forget this, we were in a conversation, and I was a new organizer at that time, and
I had a very similar question. Like, how do you get people engaged? And if you've ever
seen some of those old civil rights movies or even video clips, and you see people walking
and they kind of look melancholy and they're singing those Negro spirituals
and it's not always very jubilant.
And he said that it was very difficult when they would go from town to town
to get people to join in the work.
He said it was so difficult, it's how Dr. King became the leader
is because no one else stepped forward.
And so he was the last person standing.
It wasn't like he raised his hand.
And this was after the work of A. Philip Randolph, who had led the first march for jobs and justice.
And Dr. Keene, as a young person, took that mantle and organized other young people.
But here's what Reverend said to me, Reverend Jackson.
He said that when the victory is won, everyone will claim that they were crossing that bridge.
But he said the truth of the matter is it's the handful of people that make the biggest difference in this country.
So what I would say to you is that I know you want more people engaged, but you already have everything that you need.
If you believe in this effort and you can convince one other person, you have now increased.
I'm a social studies teacher.
You've increased your power by 100 percent.
Did I get that math right?
So now if you two can find two more.
Now, look, everybody's going to say they crossed that bridge.
But you'll know the truth of why you are out there.
So just continue to keep your head up, continue to organize and build the type of power that's going to not just transform our democracy,
but it's going to make it better than what it was.
All right.
Go ahead.
I just want to say before you ask this question, there's now one Westsider in this room.
Are you the West Side?
Thank you, Jesus.
Finally. No diss to the south side, southwest, north, but finally somebody from my hood.
Okay, my name is Kiana. I attend Hatt Park. I'm a senior.
My question is, what is your long-term vision for youth in Chicago over the next year?
Yeah, thank you for that question.
You know, look, I'll just tell it to you flat.
I want you to raise your family here.
I do.
I want you all to raise your families here.
And, look, you might get a chance to go off to study or maybe you go into another city and work.
But everything that I'm investing in you, it's so that you can reproduce right here in your own city.
I don't want to lose the good talent to other places in this country.
In fact, there is no better place to be right now in this country, quite frankly, in this world, than the city of Chicago.
We are leading the resistance.
First of all, we got the best food in the world, right?
We got the best food in the world.
We have the best universities.
Twenty percent of the world's fresh water is here.
You know, I know we're working on CTA, but we still do have one of the best public transportation systems anywhere in the country.
Knock it off.
I'm just saying, I know I take the green line.
I know what you're talking about, but we're getting better.
We're getting better.
But we have the best housing stock.
It's becoming increasingly more unaffordable in places like New York.
Do you know rent in New York for a one-bedroom is about $4,200, $4,400?
Same thing in Los Angeles.
And listen, I just got off the phone with Mayor Bass.
I love her.
She's doing great work in Los Angeles, you know, and I have a call in to Mayor Mamdani.
He's doing some great work in New York already.
But in terms of affordability, in terms of accessibility.
Chicago is the place to be.
And when you think about some of the great heroes and sheroes of this country,
their birthplace is right here in Chicago.
Politics develops here in Chicago.
So my long-term vision for you all is,
as difficult and as hard as it is sometimes living in this city,
I don't want you to fall out of love with this city
and believe that the only place in which you can experience your wholeness is somewhere else.
And that includes my family as well.
So my long-term vision is that you remain a resident in this city from now until forever
and that you reproduce in this city the conscientiousness that I'm seeing in this room for the next generation.
Ooh, cha.
Thank you.
Is that it?
So pat myself down here.
Mayor, we'll take two questions, one from Jeff and then one from Julian here.
How are you doing, Mayor Johnson?
He's standing up.
He never does this at press conferences.
I'm Jeff Buckles, and I'm a 42nd-year senior from Traverse City High School.
I wonder if you could talk a little bit about something that I think everyone in this room is passionate about,
and I certainly am.
It's the importance of supporting youth media and youth journalism programs.
And I wonder, I am not used to applause at press conferences.
I know you're not either.
And if you might also go back to some of your time as a teacher and talk about your experiences,
if you were an advisor for a yearbook or something like that.
Yeah.
Well, look, thank you for that question.
My wife, I'm going to put her on the spot for a moment.
So my wife graduated with her master's degree from Columbia with a degree in journalism,
and then I kind of messed up her world and ran for mayor.
And so now, you know, she's taken on some other responsibilities as a doula and some other assignments that she has.
But, like, I think journalism is the key to protecting our democracy.
And I believe the investments cannot just be at the college level.
They have to start early.
And, you know, as we talk about extending and expanding resources and programming in our schools,
that's why I'm fighting so hard for it.
Because I just – look, I get that STEM is the hottest thing, right, or they call it STEAM, science, technology, engineering, math.
I just – I believe in liberal arts, right?
I just do.
I just believe that liberal arts gives you a fullness and a full perspective of society.
And so making sure that we are supporting our young people in our public schools and our schools in general to ensure that they get exposure to journalism.
You know, my time as a teacher, there were, I mean, there was never a season where I was not doing something after school or before school.
And, you know, I really enjoyed leading up the programming around Mikva Challenge and getting young people active politically, taking students to Springfield.
to meet their legislators, that engagement.
I always enjoyed coaching sports.
I remember one year, you all, so I'm not really a basketball player.
I know enough about it, but I was kind of, I don't know, pushed to coach the basketball team.
And it was cool until we got to a year where I actually had a really good team.
And so I called my buddy from high school, and I said, listen, this team is good.
They deserve a really good coach and had a chance to help a group of 7th and 8th graders get all the way to the regional game, though we lost.
I think we lost to Pritzker Elementary, which obviously 15 years later is still affecting me because they cheated us.
That's what I'm just saying.
There was a couple calls there.
But, no, what I enjoyed most about that, though, was getting a chance to know the students outside of reading class and social studies class,
that was the real joy, you know, of teaching is I got a chance to experience sides of students that you may not always see
when you have to figure out a comma splice and drawing conclusions and comparing and contrasting.
Am I triggering any of you in the room, by the way, with those statements?
So the main idea of the author's approach, seeing students outside of the classroom,
it's a beauty and a joy that I'll cherish forever.
Is there another question?
Last question right here.
Mr. Mayor, Julian Cruz with WGN.
Also standing up.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for inviting us.
I have an on-topic question, off-topic about the Bears.
We're dying to know what you think about the Bears.
Maybe going to Indiana.
But first, I just wanted to say quickly, if you don't mind, just a quick word to all of the...
The great young people in this room, maybe you're not aware of this, but journalism,
one of the things about journalism is you can move to other fields, you know, with a journalism background.
Like the mayor has a communications team, you know, and sometimes people will leave and take another job.
We just had a producer who had been at WGN for 20 years, and she just got a job at United Airlines in communications.
So, you know, you can go into journalism, and we need you out here.
We really do, with the environment of it.
We're dealing with the political environment across our country.
And I'm so inspired to see you guys here and wish you the best.
And just keep in mind that it's a great stepping stone, journalism.
You can start off and you can move around all kinds of different fields.
So I just wanted to offer that.
Yeah, thank you for that.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And if you will, Mr. Mayor, we're dying to know your thoughts about the Bears may be going to Indiana.
Well, first of all, thank you for those encouraging words for our young people.
That's exactly right.
And those of you, if you have a conviction around environmental justice, for instance,
there are specialized journalism that you can go into and cover hyper-specialized topics as well,
and then, of course, going well beyond the traditional form of journalism.
I will say, look, I still believe that the best place for the Chicago Bears to be is in the city of Chicago.
As you know, a couple of years ago, I put forth a proposal in partnership with the Bears
where they would essentially pay for 72 percent of the stadium that would be owned by the public.
The whole goal of that interaction wasn't necessarily just for the Bears.
That proposal was about, you know, any leader of a major city or city, period, would work to ensure that we have public and private partnerships.
And why is that important?
We're talking about thousands of jobs that would go to people in Chicago.
And not just to build the stadium, but thousands of jobs that would be permanent as a result of a stadium.
And I've always said that there has to be a public benefit and public use to it, and that was in that proposal.
And, you know, the idea of the Bears, I'm going to just say it like this, Arlington Heights and Indiana, it ain't Chicago.
It's not, right?
And I think any discussion that would not keep Chicago whole I think would be short-sighted.
And, you know, again, I'm going to continue to work with everyone who is willing to partner with the city of Chicago
to ensure that we have a public-private infrastructure that allows us to do great work.
Look, we're going to build a new soccer stadium, right, in the South Loop, right?
And we have other major development that's happening outside of the United Center, the 1901 project.
We're talking about multibillion dollars that will create opportunities for the young people in this room.
Why would anyone who represents the city of Chicago in any capacity want to see those job opportunities leave Chicago, right?
And so we should do everything in our power to encourage these public-private partnerships,
and whether it's for the Bears or any other private entity that's going to create opportunities for our young people,
I'm going to use every single tool that's available to me to ensure that the people of Chicago are not just respected,
but they are supported.
All right, thank you all very much.
Thank you, thank you.
If you all don't mind, just real quick, because I want you all to help me feel young again,
which is going to take a lot of work.
But if we could do like a 0.5 flip, seco.
Oh, yeah.
Can we do that?
Can you get my phone real quick?
Yep.
Can we do that?
All right.
So we're going to get the podium.
Oh, we're going to move the podium.
Towards the middle.
I'm going to ask you guys to move in.
We're going to ask you to move in towards the middle.
Hold it higher.
Make sure you can get in.
Get in.
Mayor, I'm going to have you move up just a little bit.
Yep.
I was going to say, stay savage.
Thank you.
Thank you.