I appreciate what you guys see out there.
That was terrible.
They would have seen that.
So, Luke and all, oh my God,
I got one of those friends from high school.
So, I have no idea.
I have no idea.
I have no idea.
I didn't know.
I grew up with humanity.
And you got some of those.
When you were running,
we grew up together.
All right. Thank you all for being patient.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for joining us.
In today's city council meeting today, we adopted a resolution honoring the late great Reverend Jesse L. Jackson,
Sr. As Chicago continues to hold the Jackson family in our hearts and prayers, we honor
the life and enduring impact of Reverend Jackson, and we will continue to pledge to carry on
his fight for equity and justice. We also adopted a resolution in honor of Women's History
Month, and throughout the month of March, the City of Chicago will celebrate the achievements,
resilience, and of course the enduring impact of Chicago's women. In today's meeting, City
City Council approved a measure that empowers COPA to investigate if Chicago police officers
violate the Welcoming City Ordinance, which prohibits all city employees from assisting
federal immigration enforcement agents.
This is a common-sense measure that will maintain the trust that we have built between law enforcement
and the community, especially our immigrant communities.
Next, City Council approved the Department of Housing support of various housing projects
across the city.
including a mixed-income building in Morgan Park and a senior housing development.
Altogether, we provided city financial support for 187 new units of housing to be constructed,
including, most importantly, affordable units.
This is an important step of my administration as we continue to face this housing crisis head-on.
As we continue to work to build the safest, most affordable big city in America,
I'm grateful that City Council has moved in the right direction to ensure that that comes into fruition.
City Council also approved the establishment of the Chicago Tourism Improvement District,
which is expected to spear the creation of over 25,000 jobs, $2.9 billion in visitor spending,
and $40 million annually in new revenue.
That revenue will be crucial in the cities, as well as choose Chicago's efforts to market our city
as the greatest city in the world for tourism, business, travel, conventions, and large-scale events.
The Tourism Improvement District will attract tourists to the downtown area
and, of course, throughout all of our vibrant neighborhoods
by, one, combating the negative narratives that surround our city,
most importantly, by ensuring that we have funds to cover the bid fees for large events,
and then, of course, to maintain our status as the best big city in America for nine consecutive years.
Finally, I'm deeply discouraged, of course, by the vote by a majority of the city council
to halt the phasing out of the subminimum tipped wage through my administration's One Fair Wage Ordinance.
But I'm standing with incredible leaders.
I want to thank two of our alders, Alders Rodriguez and Fuentes,
who have worked strong to ensure that working people and our values are front and center.
I'm also grateful, of course, that we have incredible advocates through the One Fair Wage organizing effort that are also standing with us today.
We will continue to stand with working people across the city.
At a time in which affordability is top of mind for our residents and it's becoming increasingly difficult to raise a family in cities across America,
now more than ever we must ensure that we are doing everything in our power to protect working people.
But the self-proclaimed Democrats who stripped away resources and wages from hardworking Chicagoans, it's shameful, quite frankly.
Empowering working people, especially black and brown women, who more than any other group earn sub-minimum wages, is how we build safe and affordable communities.
Despite claims to the contrary, the data is clear, Chicago's restaurant industry is growing.
Since July 1st, 2024, when the first pay increase took effect, the city had issued 1,574 new retail food establishment licenses, a net gain of more than 1,400 licenses.
We have seen an increase in employment in the hospitality industry.
More Chicagoans are employed in these rows now than when this was first enacted.
All of this shows that what we have been saying all along, we can ensure our workers have the support they need and grow business in our city.
And for these reasons, I will continue to act in my full authority and ensure that this ordinance does not see the full light of day.
And that means using every single tool that's available to me to push back against what happened in city council today.
I will not sit idly by as working people struggle to make rent and to pay for food
and to make sure that their children have everything that they need,
ensuring that we are working hard to not just build a fair wage but a livable wage.
We are building Chicago into the most pro-worker city in America,
and I will not allow the wealthy interest and their supporters on the city council to send us backwards.
I'm also grateful that we are here with Ms. Capella and Ms. White,
who assume their official capacity today, and two very important aspects of government,
community safety and accountability, and, of course, how we treat our animals.
So thank you both for being here and for your leadership.
And with that, Keith, we'll...
Mayor, we'll start here.
Good afternoon, Mayor.
Just to be totally clear, does that mean you will veto the freeze today that came out of City Council?
I believe that's the only fair thing to do to make sure that we're standing up for working people.
And I'm glad Jeff is willing to sit through this and listen to off-topic and on-topic questions.
So thank you, Jeff.
So we should expect to veto officially in the coming days?
You know, we have – I don't know what the timeline is around that.
But, again, I'm not going to stand idly by and watch black and brown women suffer at the hands of corporate interest.
What's your message?
We have heard from some business owners who say they are struggling and they point to the tipped wage phase out as one factor, possibly several, in that calculation.
What's your message to them who really do think that they are losing money because of this ordinance?
Well, look, as I've said before, we have to ensure that our small businesses experience growth and opportunity while also ensuring that working people are supported as well.
It's why we put forth the $1.25 billion bond.
It's the largest investment bond for economic development in the history of Chicago.
No other mayor has prioritized small businesses the way I have.
While at the same time, no other mayor has ensured that working people can have a livable wage and can live with dignity.
We don't have to pit these groups against one another.
What I find actually quite ironic is that those who are moving this with expediency are the largest corporate interests around the industry that, quite frankly, do not live or even connect or even support the very communities in which they see or claim that they're standing up for.
It's shameful, right?
March 26th, we're going to celebrate equal pay for women.
People were on the city council floor praising Reverend Jackson.
who stood up for labor, working people,
Unite Here, he stood by them.
SEIU, child care providers, he stood by them.
All of whom I've provided raises for since I've been in office.
And the very people, of course, that Reverend Jackson stood for,
the very people that Reverend Jackson said,
you are somebody, Democrats decided to take wages away from those workers.
Look, I'm going to continue to work with the small business community,
but to blame a black woman for the loss of anything in this economy.
Look, I know black women very well.
I know brown women very well.
I know they get blamed for a lot of stuff.
They do.
We've blamed them for elections.
Right? We've blamed them for, you know, the rearing of children
Both of which are wrong, and now we're blaming them for businesses going out of business?
At some point, they're going to stop picking on black and brown women.
And if I got to veto something to make sure that black and brown women are protected, then veto it is.
Jeff, how are you doing, Mayor Johnson?
Man, I'm a little disappointed, to be honest with you.
You had Julianna Stratton calling for twenty five dollars an hour at the at the federal level and one and people who are ostensibly Democrats said that black women and brown women who barely make their twelve dollars an hour.
Not for y'all. There is like a real disconnect that's going on in city council right now.
It's like an universe. The entire world is calling for affordability in raising wages.
And this city council just took raises away from black and brown women.
What's your question?
How are you doing?
I'm doing well.
Appreciate that. Thank you.
Are you leaving open any opportunity to talk through with these aldermen a slower change in the tipped minimum wage or a slower timetable?
I believe Alderwoman Fuentes gave them five years.
Five.
Five years.
Okay.
How much slower?
So we've already had that conversation.
That's the point.
That's why it's so disappointing here.
And then to not make room for the considerations that, quite frankly, we have not seen any empirical evidence.
Now, we've heard of some anecdotal evidence, and we'll take that into consideration, but there's no empirical evidence.
There are more restaurants applying for license than we've ever had in the history of Chicago.
i mean i i am i am more curious around you all's curiosity around the people who voted to take
wages away from black and brown women at a time in which business is booming in chicago thank you
i got one more sure i appreciate that thank you a quick question about the uh the fair access to
democracy ordinance it was introduced today and sent to committee uh it includes a working group
on access to polling places and whatnot, does not include language about democracy zones.
Talk a little bit about the shift there and what you're hoping that that working group will come up with.
They're going to come up with recommendations for me.
Look, I still believe that we should have democracy-free zones.
There are still ways in which that can be accomplished.
You actually may have saw that the clerk in DuPage County essentially established those for the primary on yesterday.
basically calling for those zones, if you will, for polling places to not be inundated, if you will,
or without notification, immigration enforcement.
So, look, the two measures that are in there, the three, one for recommendations,
Two, for making sure that, you know, we're not, you know, doxing poll workers, poll watchers and election workers, particularly because one in four of them are CPS students.
Many of them are older, but also securing our mailboxes.
Those are important measures.
And so what other recommendations come from the working group, we'll take them into consideration.
And this does not mean that we're shifting away from democracy-free zones.
Hi, Mayor. How are you doing?
You know the answer, Justin. Knock it off. I'm doing great. Thank you.
I know that you, or at least your office, has met with Justin Ishpia about his potential purchase of the Amtrak site across from the 78.
Can you share details of what he shared and your reaction to what he shared?
Yeah, I mean, essentially the details that he shared were really centered around how the museum campus
and that entire stretch and that strip, you're talking about One Central?
No, no, I'm sorry.
Justin Ishbia, the future White Sox owner, the Amtrak across the river from the 78.
Yeah, I mean, they want to stay in Chicago.
They're looking at different spaces that, you know, could make sense for the White Sox.
So, you know, we're going to continue to have conversations with people.
It's clear that all of our sports teams want to stay in Chicago.
They do.
The Bears made a proposal for that.
We didn't have the partnership in Springfield the way the partnership is being amassed for Arlington Heights.
We're just saying that it's evident that between Chicago Fire, Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks have expanded.
And at their footprint, the 1901 project, you know, I think what it really speaks to is that there is good reason to keep our franchises in the city of Chicago.
Did Ishpia's team outline any, you know, subsidies, public support for what they envision there through TIF or infrastructure?
That was a very broad conversation. Of course, they're going to have ass of the city, but we're not nowhere near that part of the conversation.
Hi, Mayor.
Could you elaborate on which irregularities you are concerned about with the CHA CEO vote?
Are we talking about that being a fireable offense, worthy of a lawsuit?
Well, look, this individual that was moved yesterday, many of the board members had not met with him.
The community had not met with him.
I had never met with him.
This was orchestrated by one particular individual.
And at a time in which housing is such a critical component of building safer and more affordable communities,
we have to have an open and a transparent process where everybody and all the stakeholders get to weigh in.
So what recourse would you have to stop this?
Well, I mean, look, I'm going to take the necessary measures to make sure that we have an open process because that's important, right?
I mean, look, the people who are closest to this decision did not get a chance to weigh in.
And, you know, we cannot subject ourselves to the old style of governance where decisions are made by one individual in a room where the community did not get a chance to engage.
And your last, the last CTA appointment to fill the last vacancy on the board, can one interpret that to mean that we might see a CTA president appointment before June?
One could.
Thanks, Ellis.
Hey, Mayor.
Hey.
How's it going?
Pretty good.
Are you confident that four alders will not flip to Alderwoman Nugent's side,
especially given that your budget and education chairs didn't stand with you and your coalition here?
Well, look, standing with black and brown women, that is the least we can do as elected leaders.
What I'm confident in is that as we build the most pro-worker city in America,
that that's going to benefit the very communities that have been subject to disinvestment.
That's what I'm confident in.
I will always remain confident with the people.
Check it out.
If people were comfortable enough running on what we've governed around,
and the people of this state actually elected people on the things that we have governed on in this city,
That's all the confidence that I need.
And what do you think that the decision by a city council majority to, for a lot of people, flip and to overturn the effort that they made to freeze this shows?
Does it show the size of corporate opposition to your agenda or is it that you're losing momentum?
What is it?
I mean, look, you have to ask them, you know, that question, Jake, quite frankly.
I mean, I'm not going to try to get into the psyche of individuals who decide that they're no longer going to stand with black and brown women.
I mean, you have to ask them that.
I can tell you emphatically what I'm doing and what I'm going to continue to do.
Standing with workers is what this city and what this country needs.
Standing with people who have been stuffed in the margins for decades.
That's what this moment requires.
Maybe that's difficult for other people.
And this is not to say that we're not going to listen to the interest of small business owners.
Those conversations did not happen, not in a robust way where we can really pinpoint where the challenges lie.
And so, look, I just think it's well past time that in the city of Chicago, in this country, that we have to stand 10 toes down with our sisters.
And I'm going to do that.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon.
So even before yesterday's appointment of a CHA CEO.
from the D.C. area, our cauldron of sources have said that yet a third letter has gone from your office
to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development asking them to reconsider blocking Walter Burnett's appointment to that position.
They also speculate that the letter may have triggered HUD Secretary Scott Turner enough to personally come up to Chicago to see you sometime.
If that does, if and when that does happen, what would you tell him about Walter Burnett and the other tons of CHA messiness?
Well, first of all, there's been no blockage from the federal government of the former alderman.
It's just that there's no blockage, right?
Right. There's been questions from the local space of housing authority around him being a former elected leader, though former elected leaders around the country have been placed in positions or similar positions of what Alderman Burnett is being considered for.
So I just want to just eliminate this idea that somehow it's the federal government at the highest level blocking a particular appointment.
Here's what people know about Alderman Burnett.
He is someone who is as close as you can get to the challenge.
He grew up in public housing, an elected leader for 30 years.
His entire ward has been transformed as a result of his leadership.
And what I'm going to say is that there's a commitment from my administration to ensure that public housing becomes a real benefit for the public,
in particular at a time in which we know that we need more and more and more units to continue to drive the cost of housing down,
but more importantly, to make sure that working people can have stable, affordable housing.
So to clarify, the HUD has not found him to be a troublesome choice in any shape or form?
No shape, no reform.
Okay, interesting.
So since your Black History Month comparison of foundational and legacy blacks to immigrants,
which we presume would include IAs as well as potential immigrants,
Somalian Minnesotans are demanding reparations at $200,000 a pop
for perceived injuries from immigration and customs enforcement raids.
So presuming that you and your folks support that kind of restitution for them
and other ethnic groups subjected to ICE activity across the states,
how long will they have to wait their turn behind descendants of U.S. chattel slaves
at the front of the line for reparations?
You're asking me how long Somalians will have to wait for reparations?
Yeah, because foundational and legacy blacks are saying ours first before they get anything.
Okay, that's your opinion?
No, that's not my opinion.
I want to understand you're asking me how long will Somalians have to wait for reparations?
Yes, I'm asking a question.
How long will they have to wait for reparations?
I don't know how long Somalians are going to have to wait for reparations.
Do you think they deserve that?
I mean, look, I could speak to the reparations task force that we have put together here in Chicago,
which I know that my team has gotten information back to you as you've requested.
That task force will continue to move forward to provide recommendations on how we respond to the atrocities
that descendants of the enslaved black Americans experience in Chicago.
That's what our task force does. As far as any other task force considering reparations for other groups, those reparation groups have existed before. I believe there's been reparations for a number of Asian Americans, right? Jewish Americans, right? Reparations is not a new concept. It's only been met with a great deal of animus when it comes to black folks and descendants of the enslaved, right?
But our focus is going to be on our task force and its responsibility for black Chicagoans who are descendants of the enslaved.
Is that everybody?
That's all good.
Thank you, Mark.
All right.
Is that everybody?
All right.
Very good.
Thank you all so much, man.
Appreciate you.