Chicago Politics

Executive Order Signing 8.30.25

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Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over an Executive Order signing.

Transcript

0:08 Thank you.

2:02 Thank you all for joining us this afternoon. Let me start by saying this. I do not take this executive action lightly. I would have preferred to work in a more collaborative approach. I would have preferred to do the work with our allies and city council to pass legislation, ultimately. And we were doing that. We were doing just that.

2:32 But some of the leaders who we are working with are standing behind me today. But unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time. We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city sees some type of militarized activity by the federal government. It is unclear at this time what that will look like exactly. We may see militarized immigration enforcement. We may also see National Guard troops.

3:04 We may even see active-duty military and armed vehicles in our streets. We have not called for this. Our people have not asked for this. But nevertheless, we find ourselves having to respond to this. Let me be absolutely clear. Although we believe the reports we have received are highly credible, This is an erratic, impulsive administration, and it is not always possible to understand and know exactly how he will move.

3:44 He could change his mind. He could reverse course. In fact, I encourage him to do that. Still, we take these threats seriously, and we find ourselves in a position where we must take immediate, drastic action to protect our people from federal overreach. I'm signing an executive order today that will launch the Protecting Chicago Initiative. This is a project that builds on the months of preparation that we have done that has led up to this very moment.

4:15 Protecting Chicago will ensure that every Chicagoan knows their rights, that every single family is prepared, and every part of city government is directed to protect the people of Chicago from federal action. This sweeping executive order directs our Department of Law to pursue any and every legal mechanism to hold this administration accountable for violating the rights of Chicagoans. This order affirms that the Chicago Police Department will not collaborate with military personnel on police patrols or civil immigration enforcement.

4:49 We will not have our police officers, who are working hard every single day, to drive down crime. deputized to do traffic stops and checkpoints for the president. This order affirms the CPD officers will be directed to wear CPD uniforms and refrain from wearing masks so that residents can clearly distinguish them from federal agents. And finally, as I said, it establishes the Protecting Chicago Initiative,

5:21 the most sweeping campaign of any city in the country to protect ourselves from the threats and actions of this out-of-control administration. We will protect our Constitution, we will protect our city, and we will protect our people. We do not want to see tanks in our streets. We do not want to see families ripped apart. We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans. We don't want to see homeless Chicagoans harassed

5:54 or disappeared by federal agents. We don't want to see Chicagoans arrested for sitting on their porch. That's not who we are as a city, and that's not who we are as a nation. My team and I have spoken with the governor, the county president, and with our federal delegation, and we are in complete alignment. The time for action is now. With that, I will sign this executive order and then return for follow-up questions.

8:18 We have made it to the afternoon, yes. Can you just talk about what that's been like trying to get everyone on the same page together at the table? Yeah, well, look, we're a welcoming city, first of all, so that ordinance has been in place for the last 40 years. We've strengthened it under my administration. So the moment that President Trump secured enough electoral votes to become the 47th president, we are fully aware of his animus against working people and particularly immigrant communities.

8:51 So that preparation was making sure that all of our sister agencies and city departments understood their assignment and particularly making sure that people know their rights. And so there's been a continuous process all the way up until the time in which I had to testify before the Oversight Committee. And then even well beyond that, we've seen this president trample all over our Constitution. So, you know, we've already filed multiple lawsuits, I believe 40 lawsuits. You just saw that the courts have deemed most of his taxes to benefit the ultra-rich or illegal.

9:25 So this is not a surprise to us in terms of his erratic and petulant behavior, but this is also about making sure that we are strengthening all of our departments across the board to ensure that we are protecting Chicagoans. That's what this is about. Of course, we would have preferred to go through the natural course of the legislative process, and we will continue to do that with our investments, but this is about protecting the people of Chicago. Can you talk about why you need an executive order to do that, if it's not working?

9:57 doing, informing people of their rights? What does this executive order actually do? Well, one of the things that it does is it ensures that there's a clear distinction between our local police department and federal agents. It gives a very clear directive, but it also gives very specific directives to our law department to make specific FOIA requests so that if there's any immigration enforcement that's happening in our city, we have to know about it. Just back in June 4th, there was an entire operation in our city that the federal government didn't disclose. This is about uncovering the truth. But this is also about

10:33 making sure that every single legal measure that's available to us, that my law department pursues it. But it's also ensuring that all of our departments are in lockstep to protect Chicagoans. That's what this is about. This president continues to go well beyond the bounds of the Constitution to the extent in which our democracy is in peril right now. I'm going to do everything in my power, as the mayor of this city, to protect Chicagoans. To make sure that CPD and federal law enforcement know how to work together.

11:13 And there's a lot of coordination that happens to see those two. And I think this is a step forward, right, to make sure that you're taking out federal agents in the shadows and defining what they expect. Well, look, you framed it quite well. And quite frankly, the reason why this executive order is so paramount is because even though we know that this president is behaving outside of the bounds of the Constitution, it hasn't stopped him. But it stops in Chicago.

11:45 And so this is about making a very clear distinction between what our law enforcement engages in versus what federal agents engage in. Because, look, we have collaborated before, particularly getting guns off the streets of Chicago, the trafficking of drugs, the trafficking of human beings across this country. You know, we have just had a major breakthrough where guns that were trafficked in from Indiana and Mississippi, we were able to interrupt that and get over 150 guns off the streets of Chicago.

12:18 That's not what's happening right now. And so this executive order makes it emphatically clear that this president is not going to come in and deputize our police department. Well, I'm telling you what the city knows, right? And here's what we do know, that the federal government, under the direction of President Donald Trump,

12:54 is preparing to send an expansive slew of federal agents to the city of Chicago. And whether it's border control, ICE agents, right, this part, which is the most upsetting, is that he has funded the ICE division of the government at a rate that is only second to the American United States government and the Chinese military.

13:27 And that's dangerous, right? And so we are hearing that he plans to send these individuals to the city of Chicago this week as early as Friday. But let's be very clear what his ultimate motives are, though. He wants to send in federal troops. Make no mistake about it, he wants to send in the National Guard. He is looking to provocate to justify his failures. The fact of the matter is it's disrespectful to law enforcement.

13:59 Our police department has worked incredibly hard to drive down violence in the city of Chicago. This is not about violence reduction, because if it were, he would be making investments. And I can tell you what those investments have done thus far. 32% reduction in homicides. Shootings are down almost 40%. Shooting victims are down almost 40%. So this is about the militarization of cities. And in the city of Chicago, we're going to be very clear about our position to protect democracy, to protect Chicagoans, to protect our people.

14:31 What recourse or enforcement will happen if federal agents or troops break your rule on their masks or shorts or badge number will you sue? We will use every single tool that is at our disposal, and that includes the courts. It's an area in which at least there's some semblance of check and balance in this country. Look, he's tried to sue cities like mine, and he lost. particularly around trying to withhold federal dollars because we are a welcoming city and so yes we will use the courts if that's necessary yes these are a matter of days we don't have weeks

15:08 to uh we're talking about days and so this this is about making sure that we are prepared that there's a real clear guidance and that there are absolute directives coming from my office to all of our city departments and sister agencies and to all of Chicagoans of how we can stand up against this tyranny. Does that include agents, how many troops,

15:39 how many armored vehicles? What is the blueprint? Are they going to have checkpoints, or how is that going to look like? Well, we don't have those specifics, but what we can go off of of what he has done in Los Angeles, and I've been in conversation with Mayor Bass. That's the benefit of this particular moment, that we have been in communications with mayors across this country sharing what their experiences have been. And so what his ultimate desire is to come into our city, to break the Constitution,

16:12 and to break our democracy, and to break our city. And Chicago is going to remain firm in our position. We're going to be prepared for anything and everything. And the best level of preparation is to make sure that people know their rights and that all of our city departments and sister agencies know exactly what I expect of them in the event that the federal government works outside the bounds of the Constitution.

16:44 There is no secret of what I want from the federal government. There's no secret. In fact, he ignores it. $800 million that he took from cities like Chicago for violence prevention. What a slap in the face to the people who serve this city to try to override local authority. We've said fund our education system, invest in affordable housing, ensure that we are collaborating to get guns off the streets of Chicago.

17:18 We're stopping guns being trafficked in from states that voted for him. And so now we do all of this hard work, this group assignment in the city of Chicago, and he wants to come at the end of the year before the assignment is due to try to put his name on the paper. He is reckless and out of control. He is the biggest threat to our democracy that we've experienced in the history of our country. Dr. Alderman Ray Lopez, these are federal agents we're talking about.

18:03 They're taking orders from the federal government, not from the Canadian Congress. Yeah, and I don't take orders from the federal government. Thank you all very much.

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