# One Fair Wage Event 3.25.26

- Date: March 25, 2026
- Type: Video
- Length: 40:36
- Topic: Other
- Video: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP6pk6csg0Q)
- Transcript: Machine transcription, 4,704 words ([text](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/youtube/NP6pk6csg0Q.txt))
- Mayor: [Brandon Johnson](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor)

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=0) Opening remarks
- [2:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=174) Worker testimony
- [5:47](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=347) Business owner support
- [7:58](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=478) Political leadership address
- [13:06](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=786) Mayor Johnson's keynote
- [25:13](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1513) Press Q&A and conclusion

## Legislation

- [R2026-0023372: Call on Mayor Brandon Johnson and his administration to implement Year 2026 budget package](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/R2026-0023372-call-mayor-brandon-johnson-his-administration)

## Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the One Fair Wage Event.

## Transcript

[1:09](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=69) Excuse me, everybody. We need this cam right here. We need this place. You got to scoot to the right. That'll be great. We good, cams?

[1:53](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=113) Well, first of all, it is truly good to be alive. Can we just celebrate today? First of all, I want to say welcome to the sixth ward. On behalf of these amazing residents, Mrs. Peeler, Mrs. Terry, Mrs. Horton, we want to say that this is the space where love is what love does. And so what makes this day amazing is not just the sun and the warmth in Chicago, but today is a day in which we are saying that wages for the workers matter.

[2:26](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=146) And so we are glad today to witness history. The history is that the voice of those who are never at the table are once again being heard. And so on today, we are grateful for one of the many workers in Chicago that we believe need to have a living wage. And I want y'all to clap your hands for Mrs. Cheryl Taylor as she comes from Fight Now, Chicago. I've been a tip worker for over 15 years.

[2:58](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=178) I have fought for these wages. I have worked in Chicago's restaurant industry for over 15 years, and I've organized, spoke out, and fought to help pass one fair wage ordinance because tip workers deserve stability. Rolling back or freezing wages now will erase years of hard work for workers like me. A wage freeze is a step backwards. We finally started to see progress with wages increasing. Freezing our wages now will push workers backwards, especially when the cost of rent, groceries, transportation, and child care keeps raising.

[3:32](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=212) Families cannot move forward if wages are stuck in the past. CHIP workers are mostly women supporting families. Nearly 75% of workers are women. Many of us mothers are heads of households. A large percentage of us black and Latina women working hard to support our families. Freezing wages hurts women and deepens economic inequality in our communities. Tips are not guaranteed income. Some days tips are good, but other days they are not.

[4:03](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=243) Tips depend on weather, the season, and the economy. A fair-based wage gives workers stability when tips fluctuate. I live on the south side of Chicago. Like many workers, I live in a community that already faces economic challenges. Wage increases help us pay rent, feed our children, stay in our neighborhoods. Freezing wages would make it hard for working families to survive. Rolling back wages would punish workers. Workers should not have to be punished after we finally won some progress.

[4:35](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=275) You cannot give workers raises and then take them away later. That will set a dangerous precedent for working people across the city. This is about dignity and respect. Restaurant workers kept the industry going through difficult times. We deserve dignity, stability, and peace. and a fair pay. During Women's History Month, Chicago should stand with women workers.

[5:07](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=307) Women built this industry. Freezing wages during Women's History Month sends the wrong message. I've spent more than 15 years serving this city. I fought for these wages increases because tip workers deserve stability and dignity. Freezing or rolling back our wages will push families like mine and others backwards. Chicago should move forward on fair wages, not take progress away from the women and workers who keep this city running.

[5:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=341) Come on one more time, could you clap your hands for Ms. Cheryl Taylor? So when we look at what we are facing in our country, but in Chicago, when history needed to be made, we know that God has a way of using strong women And on this corridor over 20 years It was nothing but abandonment And so when we look to Who sets the pace in the city of Chicago As it's already been said It's nothing like a strong woman And in this space that we're standing

[6:12](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=372) Is a woman who refuses to cut the wages Of her workers She said to me when I called her She said Alderman I will make whatever sacrifice I need to make so that no worker of mine loses wages. And it's people like Carmela that makes Chicago amazing. We need more Carmelas in the city of Chicago. So I need you to clap your hands for the owner of Let's Eat to Live, Miss Carmela.

[6:42](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=402) Peace and blessings. My name is Carmela Muhammad, and I'm the owner of Let's Eat to Live Restaurant. Our restaurant is mainly profit, I'm sorry, people over profit. Because without the people, there's no profit. My restaurant employs single mothers, seniors, and students that have to pay a tuition, take care of their children, and their pensions may not be so much. So with this ordinance going up, it's not even that much more.

[7:16](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=436) But being able to pay my employees a wage that they can live off of, It will allow us to make our community a decent, clean, and safe place to live. So, yes, I support this. I 100% support this, even though it does bring a little bit weight on the restaurant, but we are being charged to taking care of our people. Thank you. Thank you.

[7:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=468) Come on, clap your hands, you all, for Ms. Carmela. Everybody say power to the people. So one of the most fierce women in the city of Chicago, she is from the 27th ward. This is 26th ward. we need it everywhere in the city of chicago but she not only holds it down but she also cares for

[8:23](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=503) everyone that comes to work she is a freedom fighter she is a sister that's leading in the struggle and she's a sister that's fighting for everyone to make the right wage the fair wage and the living wage. I want y'all to clap y'all hands for the 26th Ward Alderwoman, none other than Jessie Fuentes. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here

[8:55](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=535) today. Today, I'm grateful for the mayor in being able to exercise his power to veto an ordinance that is seeking to freeze the phasing out of the sub-minimum wage here in the city of Chicago. Look, Look, three years ago, we made a decision, and we made a decision that tip workers across the city of Chicago deserve wage increases, that they deserve to live in a city that they can afford, that the days of making decisions between paying a ComEd bill or putting food

[9:26](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=566) in their refrigerator or taking care of their child, that those difficult decisions would be over. In a moment in which affordability is the number one conversation, not just in the city of chicago but in this country we are talking about freezing people's wages that just is not right rent is going up property taxes are going up the cost of food is going up who put gas today because the cost of gas has gone up insurance is going up in a moment which this president

[10:00](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=600) It's cutting Medicaid and ensuring that people who need insurance have to pay more just to take care of their diabetes and get medicine. And in this moment, we want to tell people they don't deserve a raise. Under our watch, it will not happen. Under the mayor's watch, it will not happen. Now, we know that we still need to do work to take care of small businesses. But you know what we can do? We could go after insurance companies that are doubling their policies on business owners. We can talk about the increase in property taxes in this city and across the state.

[10:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=631) We can talk about the increase of rent across commercial properties. We can talk about affordability. And it should not come at the cost of our workforce, the backbone of our city, who make our businesses thrive, who contribute and make sure that we are the best hospitality city and the epicenter of culinary in this country. They deserve their wages. And on July 1st, they will get a wage increase.

[11:08](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=668) We must do better in this moment in which we are recognizing women in the movement. We are celebrating women. We have Transgender Visibility Day just around the corner. We need to ensure that the individuals that service this industry, that are the most at risk of sexual harassment, that have their wages stolen all the time, that they are the ones that are protected, That they are the ones that get their fair share and they're the ones that get their one fair wage. Thank you all for being here today.

[11:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=701) Everybody say protect the workers. Come on, say protect the workers. And so as we prepare to witness again the no that thousands of workers across the city of Chicago are expecting. In the time in which food is being taken off of people's tables, time in which people are losing jobs. We're doing our part in the city of Chicago to make sure that everybody that goes to work is retreated with dignity and the dollars that make sense. It does not make sense to take away when everyone is in need.

[12:14](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=734) It doesn't make sense that millionaires over one hundred and twenty thousand, to be exact, do not miss a meal. But yet we are asking workers to lose and to take away what little they have. And so on today, the signature of a man who works harder than any other mayor in the city of Chicago's history, a mayor that cares about the least in the left out, a mayor that cares about the dignity of every Chicago and north, south, east and west, and a mayor that is on the side of the workers is here today.

[12:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=768) And I'm glad that we have a mayor that cares and a mayor that wants the right wages for the workers in this city. Clap your hands for Mayor Brandon Johnson. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. You know, as Alderman Hall was introducing me, talking about how hard I work. Once we fix this, I want to talk to city council about my raise, OK?

[13:22](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=802) Since I haven't gotten one in three years. But in all seriousness, I am really grateful to be surrounded by champions. What more can you say about Alder Fuentes? I mean, seriously, God elected and hit the ground running to ensure that the people who elected her, that she would be held accountable to the very vision and platform that she ran on. And Alderman Hall came in as a brand new alderman as well, hit the ground running.

[13:53](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=833) We're also joined by Alderwoman Rodriguez Sanchez, who has been running for a very long time and leading the way for progressive policies in Chicago. And, you know, I will say, when I saw Ms. Muhammad, the owner of this incredible establishment, let's eat to live when she came up here and she was surrounded by her family i'm like you south side is y'all roll deep she is and that's why i brought my other brother from the west side

[14:26](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=866) alderman cristalia farrell richard rodriguez and of course to the fighter of this brand new organization fight now the executive director nataki rose thank you for being here again i want to just lift up Carmela. Thank you. for being a shining example of what it means to be a responsible business owner.

[15:01](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=901) You know, I'm going to just start my remarks with a scripture from James chapter 5. With the book of James chapter 5 verse 1, it says, Woe unto the rich who have denied the wages to the workers. warning to the rich who denied wages to the workers but the good thing about that scripture

[15:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=931) because clearly they were denying their wages but if you keep reading the bible says that i hear the cries of the workers. And as mayor of the city of Chicago, I hear what our Lord and Savior hears. And that's the cry of the workers. And that's why I'm proud to stand here to resist every single attempt to undermine workers in this city. I do want to take a

[16:01](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=961) moment again to just acknowledge the fact that the timing of today's gathering, as As Alder Fuentes indicated, tomorrow we mark the day where we honor women's equal pay day. As we fight to preserve the wages of tip workers, the history of tomorrow's date is not lost on me. For generations, women in the labor movement have been devalued and looked down upon, and particularly black and brown women in the labor movement.

[16:33](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=993) Today, women in America still earn just 81 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same job. This fact only deepens my resolve and commitment to tip workers in Chicago, the majority of whom are black and brown women. I encourage everyone to join us tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Daily Plaza for Women's Equal Pay Day. It's a rally where we continue to call out the disparities.

[17:04](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1024) As we build a nationwide movement for equitable pay and equal pay, we also have a responsibility to lead by example here in Chicago, showing that supporting local businesses and paying workers fair wages can go hand in hand. And the facts are clear. Chicago's restaurant industry is not shrinking. In fact, it is thriving. One fair wage has not led to the decreased hiring. In fact, there are more Chicagoans working in hospitality now than were working when we first won these raises back in 2024.

[17:45](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1065) There is little to no evidence to support the claims that this policy has led to restaurants closing since July 1, 2024. The city has issued 1,574 new retail food establishment licenses, while renewing 83% in 2025. So in other words, since we have raised the wages of workers, restaurants are actually doing better.

[18:16](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1096) And this is despite the broader economic challenges. Chicago's hospitality sector is thriving like never before. In 2025, our city saw a new record-breaking number in tourism with more than 3.56 million hotel rooms bookings and almost $1 billion of new revenue. We cannot forget the challenges, of course, that working people are facing right now because they are real.

[18:47](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1127) We are in the midst of an affordability crisis. There has never been a right time ever to roll back the rights and gains of women, particularly women of color. It's especially tone deaf and disturbing to see individuals attempt to do that in this moment. Families are struggling under the weight of rising costs, rent, groceries, child care, and wages have not kept up with these rising costs at a time when people are fighting just to stay afloat. You had individuals who claimed to stand up for working people as Democrats take money out of the pockets of working people.

[19:25](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1165) This is the opposite of what we need in leadership in this moment. We should be doing everything in our power to increase the wages of workers. Could you imagine? Could you imagine? Think about the contracts that we have settled as a city. Could you imagine city council taking up a vote to roll back the wages that we promised and declared in a contract? I'm going to just let that sink in for a minute. Think about the contracts. Of the public workers, all of them, could you imagine right now in this moment someone coming before city council to roll back those wages that were promised in this contract?

[20:06](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1206) If you can't imagine that, then why in God's name would we ever attempt to roll back an agreement that we made to black and brown women? And so at a time in which the federal government is cutting taxes for the ultra wealthy, giving them the largest tax break in the history of America, the rich literally got richer with a stroke of a pen.

[20:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1241) And with the stroke of a pen in a very soon moment, I'm going to make sure that working people get paid in our city. We're gutting health care and taking food benefits away from people. We're not going to abandon working people. And that is why I have officially filed my veto ordinance. And I will not allow our progress to be put on pause.

[21:11](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1271) I will not allow us as a city to compromise what workers deserve. We will fight to preserve the raises of tip workers. We will continue to fight to push back against the segment of city council. which has unfortunately sided with the very people that God said, woe unto. So we fought in the city council for five days of paid leave, for five days of sick leave.

[21:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1303) We fought for it, and we won. We fought in the city council for the largest investment in affordable housing in the city's history. We fought for it, and we won. We fought in city council to secure the largest TIF surplus for our public education system in the history of Chicago with over a half a billion dollars. We fought that fight, and guess what? We won. And even as city council has stood in our way, blocked the efforts to ensure that the ultra-wealthy and the largest corporations pay their fair share, we will overcome and win.

[22:19](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1339) And this group of alder that goes out of their way to take wages from tens of thousands of hard-working Chicagoans, we are not going to let them get away with it. Look, I know I'm taking my time, but I drove all the way to the south side today. I'm going to take my time here. So I want every worker in the city, I want every worker in the city to hear me and to hear me clearly.

[22:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1374) As long as I'm mayor of this great city, the working people in this city will always have a fighter on the fifth floor in Brandon Johnson. Always have a fighter in me. We will not back down from our commitments to build Chicago into the most pro-worker city in America.

[23:24](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1404) Our fight is far from over, and we cannot do this alone. So here's what I'm going to do as organizer-in-chief. I'm calling on workers across this city to organize, call their aldermen, call their state reps, call their state senators, call the governor, call your mama, call your daddy to let them know that the ultra-rich in this city and this state must pay their fair share in taxes.

[24:01](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1441) Look, one friendly amendment, leave your mothers alone for a day. Give them a moment. All the hardworking moms, I apologize. We call you all the time. But I want you to know that as workers, we have to stand together. Because when I sign this veto, I have to make sure that the city council doesn't override it. And that's why we are really calling people to action. Call your aldermen and let them know that this veto makes sense for the people of Chicago.

[24:33](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1473) And because you all, in closing, we are building a multicultural, multiracial, working class movement across this city and across this country. That power to fight the ultra-wealthy and the big corporations, that fight continues. We are building an America where everyone can... earn a livable wage. As Dr. Keene made it very clear when he walked the streets of Chicago, he was convinced of one thing. He said, getting it right in Chicago for working people,

[25:04](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1504) we can get it right anywhere in America. And so we are getting it right in Chicago, taking that hope across this country. God bless you all. Thank you very much.

[29:08](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1748) All right. Thank you. Okay. Do we have a microphone? Oh, we don't. I can hear you. What do you think that the fact that you're issuing yet another veto says about the dynamic with the city council? One alert today is that it seems like there's a coalition that just opposes the things that you do. Is that how you see it? What do you think? Well, look, the way I see it is that they are opposing working people in Chicago, right? This is really about us keeping our commitment to working people.

[29:39](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1779) And I'm going to keep my commitment to them, right? And, you know, as far as, you know, their motivation, you know, look, I'm not going to speculate. I'm just going to continue to show up for working people in our city and particularly. At a time in which we are very clear that affordability is a challenge across this country, and at a time in which the President of the United States of America is giving tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy to take wages away from working people, essentially it continues to align with this direction in our economy

[30:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1815) that makes life more palatable for the most privileged while continuing to disrupt progress and opportunity for working people. So their opposition is really about their opposition to the working people and, unfortunately, are capitulating to this idea that somehow the ultra-rich and the most privileged deserve tax breaks while workers do not deserve raises.

[30:48](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1848) It's your support for workers and their support for owners and capital workers? Well, look, there's no secret that, you know, the ultra rich and particularly the special interests have an oversized, not just opinion, but dictation in our economy. Right. You saw hundreds of millions of dollars spent throughout this campaign cycle that, you know, clearly is is is working overtime to to protect the interest of just a handful.

[31:23](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1883) And maybe not even a handful, but the interest of one, right? And so I just know that for me and the alders that are standing alongside of me, we're clear about our assignment, that our assignment is to make sure that everyday people in the city of Chicago have all of the support that they deserve and need to live in thriving communities. You heard the owner here. She talked about people over profit, but she took it one step further. She talks about those investments have created safer spaces in communities as a result of these investments in working people.

[31:59](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1919) And so why would we roll back something that is effectively transforming our city, particularly on the sides of town that have been historically just disinvested in? So it's not only tone deaf and short sighted. I quite frankly will call it immoral because that's exactly what it is. Hey, I'm sorry, Heather, because I was listening to you. Dude, that was my bad. Okay. No, let Heather go. Come on. It's Women's History Month for crying out loud.

[32:33](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1953) Now, you better ask a nice question. Well, look, the reason why I'm calling the city of Chicago to action is because I want to make sure that we don't override my veto. Look, this fight, we're not going into this fight by ourselves. And so, look, I won't speculate or try to prognosticate what could happen.

[33:10](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=1990) What I can say is that as of date, we know that there are at least 18 to 20 individuals on the city council as of date that recognize that this is not only short-sighted, but it is the antithesis to who we are as the working city of this great country. You know, so again, this is yet another opportunity to call the people of Chicago to action. And here's what we're asking you to do. If you believe that women who serve this city, who are raising families in this city, who pay taxes in this city,

[33:44](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2024) if you believe that they deserve equal pay for the work that they are doing, call your alderman and tell them that you agree with that. That's right. All right. Get it? If this veto ordinance does stand, in the interim, what tips and guides do you have for workers to ensure that they are getting that? Well, we're looking at our sure-ups, you know, even now to make sure that we have a sharper, cleaner system

[34:18](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2058) that reports back on a regular basis, that in the event wages are not being met, we're already looking at measures to continue to sharpen our sure-ups, to mitigate, you know, any harm that could happen as a result of workers losing their TIFs. For the record, I asked Suzanne Lennon-Yau if she wanted to ask a question. Okay. She's deferring to me and not urbanization. Okay. You all have talked about affordability issues facing the working class alderman.

[34:51](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2091) Alderman Persequentius did a show. But even Ms. Carmela talked about how this wage law is going to cost her a bit more money, and indeed 70% of restaurants did not renew their licenses in the last year. What steps can you take or are you willing to take to help restaurants who are, like everybody else, struggling financially? Yeah, look, there's no secret that the illegal tariffs that the President of the United States put forward has caused harm to working people and business leaders.

[35:22](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2122) It has. And, you know, one of the reasons why I have been so vehement in my opposition to the Trump administration, because of the impact that it's having in cities. You know, look, the president of the United States of America, he gets to ride on his golf carts and on his high horse because he doesn't have to experience life on the ground. He doesn't. And so he doesn't relate to it. That's why his entire administration looks like the country club and not like the working class of this country.

[35:52](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2152) And so what I've said from the very beginning, we're not going to pit business owners against their workers because we need each other. And so that's why, if you remember, a $1.25 billion economic bond that we passed at the same time in which we raised the wages, which means we put more money in economic development than even our raises. No mayor has invested more in small businesses than Mayor Brandon Johnson. You can check every single record.

[36:23](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2183) You can look high and low. You're not going to find any mayor that has invested more in economic development and housing than me. Because I recognize that they both have to coincide with one another. I want people to be able to have livable wages and affordable housing so they stay in the very communities that hire them. Listen, this is not radical. This is literally what the people have been begging for in this city for decades. and we're finally getting it done.

[36:57](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2217) And so listen, Ms. Muhammad got me fired up over here. Yes, listen, it's a promise that we made to people. Let's keep in mind, you all, you imagine, think about the number of businesses that received economic development from the bond deal. Think about those individuals. The Good Food Fund is a good example. Think about all the small businesses. And think about at the federal level, small business investment is being cut. What if we were to go back to those small businesses and say, you know what, we know we gave you this money.

[37:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2251) We know we promised you this money. We know you've already budgeted around this money. But because we're having such a hard time at the federal level, we're going to take those dollars back from small businesses. Could you imagine us doing something like that? People would call that not only ridiculous but irresponsible. But why, when it comes to everyday working people, they expect working people to put up with nonsense that other entities would not put up with?

[38:03](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q?t=2283) Listen, now, I'm a social studies teacher. Admittedly, I'm not a math teacher. You know, thank God my son, he's in eighth grade, he's already in geometry. He knows math better than his father. But the one math that I do know, if you invest in people, the return on that investment is always greater. So God bless you all. Thank you very much. Thank you.

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Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/NP6pk6csg0Q · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt