Chicago Politics

Little Village Beloved Community Bash 8.14.25

Chapters

Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the Little Village Beloved Community Bash event.

Transcript

0:37 Good evening, everyone. My name is Matt DiMario. I'm a pastor at New Life Community Church, and I'm the CEO of New Life Centers. We're really glad you're here. This is the kickoff, or I should say the culmination of an entire summer of light in the night. And this is our La Vita summer softball playoffs night. We're excited to be here. We're really here to say, hey, when we come together, we can do anything. And we really feel that tonight being together is a picture of the beauty of La Villita, the picture of the beauty of Chicago.

1:13 And so we're really excited for some good softball. I will say, unfortunately, I don't have to play tonight because my team's in first place and we got to buy. So I'll just say that I'm taking a break, stretching and stuff like that. But we're really excited to have everyone here and really in the face of so many challenges, in the face of things coming at us from the federal level, in the face of challenges we've seen in our community and hate we've seen in the last few weeks. We're coming together to say that we're stronger together,

1:45 that us coming together, that we can make it through this, and that with faith, hope, and love, we can really get through this. This is the final week of summer before the school year, so we've got a beautiful night. I'm going to kick us off with a word of prayer. So if you join me in a word of prayer, and then I'll introduce our alderman. God, we thank you for a beautiful night. We thank you for the gift of life. We thank you for the gift of community. We thank you for our leaders, our electeds who are here joining us tonight.

2:16 We thank you for all of the teams that make Little Village Summer Softball and Light in the Night happen week in and week out. We thank you for the joy of softball, the joy of tacos, and the joy of community. We pray blessing on this evening. We pray for all of our kids as they head back to school. We just ask that you would lead them and guide them. You would guard them and protect them. We thank you for all of our teachers. We pray a special blessing on our schools, on our teachers, on Chicago public schools. And we just ask that as we head into Monday, that you would guard and protect every student,

2:49 every teacher, every administrator. And we bless this next school year. We pray that your peace would reign in our streets. We pray that the peace that surpasses all understanding would guard our hearts, would guard our minds, would guard our streets, and would guard our city. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. And I'm going to introduce our alderman for where this park sits, Alderman Byron Sigcio Lopez. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Matt.

3:20 Muy buenas noches, buenas noches, good evening, everybody. It's a great honor to be with you today And to be in this community bash In such a difficult time In this moment in time Look around at how beautiful this night is today Look at our families Look at the people around you And this is what community is about This is what La Villita is about This is what our city of Chicago is about So I want to thank all of you All the programs, New Life Center All the Park District

3:51 All of us for coming together Because in a time like this, in a time where our neighbors are being snatched away from our neighborhoods, in a time where we see children being bombed with 100 U.S. dollars, we see Chicago as a beacon of hope, as people coming together to truly fight for the communities that we represent. We're proud to be in an immigrant working class community, in a Mexican community like Villa Village, proud to be tonight with you, but also proud to be with many people, elected officials, and leaders who are fighting to invest in people.

4:24 That's what I'm proud to introduce, our mayor, who has delivered on youth jobs, 30,000 youth jobs created, a 47% increase since he took in office. That is something to be celebrated. we also see in this very park the first time that I came in office a park district that did not even have staffing, thanks to the leadership of Mayor Johnson, now we have staffing here In Little Villa, in La Villita Park, so that we can serve your own communities.

4:57 And we do have a dream to have a field house, to actually serve with dignity and respect every community. So today I think it is important that we come together, every level of government and all neighbors, to protect our city, to build community. And that's where we invest in our community. There's no need for experience for corrupt politicians who tell us that we cannot do this. Black and brown leadership have led the city And we'll continue to lead it With dignity, with courage That's what we need

5:27 Not the corrupt Las mañas de siempre, del pasado So, muchísimas gracias por estar aquí Les agradezco a toda la gente que está el día de hoy aquí Peleando por nuestros barrios Así es como celebramos Invirtiendo en nuestra comunidad Aquí en La Villita Nosotros no nos rajamos Nosotros nos organizamos Por eso estamos aquí en pie de lucha celebrando qué bonita la noche el día de hoy en comunidad nuestros niños por regresar y niñas a la escuela pero hay que hacerlo seguro por eso tengo el honor de presentar a un alcalde

6:00 que ha defendido a nuestra comunidad latina que ha ido a Washington y ha defendido a nuestra comunidad de los racistas de siempre que quieren dividirnos ha invertido en los empleos para los jóvenes 30 mil trabajos para los jóvenes en los primeros dos años un incremento del 47% y en este mismo parque donde no teníamos antes ni siquiera personal del parque distrito, ahora lo tenemos y el objetivo de ahora ojalá poder tener aquí en este parque una field house para poder servir a nuestra comunidad

6:30 para mí es un orgullo estar aquí en Chicago peleando, luchando con nuestra comunidad y tenemos un alcalde que sigue peleando por nosotros así que tengo el orgullo de presentar a un alcalde que siembra unidad y no siembra división lidera con coraje e indignidad Y estamos aquí, orgullosos de recibir al alcalde Brandon Johnson, aquí en La Villita, donde no nos regamos, nos organizamos. Alcalde Johnson. Thank you so much, Alder Sigcho Lopez.

7:02 I was following along as best I could. I was just waiting to hear my name. And I'm so grateful for your leadership. Thank you, Alder. Mike Rodriguez is also here. Thank you for your leadership. We also have Cook County Commissioner, my former colleague, Commissioner Alma Anaya. Thank you for your leadership. We have State Senator, Senator Villanueva. Thank you for your amazing leadership and all of the work that you're doing in Springfield. And then, of course, someone who really needs no introduction, who has been on the front lines for a very long time,

7:34 ensuring that black, brown, and progressive unity stays and remains strong. And that's our congressman, Congressman Chuy Garcia. So thank you to all of our elected officials for being here this evening. And so let me just close with this. The city of Chicago has an incredible history of people coming together. And despite the divisive tactics that are coming from people outside of our communities, we're going to remain strong and committed.

8:06 Protecting our immigrant and undocumented communities are quintessential to who we are as a city You know, this is a city that came together with a Haitian immigrant and a Potawatomi woman And people from all over the world, many immigrants from around the world And those of us who are descendants of slaves have come up to what I believe is the greatest amazing place in the world And that's the city of Chicago And as long as we have unity, the unity that you are seeing here tonight, we will always remain a welcoming city and we're going to stand up and fight back against the tyrant in the White House.

8:44 We will never bend, we will never break, we will never cower under any circumstances. This is a city that has come together with working people from neighborhoods across the city, all 77 of them. And as we continue to work to invest in our communities, as Alderman Sigcho Lopez said, we are investing in our young people, we are investing in our public education system, expanding mental and behavioral health care services, ensuring that we are providing our police officers with the necessary resources to be able to solve and prevent crime.

9:16 And as a result of these investments, you all, though there's more work for us to do, Nights Like Tonight is an example and a reminder of what it takes for us to continue to build the safest, most affordable big city in America. We are unpaced to build 10,000 affordable homes in the next 18 months. Violent crime is down in the city of Chicago. Homicides are down by 30 percent. Shootings and shooting victims are down by almost 40 percent. Robberies are down by 35%.

9:47 We are building a safe, affordable community for all. But it's going to take all of us to continue to remain strong. As we go into this next budget season, the investments that we want to see in our parks, the investments that we want to see in our schools, the investments that we want to see in our mental and behavioral health care services, we have to be committed to making sure that the ultra-rich pay their fair share in taxes. We're not going back. We're not going to let anybody turn us around. We're going to build an economy that works for everyone. So God bless you all. Thank you.

10:17 And God bless the greatest city in the world, the city of Chicago. And now with that, I'm happy to bring to the microphone our Deputy Mayor for a brand new division within city government. Our Deputy Mayor for Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights. Please show your love, you all, for Deputy Mayor Ponce de Leon. Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry. It's okay. And I'm sorry, Representative Gonzalez is here as well. Y'all give it up for Representative Gonzalez. Here, I hardly recognize him.

10:48 Oh, he is. Muy buenas tardes. Good afternoon. Good evening. And thank you, Mayor Johnson, for that introduction. Thank you also for your unwavering commitment to our immigrant and refugee communities, for your commitment to upholding the Welcoming City Ordinance. It doesn't go unnoticed, and it's not taken for granted. So I just want to say thank you. Thank you. Quiero comenzar diciéndole gracias al alcalde Johnson porque ha expresado y se ha mantenido firmemente comprometido

11:18 a apoyar y a proteger a nuestras comunidades de inmigrantes y refugiados. También hemos mantenido firme el compromiso de la ciudad por la ordenanza de bienvenida, el Welcoming City Ordinance, que es una ley que nos protege, nos ayuda a mantener a nuestras comunidades de inmigrantes protegidas y seguras aquí en la ciudad de Chicago. No es algo que se puede tomar por hecho. No en todas las ciudades existe esa ordenanza y no en cualquier ciudad existe un alcalde que sigue apoyando ese tipo de protecciones para nuestra comunidad.

11:53 También quiero tomar el momento para darles la bienvenida, digo, perdón, para darles las gracias a New Life Centers, a Matt DiMario y a todo el equipo de New Life Centers. New Life Centers es una organización que nunca dice no. Cuando hay necesidad, cuando se necesita apoyo, New Life siempre está allí. Y ellos lo hacen por su compromiso a nuestros vecinos, a nuestros seres cercanos y seres desconocidos.

12:26 Ellos apoyan a la gente porque saben que es lo moralmente correcto y porque quieren apoyar a todas las personas que viven en La Villita, que viven en otras comunidades, ayudarlos a integrarse a esta comunidad. New Life ha sido muy buena alianza con la ciudad para, no nada más cuando llegaron los migrantes de la frontera sur, pero también en programas de seguridad pública aquí en La Villita.

12:57 Y es importante reconocerlos y darles las gracias. Y finalmente los invito a que conozcan la oficina, la oficina de IMR, Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights. Tenemos una mesa aquí hoy donde pueden buscar información sobre los derechos que tenemos en este país y también recursos para inmigrantes y refugiados. Y se pueden conectar con nosotros para conocerlos y saber cómo podemos apoyarlos más como la ciudad. And I'll just quickly say that I wanted to say thank you to New Life Centers for being a tremendous partner in our city.

13:32 They will never say no when you reach out and ask for help. And we know that they're rooted in faith, they're rooted in their belief in helping others and in working to make sure that Little Village is a safe and welcoming community, not only for newcomers, but for all who live here. So thank you to New Life and to the team. And then I invite you all to visit our table, the Office for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights. We have a table here today. We're distributing Know Your Rights information and other materials and resources. And please connect with us so that we can hear from you directly and we can work more closely to support you in life here in Chicago, especially in our immigrant communities.

14:11 Thank you very much. I'm going to introduce a man who needs no introduction, El Bigote, our congressman, a dear friend. He is still great on the softball field, so we're going to see if we can recruit him for next week's game. Congressman Chuy Garcia.

14:45 Thank you, Matt and Mateo, to everyone who is out here tonight on the east side of Little Village. It's wonderful. to join you tonight and that's why i got all dressed up i have my championship jersey from 20 years ago mayor when uh little village uh enlace paleteros won the non-profit baseball championship of chicago you didn't read about it in the papers but i decided this was an important

15:16 event and that i should be all dressed up tonight uh but seriously i really only want to say the following. Thank you, Matt. Thank you to all of your staff, to all of the volunteers that make all these good things happen. Thank you for the lives that you have touched, the lives that you have transformed, the lives that you have saved in our community, and all the healing that you

15:47 have brought about through sports, through dialogue, through the arts, through baseball and the Little League softball, through the softball for the older set in our community. You've offered something to everyone, and that's why this gathering is a testament to the march forward for a peaceful, understanding community. I especially am grateful to all the community violence interruption workers and volunteers that make peace happen in this community.

16:25 You heard the mayor give the statistics. You heard the alderman talk about the trends. The trends are positive. What's needed is additional investment, especially in young people and families. But tonight we celebrate the march forward, the accomplishments, the victories that we have had. We ask for more, of course, but tonight we take a moment to say we are on our way to having a wonderful, peaceful community.

16:58 And it's only made possible because it's powered by the people of this community, its organizations, and its leaders, and leaders who really care. Mayor, thank you for being here tonight. Muy buenas noches. Me da gran gusto estar con ustedes en esta celebración. Celebramos las vidas que se han tocado, las vidas que se han transformado, las vidas que se han salvado en la comunidad y todas las semillas de la paz que se están sembrando y empiezan a dar fruto.

17:36 El hecho de que nos podemos reunir de esta manera, aquí en el Parque de la Villita, al lado de esa cárcel, es un testimonio al progreso que vamos logrando porque estamos trabajando juntos. Los felicito, les agradezco y que viva la Villita. And now we're going to bring up a dear friend who has fought for us, who has fought for resources, who lives right next to our other dear park, Pachowski Park.

18:08 If you please help me welcome Senator Villanueva. All right, I'm going to be quick because I'm short, and I know people want tacos, and I want some tacos. I'm happy to be here today. I just want to give a big ups to New Life Centers, to all the incredible people that do the incredible work of violence prevention and keeping the peace in the neighborhood. And I want to thank you all for being here today, because at the end of the day, everybody wants to tell us what Little Village looks like, but we know what Little Village looks like, and it's standing here right now today, making sure that our kids are prepared and safe having a good time enjoying summertime shy so

18:45 let's keep it up and let's play some ball thank you and i want to bring up another dear friend a product of la villita edgar gonzalez our state rep hi everyone i'm state representative edgar gonzalez i'm so glad that you guys decided to do it here at la vita park because i'm only two I'm home right after this. If it weren't for New Life, if it weren't for Matt, if it weren't for all of you guys working together,

19:16 you know, we could not create this piece. We could not create this community. We could not create this family that we have here together. So, you know, I'm so grateful and so thankful for their work. You know, I do not have an athletic build, so I look at this extremely differently. You know, I'm so glad that there are other ways that we can use these spaces because I'm definitely not using this space like it should be. But, you know, I'm so glad that we can, as a community, we can find use for these spaces. I do have time. the rest of the month right before school starts so thank you so much for everybody coming out thank you so much everyone i will give you props edgar i've seen you working in the gym like crazy

19:54 that. And then we're going to have our commissioner, Alma Anaya, come up and share a brief word as well. Let's give Alma a round of applause.

20:26 Biden Park, y el barrio de las empacadoras y mucho más. Hoy lo que estamos haciendo es una celebración muy bonita. Es una celebración de comunidad. Es una celebración del labor, del amor mutuo y hoy también es un paso de resistencia, de resistencia a los ataques a nuestra comunidad, porque lo que estamos haciendo hoy día es creando un espacio seguro, un espacio donde nos estamos protegiendo uno We are declaring that we are going to continue to protect ourselves,

21:02 that we are going to continue to fight as neighbors, as community, as people here that we love a lot. So, felicidades a todos. I want to also felicitar, of course, New Life Centers. The state has had funds for the last 12 years for prevention programs. de prevención de violencia, y siempre han sido un buen aliado en todo este trabajo. Les agradezco mucho también a Matt, a todo su equipo, por todo lo que han hecho.

21:33 Hi, everyone. My name is Alma Naya. I'm the Cook County Commissioner of the wonderful 7th District of Cook County. I always say it's the best district, and I can definitely say that the mayor does not represent the 1st District anymore. But the southwest side of the city of Chicago has wonderful, beautiful communities. It has the biggest concentration of immigrants, so many Latinos here in Little Village, Pilsen, Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, and many of the other wonderful and vibrant communities. And today what we're doing is a declaration, a declaration of mutual unity, of love, and of resistance.

22:10 because our community continues to be under attack, but what we're doing is creating a space in which we're creating safety and showing each other how much we love each other and how much we're going to continue to protect each other. And that is our declaration. That is our commitment together. So congratulations to New Life. Congratulations to the participants. And may the best team win. All right. Well, that is our program. I just want to end by saying thank you to all of our partners.

22:41 Thank you to the Park District for always opening the fields. Thank you to the rest of the teams. Thank you to the mayor and to all of our electeds. We couldn't do this without you. We're praying as we head into this next season that it will be a blessed school year, that our kids would learn, would grow, and have the safest city, the safest neighborhoods. And let's play ball. All right. Thanks, teams. Free tacos for everybody. We got video game truck. Enjoy the evening.

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