CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL 11.14.25
- Date: November 14, 2025
- Type: Video
- Length: 3:22:49
- Topic: City Council
- Video: YouTube
- Transcript: Machine transcription, 25,795 words (text)
- Mayor: Brandon Johnson
Description
Mayor Johnson presides over a meeting of the Chicago City Council.
Transcript
0:00 and be acknowledged by a member of the City Council. Profane, threatening, harassing, abusive, or defamatory behavior, or speech, which in the judgment of the meeting's chair, or the sergeant-at-arms, may lead to a breach of the peace, or disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting, is not permitted. Disruptive or distracting actions, such as the stomping of feet, waving of arms, throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting, or other loud utterances, are not permitted when
0:33 in the judgment of the meeting's chair, or the sergeant-at-arms, such actions are disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the sergeant-at-arms, is prohibited in the gallery. Such items include, but are not limited to one any pointed objects including knives of any kind to banners flyers or other forms of signage three food and beverages including in
1:05 glass or metal canisters for backpacks large bags and sealed packages clear bags not tinted in color that do not exceed 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 are permitted and subject to search. And 5. Firearms, ammunition, fireworks, laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace pepper spray, and toy weapons. Cell phones and other small handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode, can only be used while seated, and can only be used in a manner
1:40 that does not interfere with the ability other individuals to view or hear the proceedings. Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these rules will be subject to removal from the remainder of the meeting by the Sergeant-at-Arms. City of Chicago City Council Rules of Conduct for Public Meetings, 2023-2027 Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Chicago City Council Rules of Order and Procedure, the Sergeant-at-Arms sets forth the following rules of conduct for members of the public.
2:17 These rules shall be in effect at all times, that a viewing gallery or room is open for a meeting of the City Council or any of its committees. All individuals and their belongings are subject to search at entry, or upon request. Individuals must remain seated at all times except, 1. when entering or exiting the gallery. 2. when providing public comment during the portion of a meeting, set aside for that purpose. Or 3. When asked to rise and be acknowledged by a member of the City Council.
2:52 Profane, threatening, harassing, abusive or defamatory behavior, or speech, which in the judgment of the meeting's chair, or the sergeant-at-arms, may lead to a breach of the peace, or disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting, is not permitted. Disruptive or distracting actions, such as the stomping of feet, waving of arms, throwing any item, whistling, booing, shouting, or other loud utterances, are not permitted when in the judgment of the meeting's chair, or the sergeant-at-arms, such actions are disrupting or impeding the orderly conduct of the meeting.
3:30 Any item that poses a potential safety hazards, as determined by the sergeant-at-arms, is prohibited in the gallery. Such items include, but are not limited to, 1. Any pointed objects, including knives of any kind. 2. Banners, flyers or other forms of signage. 3. Food and beverages, including in glass or metal canisters. 4. Backpacks, large bags and sealed packages.
4:00 Clear bags, not tinted in color, that do not exceed 12 inches by 6 inches by 12, are permitted and subject to search. And 5. Firearms, ammunition, fireworks, laser pointers, stun guns, tasers, mace pepper spray, and toy weapons. Cell phones and other small handheld recording devices must be placed in silent mode, can only be used while seated, and can only be used in a manner that does not interfere with the ability other individuals to view or hear the proceedings.
4:35 Good morning, members of the City Council. Individuals or groups failing to adhere to these rules will be... Thank you.
12:35 Good morning members of the City Council. The meeting will begin shortly. Please remember to log in to your devices. Thank you.
16:28 good morning good morning ladies and gentlemen may i have your attention please may i have your attention please thank you the city council meeting will convene momentarily so in the meantime please take your seats silence all of your listening devices if you want to speak during the budget portion of public comment.
17:02 Please go back by the veterans display, and the pink slips are there. Sign up and give them to one of the sergeant at arms. Thank you.
17:51 The council will come to order. Madam Clerk, please take a quorum roll call. Good morning. The quorum is now open. The quorum is now open. Please use the e-device. If you need help logging into your device, please raise your hand. The quorum vote is now open.
19:18 I will now take a voice vote who have not used their e-device. Alderman Robinson. not present. Alderman Hall, not present. Alderman Mitchell, not present. Alderman Beal, Beal is present. Alderwoman Ramirez, not present. Alderwoman Gutierrez, Gutierrez is present. Alderwoman Coleman, not present.
19:51 Alderman Moore, not present. Alderman Curtis, not present. Alderman O'Shea, O'Shea is present. Alderwoman Taylor, not present. Alderman Fuentes, not present. Alderman Wagaspak, Wagaspak is present. Alderman Rodriguez-Santres, not present. Alderman Conway. Conway is present. Alderman Cazada. Cazada is present. Alderman Villegas. Not present. Alderman Mitt. Not present. Alderman Vasquez. Not present. Alderman Napolitano. Not present. Alderman Riley. Riley is present. Alderman Knudsen.
20:50 Not present, Alderman Gardner. Not present, Alderman Clay. Not present, Alderman Martin. Not present, Alderman Haddon. Not present, Mayor, we have a quorum. Very well, thank you. There are 31 members present, so we do have a quorum. There are at least five Alders that have requested to participate in today's meeting remotely.
21:24 for reasons stated in Rule 59, and those orders are as following. Ramirez, Knudsen, Napolitano, Curtis and Mitts. Madam Clerk, can you confirm their presence online? Alderman Knudsen. Present. Thank you, Clerk. Knudsen is present. Alderman Napolitano. Present, Madam Clerk. Napolitano is present. Alderman Curtis. Not present. Alderwoman Ramirez. Good morning. Present. Ramirez is present. Alderwoman Mintz. Present. Mintz is present. Thank you. All those in favor of the members who have indicated their presence online and participated remotely, signify by saying aye. Any opposed say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Madam Clerk, please add
22:26 those members to the quorum roll call yeah very well let's rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all please remain standing for our invocation which will be delivered today by Reverend Tommy Molina from Liberty Christian
23:01 Center. Good morning. As we begin today's council meeting, I invite us to pause and ask for God's blessings for unity, wisdom, and a spirit of service as we work together for the good of our city. Heavenly Father, with humility, I present to you the men and women in this chamber who have been assigned to serve the people of our city. I thank you for the gift of this city. We are privileged to call home, filled with diverse neighborhoods, rich culture, and resilient people. You have entrusted each city council member here with the responsibility of serving
23:34 their respective communities with wisdom, conviction, and compassion. Unite them in purpose, Lord. May differences not divide, but strengthen their work together for the common good, seeking solutions that place the needs of others above themselves. Remind them that true leadership is service and align them with Jesus's mission when he said, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
24:05 Give them divine clarity, courage, and humility in every decision. And let us be encouraged by the words of the Apostle Paul who said, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Finally, I ask for your forgiveness over the blood that has been shed on this land. We repent from the idolatry that has replaced our worship of you as our foundation. set our people free from sexual immorality and addictions that have kept them in bondage, and we cancel any generational curses placed upon our city that have delayed your blessings.
24:41 May this prayer guide our words, decisions, and actions today as we unite government and faith to serve the people of our city. We surrender all of this in the holy and matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. This is the portion
25:34 the meeting for public comments the council will now begin the public comment period which is limited to a maximum of 30 minutes each speaker is limited to three minutes speakers cannot yield or transfer their time to another speaker any written comments that have been submitted will be posted and made available for automatic review our first speaker this morning is john nash mr
26:09 nash are you there nash please press star six to unmute star six good morning mr nash can you hear us let's move forward please our next speaker is liz chapman good afternoon mr mayor and city council
27:15 where's oh and to uh alderman raymond lopez i think you're amazing you only went you got so much common sense i love you okay with that said i also wanted to thank you mr mayor from the bottom of my heart and utmost sincerity because without you i would have never known about chicago flips Red, and Zoe Lay, Ms. Daniel Carter-Walters, Jessica Jackson, and our most beloved George
27:47 Blakemore. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And if anybody has the time, please go to a Chicago Flips Red party. We had a blast last night. With that said, number two, the U.S. government is run as an organized crime syndicate and there was one man that lived to tell the story about what happened to his family and what happened to him a man that was supposed to be the leader of my generation now i'm in my 60s now he's still alive and he's going he's telling his story
28:26 renounce. And this gentleman, you can get his story here, TheRealJohnFKennedyJr.com. That's the real story. He will tell you how corrupt the U.S. government is. It's one huge crime organization. He's got the truth. The Real John F. Kennedy Jr. dot com. Look it up. He's alive, and he's telling his story. Thank you.
28:56 Thank you. Thank you very much for your comments. Our next speaker is Danielle Carter. You are pathetic. you are pathetic as a man and you are pathetic and I hate to use the word mayor in front of your name you have these black boys
29:27 right here and you're going to use their face and take a picture with them and shake their hand and everything with this fake black I'm a black agenda and everything you doing is going against them you as a social studies teacher said you're not for homework you're not for testing scores because that's racist all while you sit up here and benefit from that as a fully educated man but you want to dumb them
29:59 down you talking about defund the police and knowing that when these kids leave here they're going to leave to abandoned buildings they're going to leave to a crime written area where shots all around and you took shot spotter out there community these boys know that they might not even live to see 21 and all the anti-agenda you did and what you do defund the police want them to defund the police all while you
30:30 walk around with 150 police details protecting you your black kids and your black wife as you say this is what you do all while not telling them that Jim Crow, Joe Biden, your people are the reason why half of their fathers are locked up right now from the 94 crime bill. But see, you won't talk about that. You won't tell these black boys the truth. All you're going to do is shake their hand, give them a photo op, while you
31:00 give all their resources to illegal aliens. Every last resources. You took the trade, they took the trades out of their schools. They have nothing. But what you doing? Making sure illegal aliens have trades. Free education can get jobs all while you're going to the U.N., begging them to help you with Trump because you don't even want them to come in our communities and get the illegal alien criminals. What y'all poured in, in our community, that's you.
31:33 Sixty Brandon bodies with shot spotters left. that what happened with that on 26 in little village where their father and son got killed that's your fault that's your fault because you can stop that at any time you it's your fault just earlier federal agents got shot at you didn't say nothing you didn't do anything and then later on that night a family got robbed and killed they the ones had to go and mourn before the holidays
32:04 of their loved ones, while you sit there with your police details and your kids planning Thanksgiving, and the whole city is burning. You are a disgrace, and we're coming for that seat. You won't have that seat, I promise you. Thank you very much for your comments. Our next speaker is Mariah Matta. Our next speaker is Mariah Matta.
32:38 Hello, good morning to city council members. My name is Mariah, and I'm a lifelong Chicagoan, a constituent of the Third Ward, a proud product of immigrants, and the Policy Fellow at the Chicago Environmental Justice Network. I am also here to address, we are in the midst of budget season, and despite capacity being spent on budget, I want to emphasize that the health of all of our communities within the city has a path for advocacy via the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance. I urge Alders to take a moment to review the new changes to the Cumulative Impacts Ordinance
33:09 and see that we as community members have negotiated in good faith to come to a consensus and pass the ordinance. I am also here to address this false narrative that we have to choose between our health and economic growth. Only considering economic factors have left too many brownfields within our city in which halt investment into our communities because of the cost of remediation and the environmental hazards that fester on these brownfields. The cumulative impacts ordinance instead allows for clear and transparent expectations for heavy and intensive industry that puts environmental and health factors on the table.
33:43 So years down the road, the next generation isn't left cleaning up more abandoned and underutilized land, such as Brownsfields, that harm the resilience of our communities. CJN, the Chicago Environmental Justice Network, and various partners have been in negotiations for months, as mentioned, and we have made changes to the language, and we are confident in it because it addresses the voiced and written feedback from various stakeholders. The CUM of Impacts Ordinance will not negatively impact the economy
34:14 or take away jobs from the business community. Rather, it will ensure that ample efficiency and certainty for businesses, workers, and the communities that enter into it as it lays out clear deadlines for city department reviewing process. As cited in the Daily Line article, according to Milton Pinsky, the chairman of Banner Real Estate Group, the ordinance introduces common sense environmental review, clear guidelines, and meaningful community engagement. These are not roadblocks to growth. These are guardrails that create stability for long-term investment.
34:48 I also urge the city council members to continue dialogue with community groups and the Department of Environment to learn and pass the cumulative impacts ordinance when the time comes and then before ending i want to urge city councils to see this budget passed with a corporate tax not rent not rent hikes and not rent hikes on working people listen to constituents and not corporate lobbyists and thank you so much for your time thank you very much for your comments our next speaker is juliana
35:20 Juliana Tameo. Buenos dias. Good morning, City Council, Mayor Johnson, and community members here. My name is Juliana Tameo, and I serve as the Latina Leadership Manager of Mujeres Latinas en Acción. I am here as both a concerned individual and a representative of Mujeres, a community-based organization serving survivors of gender-based violence, many of whom are immigrant and or Latina. My program specifically serves domestic violence survivors and Spanish-speaking women in the community
35:54 who want to develop their skills as leaders and advocate for positive changes for them, their loved ones, and community members. For over 50 years, our organization has offered free services to our community, and we want to continue to do so. Currently, Mujeres holds two Chicago offices in the neighborhoods of Pilsen in the 25th Ward of Alderman Cinchio Lopez and her office in Bryant Park in the 14th Ward of Alderwoman J. Lou Gutierrez. Both of these communities have been targeted over the last three months, adding further stress and fears to the communities we serve.
36:25 I am here to urgently support the critical funding of gender-based violence services in the City of Chicago's budget. I am here to urge the City of Chicago, including the Mayor and Alder Presence here today, to elevate the issue of funding services for survivors. Mujeres, in coalition with the Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence, is seeking $22.8 million to meet Chicago's gender-based violence programming needs for the fiscal year 2026. Given the targeting of many of our community members based upon their real or perceived immigration status,
36:59 I can speak directly to the need for these life-saving services. Funding here goes directly to supporting the city's only culturally-specific supervised visitation and state exchange services, as well as services of rapid rehousing, legal advocacy, and emergency funding for survivors provided by other organizations throughout the city of Chicago. For the last three months, immigrant communities in Chicago have been targeted directly, impacting the daily lives of many of them. These funds would allow us to continue to provide our services to the communities that need it the most. Too often, the needs of survivors of gender-based violence are diminished, reduced,
37:33 and or go unaddressed due to stigma associated with gender-based violence. with gender-based violence. That is why I'm here to directly challenge this and to enlist the support of the City of Chicago to meet all Chicagoans' needs, inclusive of immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. In short, this funding is crucial and we cannot afford to lose services at this critical moment. Thank you so much for your time and I urge you to fund your support. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our next speaker
38:04 this morning is Captain Flora Digby. Good morning. My name is Flora Digby. Good morning to City Council, Mayor. I am here, Captain Digby, Commodore of Southern Shore Yacht Club and an active member of the Chicago Safety Harbor Committee. I stand here today as a member of the maritime industry
38:39 in opposition of the yacht tax that has been proposed. I think that there is a mischaracterization of who boat owners are. There's this fallacy that we are very well endowed that owning a boat is a luxury. Well, in fact, owning a boat is a choice. It is a choice not to take a vacation. It's a choice not to have a summer home, but it's also a choice to continue to invest in the city in which we live. As I stand here before you today, I have
39:11 several asks and considerations that I would like to have placed before you. First of all, I would like to ask you to go back to the table and do a little more homework on the maritime industry. Look at the accomplishments. Look at our involvement in the city of Chicago. We actually, as yacht clubs, we provide programming, boat building, boat education, sailing opportunities that keep our children off the street. We actually engage in the community and we have
39:43 partnerships with the YMCA, with the Park District. So we ask that you go back to the table and you think about the stable revenue that we bring to the table and that you don't encourage flight of boat owners, because there are several marinas in our area that are more competitive. You will unfortunately see boat owners going to Kenosha, going to Hammond. And so instead of raising the revenue that we need to bridge that gap, we will be losing
40:13 some of the stable revenue that we have today. So I ask that you go back to the table, that you think about the maritime industry, and that you also think about revenue opportunities. Currently, all boat owners and slip owners are not encouraged or required to take a boating skill class. Yes, that is correct. So think about a revenue opportunity, whereas boat owners, maybe you, in the city of Chicago, impose a class, a basic skills class with every slip owner.
40:46 So now you are encouraging revenue. You are reducing the need to use city resources, the police department, the fire department. You're bringing in revenue. You are continuing to stabilize revenue, and you are encouraging the maritime industry that provides programming, that provides economic engagement, and it supports the city of Chicago. I thank you very much for this opportunity. Thank you. Thank you.
41:17 Thank you very much. Our next speaker this morning is George Blakemore. Citizens, Mr. Blakemore, where are you? I'm at city council. The members of this city council, all of them are blue.
41:49 All of them are Democrats. This is a monopoly. I'm going to educate you a monopoly like Commonwealth Everson. No, they don't have to compete. All our energy comes from Commonwealth Everson. A monopoly. A monopoly. So let's not concentrate on the mayor. All of them voted for sanctuary. All of them voted for illegals to come in and use these resources.
42:24 Millions and millions of dollars were spent on the illegals. All of them, all of them voted for sanctuary. So I'm giving you a little history lesson. You deserve the government you get, and you get the government that you deserve. You deserve Brendan Johnson and these 50 ultimates. They're all Democrats, and that's not good.
42:55 We need a check and balance. We need some socialists, maybe communists, Republicans. You don't want to have a house with all fathers, a house a home with all mamas and no dad is in the house you don't want that We are family, and you can't have a family with a monopoly. So let's not just beat up on the mayor. Beat up on all of these altamines.
43:28 All of them voted for sanctuary, bringing illegals in to use the jobs, get the jobs, the goods, the resources of this city. When you have a population of black people that was enslaved in America, brought over not immigrants, not immigrants, not illegal immigrants, but these people voted for them to come and compete with us.
43:58 So you deserve the government you get, and you got the government you deserve, and don't just beat up on Brandon Johnson. All of them, all of them have allowed this to happen. This is like a communist system, a one-party system. In a communist government, you have one party that dominates everything, and what do they bring? Corruption, fraud, and abuse.
44:28 All of them. All of them. All of them. And I will not struggle. We got to go red, flip red, do what we got. Thank you very much for your comments. Thank you very much for your comments. Our next speaker is Lynn Bailey.
45:30 Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Lynn Bailey. I trained at the Chicago Police Academy. I served as a juvenile detective outside the city. I lived in this city for 37 years, and my life work has been prevention. Stepping in early to guide our youth before they enter the system. I later resigned so that I could be in the streets with our kids every day, teaching them responsibility, financial literacy, and how to build generational wealth. I've always led by example. I've never used my title when doing business,
46:03 because I wanted my children to learn that we treat people equally and should expect to be treated the same. But this experience that I've experienced has shown me and them that the system does not always treat everyone fairly. A private lender called Roth 360 has taken millions of dollars in land from black communities and families, land near the Obama Presidential Center, that should represent stability and opportunity for our neighborhood. Instead, it is being stripped away.
46:34 I personally, my fiancé and I, lost over $262,000 from this ordeal. And this stress has led to me, I'm young, having a heart attack. It forced me to step back from the work that I was doing to uplift our youth. This issue has been investigated for two years, and my story, and along with 30 other families, has been featured on NBC News three times. If the city does not publicly address this, more families will fall victim to these predatory practices.
47:09 I reached out to the mayor's office. I reached out to the attorney general. I submitted everything required, yet I have not received a single response. Meanwhile, funding for my youth organization, an organization built to help kids avoid the exact traps that I fell into, has been denied. Instead, grants continue to go to the same repeat winners year after year, and my kids have also seen the grants go towards the immigrants. Words, my organization has been flagged not to do business with,
47:41 which makes no sense when our mission is to help Chicago's youth stay safe, grow, and build futures. And while I was fighting to recover, my children watched our own community struggle for basic shelter while the city legals focused, they locked on immigration litigation. And while every human being deserves dignity, our black community deserves representation, too. At one point, I had to personally house kids because there were no resources left for them. And my children saw their own role model. Someone who served and protected, ignored by the institutions I taught them to trust.
48:15 Today, I'm asking for this council for real public action. Direct the City of Chicago's legal council to file a lawsuit against ROC 360. Make this matter public so families know how to protect themselves. We demand the Attorney General to intervene as well. Our children are watching. Thank you. Thank you very much for your comments. our next speaker our next speaker this morning is Rayski Roundtree good morning you all good
49:06 morning I'm here to talk about something a little different but it's time to flip red now because you Democrats are not doing what y'all polls have been doing I voted for you but you won't get another vote from me my son was kidnapped last year in 2024 and I reached out to you and a bunch of other people and no one is helping so this why you get what you get right here now the judges at the Daily Center especially one in room 1806 Jamie
49:41 G dickler that's her name is helping people with guardianship fraud I have paperwork on my son I had my son since 2021 of December when his mama died and He ran away because he got mad because of some he-say-she-say stuff. And my son has been kidnapped. I went up to the police station last year at 17th and State. I live around here, matter of fact. I've been living around here for three years now. And no one's helping with this.
50:12 I'm trying to find out why there's no one helping with guardianship fraud and kidnapping kids, especially when the judges are not helping no one at the Daily Center. I understand they are Democrats, but come on. My kid was kidnapped, and now it's some guardianship fraud going on at the Davies Center. I let the judge know that I'm trying to get my kid back, and she's going to give me a court date for January 12th. I let her know on October 21st that I'm trying to get my son back.
50:43 The person named Ranisha Ville kidnapped my son, and no one's doing nothing about it. I guess you all want me to snap. I'm not going to do that because then that's going to get me put in jail. But I think I'm going to have to do that because you are not doing anything. How can people kidnap kids and commit guardianship fraud and no one's doing nothing about it? Why do I have to go up to somebody's house and do it myself to get locked up? Someone needs to help about this, man, because the judges are not doing anything.
51:18 I told them to help me get my son back. The person that was supposed to couldn't say I had a court date. He did not contact me about any court dates to say yes or no about my son. I let this judge know I'm trying to get my son back, like I said, Jamie G. Dickler, in room 1806 at the data center. And she's doing nothing, nothing at all. I'm trying to get my son back. He was kidnapped. kidnapped. I got the people basically charged us with kidnapping. It got threw out somehow.
51:56 I don't know how. And they were charged with harboring a runaway. And nothing is being done. Ashanti MacLock Henderson is the guardian ad litem, but she don't even have paperwork saying she's a real guardian ad litem. So if I can get help. Thank you very much for your comments. Our next speaker is it? Our next speaker is Isabella James. Hello, my name is Isabella
52:33 Jaimes, and I'm with the Southeast Environmental Task Force, speaking in complete support of the Hazel M. Johnson QLIT of IMPACS ordinance today. From the first time to time, I read this letter from a Southeast side 5th grader. I live in the South Deering community. At night, there's a company on Taurus that lets gas into the air. I know you will say something to stop this because you stood up for what was right with General Iron across from the school. Please help us. I have asthma, and my mother has bronchitis all the time because of this bad air. At night, when we are sleeping, we wake up choking from the gas and tar smell.
53:05 This is not right, and it's only like this because we do not have a lot of money. Please help us even if we don't have money. I want to say something, but my mother is scared. I need you to help us because I am scared that my mom will get sicker and I can't even breathe well at night. Please help me make this stop. We're here because of a federal civil rights complaint where the city of Chicago was found guilty of discriminatory housing practices. Over $1 billion was once allocated to an affluent neighborhood while another industry was added to the southeast side. 40% of our neighbors make less than $40,000 a year
53:37 while the Calumet River Corridor hoards more than 200 industrial projects alone. Tell us, who benefits? Tell me, what of each of you are doing to relieve the drastic disparity and to support your colleagues who are standing for justice? In honor of the Mother of Environmental Justice, Hazel M. Johnson, this ordinance comes directly from the City's own Cumulative Impacts Assessment, a report that confirms what we have been living. And if you need a clearer picture, the Illinois Department of Public Health says, Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death,
54:08 with rates highest among black men and women. The Respiratory Health Association says black children and families on the south and west sides still face the highest ER rates for asthma. We also need to tax large corporations and not working families when you see this next budget pass with a corporate tax, not rent hikes on working people or increases in garbage fees. Listen to your constituents and not corporate lobbyists. do not continue to let our children live in fear thank you thank you thank you very much
54:40 our next speaker is john nash hello can you guys hear me we can hear you yes thank you okay good afternoon honorable members of the city council and federal residents my name is john nash
55:11 representing the progressive initiative a grassroots movement dedicated to justice equality, and mental strength. Today I speak about an issue that strikes us the heart of fairness in our city's workplaces. Force arbitration. Across America, over 60 million workers, including thousands right here in Chicago, are bound by force arbitration clause that deny them their constitutional right to a day in court. These hidden clauses are often
55:43 buried in fine print for its employees to settle disputes in private tournaments that overwhelmingly favor corporations. The data is clear. Workers win fair fuel charges cases in arbitration than in open court and when they do their wars are dramatically smaller. Black workers and women are hit the hardest. Discrimination, wage theft, and harassment claims quietly swept aside behind closed doors. I urge the city council to enforce arbitration in all city contracts
56:14 to make worker fairness a standard for every vendor, subcontractor, and staffing agency doing business with Chicago. We can lead the nation by showing that transparency, not secrecy, is the foundation of justice. Chicago has always been the city of our shoulders, but those shoulders deserve fairness, not for silence. Progress or die, keep moving forward no matter what. Thank you. Thank you very much for your comments. Your Honor, there are no further speakers who have timely signed up for the public comment period.
56:47 Very well. This concludes this public comment period. Now for resolutions. We have no suspended resolutions today, but we do have a few acknowledgments. First, I'd like to acknowledge Alder Rodriguez, who wishes to acknowledge the Farragut Career Academy High School Boys softball team for winning the city championship. Alderman Rodriguez. That's right. Farragut admirables bring home the trophy to Little Village. Congratulations, young men.
57:23 Farragut Career Academy's 16-inch softball team made school history this fall by capturing the 2025 Chicago Public League Championship, marking the first city title in the program's history. Farragut overcame two of the city's largest and most competitive programs on their way to the championship, and I am going to alert folks. I hope we don't have any hard feelings here because in the semifinal, Farragut defeated Lane Tech 10-0, that's right.
57:57 And in the championship game, they took down Walter Payton by a score of 14-2. Those victories reflect not only the skill and preparation of these student-athletes, But the dedication of their coaches, their families and supporters here with us today are the champions, their principal, Mr. Nanavati, their coaches, staff and a couple of parents. and let me tell you something in a time where our community has been targeted
58:32 has been targeted with anti-immigrant racist sentiments and where you will now travel to the bean i believe to take a picture to show our pride as a community i am proud every day to stand in support of my young men and women of Farragut High School thank you for showing what the best of our community is I applaud you and I urge my colleagues and the audience to stand innovation for these young men thank you
59:22 mr. president thank you all men Rodriguez now we have for an acknowledgement do you want to speak to this one oh just a second I got you oh you want to be added to the quorum roll call yes um madam clerk please add alderman david moore to the quorum roll call now for uh the next um acknowledgement i'll recognize alder cruz who would like to acknowledge the ymca of irving park on their 100th year anniversary the chair
59:57 recognizes alderman ruth cruz thank you mr president today we honor the iran park ymca yes, please stand, for 100 years of exceptional service. Yes, they have created a lasting impact across multiple groups of people, including teens. You have given them the safe space for them to grow and develop as well,
1:00:31 whether it's through sports, whether it's through youth leadership, through civic engagement. You're doing a wonderful job when it comes to protecting and encouraging our youth, but also community engagement. You open your doors to various different groups in the community. You provide services, but also you're educating people when it comes to what other services are available for them. You have opened your doors to my staff and myself to host different type of meetings like participatory budgeting.
1:01:01 So we thank you for always giving us that space. But also you're impacting parents and kids for providing affordable daycare through parents, making sure that you have summer camp, which if you, Mr. President, if you have the opportunity this summer, you should stop by to have an exceptional summer camp as well. And as well, our seniors, someone who's really close to my heart, my seniors, I was able to witness it when I was on a tour. You offer a lot of different type of sports, exercising, I'd rather say, for them.
1:01:36 And not only are you keeping healthy hearts, but also healthy bodies. So we appreciate for all the work that you do there. and also educating them on what are some of the resources they have when it comes to Medicaid or any health insurance they need. And also housing, something that we have talked a lot is providing affordable housing for many years and giving the opportunity for people to have stability but also to live with dignity.
1:02:06 So that is very impressive. So thank you for doing that. And right now I'm going to read a quote for somebody from the YNCA, one of those teens that have gone through your program and i quote this is quote from dominic mano and it says the urban park y through their team programming gave me a space to get involved with my community every single person there contributed to me having a safe space to grow and without the Urban Park Y, I will probably will not be in a ward office today.
1:02:41 So please, I encourage my colleagues to stand, and let's give a round of applause and congratulations to the Urban Park YMCA. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much, Alderwoman Cruz. Next, Alderman Lawson would like to acknowledge the passing of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.
1:03:14 Chair recognizes Alderman Lawson. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to honor a life devoted to faith, service, and basketball. all. Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt BVM, a beloved icon of Loyola University Chicago for more than six decades, and a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary since 1937, passed away on October 9th at the age of 106. Celebrated worldwide for her infectious smile, quick wit, and basketball acumen, Sister Jean was universally adored. Throughout her lengthy
1:03:45 tenure at Loyola, she touched the lives of countless people and lived an incredible life of faith and service to young people. She skyrocketed to international celebrity status during the Ramblers' amazing 2018 Final Four run. Her infectious smile and dedication to the team made her a Chicago icon. Her memoir, Wake Up With Purpose, What I've Learned in My First 100 Years, became a New York Times bestseller and will continue to impart her motto worship work win on generations to come sister jean brought out the best in people because
1:04:21 that's what she looked for in others she saw potential in every student she encountered and she made chicago proud i'm honored to be able to recognize her as an exceptional chicagoan today thank you mr president and go ramblers thank you you know our last acknowledgement today i I want to acknowledge Native American Heritage Month. This November, we honor and celebrate Native American Heritage Month,
1:04:51 a time to recognize the first peoples of this land and the living communities who continue to shape Chicago's story today. For countless generations, indigenous peoples have lived, worked, gathered, and cared for the lands that we now call Chicago. Their wisdom, traditions, and connection to the earth continue to offer lessons in stewardship, community, and resilience. Today, Chicago is home to one of the largest urban Native communities in the country, representing more than 100 tribal nations.
1:05:29 Their culture, art, and language, and leadership continue to strengthen the city's fabric. from community gardens and cultural centers to classrooms, public art, and organizing and activism. Today, Native American Heritage Month reminds us to listen, to learn, and to honor the stories that came before us and the people that still carry them forward. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Native communities for their enduring contributions
1:06:00 to the culture, spirit, and the strength of our city. So this body, please help me recognize members of our indigenous peoples who are here with us today as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month.
1:06:39 This ends our portion of the meeting for communications. I'm sorry, next up is communications, but this ends our portion for resolutions. The chair recognizes Alderman Moore. Yeah, just real quickly, Chairman, just because they're here and they've been coming down periodically, as part of the civics class, the Inglewood boys from Urban Prep, just consistently coming down, but I also want to acknowledge. their teacher and Mr. Michael Smith when we talk about having people mentor
1:07:11 people right and these these men are constantly involved in these men's young men's lives but not just these but many others and making sure that they get involved so I just wanted to recognize the young man in the wood urban prep thank you mr. president of course thank you Alderman Moore chair recognizes
1:07:44 alder fuentes thank you mr president i'd like to be acknowledged for quorum very well thank you madam clerk chair recognizes alder rodriguez sanchez mr president i would like to be added to the role we can do that thank you madam clerk the chair recognizes alderman will hall we can do that please add alderman hall to the quorum roll call the chair recognizes alderman mitchell i'm going to be added as a present for purposes is a quorum. Please add Alderman Mitchell as well. The chair recognizes Alderman Gardner. President, please add me to the roll. You can do that. Please add Alderman Gardner to the
1:08:18 roll call. Are there any other members? The chair recognizes Alderman Lamont Robinson. Mayor, can you please be added to the roll, please? Thank you. Very well. Please add Alderman Robinson to the quorum roll call. Are there any other orders that missed the quorum roll call? Very well. Thank you. Next up is Communications. All right. Communications is out of the mayor to honorable the city council of city chicago ladies gentlemen at the request of the commissioner of planning and development i transmit here with ordinances authorizing the execution of intergovernmental agreements the chicago board of education to provide tip funds for improvements
1:08:52 at schools within the city your favor consideration of these ordinances will be appreciated vary to yours brandon johnson mayor for the committee on finance ladies and gentlemen the request the commissioner planning and development i transmit here with ordinances author authorizing the execution of intergovernmental agreements chicago park district to provide tip funds for improvements at parks within the city your favor consideration this ordinances will be appreciated very truly yours brandon johnson mayor for the committee on finance ladies and gentlemen the request of superintendent of chicago board of education and transfer here with an ordinance authorizing the provision of permit fee waivers for the chicago board of education favorite
1:09:24 consideration of these ordinances will be appreciated very truly yours brandon johnson mayor for the committee on finance ladies and gentlemen at the request of the corporation council i transmit here with the 2026 municipal code corrections ordinance your favorite consideration to this ordinance will be appreciated. Very true to yours, Brandon Johnson, Mayor, for the Committee on Budget and Government Operations. Ladies and gentlemen, the request of the Budget Director I transmit here with an ordinance authorizing the allocation of motor fuel tax funds. Your favor of the condition of this ordinance will be appreciated. Very true to yours, Brandon Johnson, Mayor, for the Committee on Budget and Government Operations. Ladies and gentlemen, I request
1:09:56 that the Budget Director I transmit here with an ordinance authorizing the execution of an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Transit Authority and the County of Cook for the allocation of Motor Fuel Tax Funds. Your favor and consideration of this ordinance will be appreciated. Verified to the year is Brandon Johnson, Mayor, for the Committee on Budget and Government Operations. Ladies and gentlemen, I request the Commissioner of Planning and Development are transmitted here with an ordinance authorizing Class 6B Favorable Tax Classifications status for a property located in 1532 West Fulton Street. Your favor and consideration of this ordinance will be appreciated. Verified to the year is Brandon Johnson, Mayor,
1:10:26 for the Committee on Economic Capital and Technology Development. Ladies and gentlemen, I request the Commissioner of Planning and Development are transmitted here with an ordinance authorizing Class 6B favorable tax classification status for a property located at 10459 South Muskegon Avenue. Your favor of consideration of this ordinance be appreciated. Very truly yours, Brandon Johnson, Mayor, for the Committee of Academic, Capital, and Technology Development. Ladies and gentlemen, the request of Commissioner of Planning and Redevelopment are transmitted herewith in ordinances, authorizing sales of city-owned properties. Your favor of consideration of this ordinance be appreciated. Very truly yours, Brandon Johnson, Mayor, for the Committee
1:10:59 on housing and real estate. I, City Clerk Anna Valencia hereby inform the City Council that the following documents were filed in my office relating to the respective subjects designated as follows. Office of the Inspector General, second follow-up of October 2021, second audit report regarding whether Chicago Fire Department's fire and medical response times are in compliance with National Fire Protection Association standards. Office of the Inspector General, audit of Chicago Fire Department's annual fire prevention inspection test. Civilian Office of Police accountability quarterly report for period ended september 30th 2025 expression of opposition to
1:11:32 proposed establishment of special service area number 17-2025 icd clerk blindsay informed the city council that all those matters were referred to consider considered by the city council the regulars meeting held on october 16th 2025 which required by statute to be published in book or pamphlet form or one or more newspapers were published in pamphlet form on november 14th 2025 by being printed in full text and printed pamphlet copies of the journal of proceedings OF THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY CHICAGO. I, City Clerk Valencia, also informed the City Council of the following ordinances which were passed by the City Council on October 16, 2025, which were requested to be published in special pamphlets were published in special pamphlet form.
1:12:11 Approval of Platt of West Pullman Industrial Subdivision, published on October 22, 2025. Opening of a public way bounded by South Ashland Avenue, West 119th Street, South Morgan Street, and West 120th Street, published on October 22, 2025. An imposition of tax levies, budgets, and service provider agreements for special area numbers. 1823-26-34-35-2015, 62-73-79, published on November 3, 2025. I, City Clerk Valencia, also I transmit herewith following miscellaneous communications and reports requiring City Council action.
1:12:46 The zoning reclassifications on particular areas, which referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards, claims against the City of Chicago, which referred to the Committee on Finance. Recommendation by Commission on Chicago Landmarks for designation at the Central YMCA headquarters at 19 South LaSalle Street, a Chicago landmark, which referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. Correction of September 25, 2025, City Council adjourning a proceeding, which referred to the Committee on committees and roles. Your Honor, that concludes the reports and communications from the Mayor and the other City Officers. Thank you, Madam Clerk. This is now the portion of the meeting
1:13:24 for our committee reports. I believe we have six of them today. Our first committee will be the committee reports will be on finance. The Chair recognizes Chairwoman Dow. Thank you, Mr. President and members of the City Council. Reporting for the City Council's Committee on Finance, which held a committee meetings on November 10th, 2025. The following items received a do pass recommendation from the committee. Item number one is an ordinance authorizing the issuance of tax exempt
1:13:58 multi-family housing revenue bonds to the Martha HHDC LLC for the Martha Washington Apartments at 2324 West Irving Park Road in the 47th Ward in an amount not to exceed $14 million. Mr. President, unless someone wishes to speak on this matter, I move passage of this item by a roll call vote. Very well. Members, please use your C and no hands. Members, please use your e-vote application
1:14:28 to record your vote at this time. Open. Please use your e-device. The vote is now open. Please use your e-device. If you need help with
1:15:01 logging on or support, please raise your hand. Alderman LaSpada.
1:15:49 Not present. Alderman Ramirez. Yes. Alderman Ramirez is a yes. Alderman Quinn. Quinn is a yes. Alderman Mosley. Mosley is not present. Alderman Rodriguez. Rodriguez is not present. Alderman Cruz. Cruz is not present. Alderman Wagaspak.
1:16:20 Ragus Pack is not present. Alderwoman Mitz. Present. Mitz, oh, I'm sorry. Mitz, are you yes or no? Yes. Mitz is a yes. Alderman Napolitano. Yes. Napolitano is a yes. Alderman Knutson. Alderman Knutson.
1:16:50 Okay. Alderman Gardner. Yes. Gardner is a yes. Some people walked in. Alderman Cruz. Cruz is a yes. Anyone else I missed? Alderman Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a yes. Anyone else I missed? Alderman Coleman. I'll be added to the original roll call for today. All right. Alderman Coleman, you are added to the original roll call. And how would you like to vote? Alderman Coleman would like to vote yes.
1:17:25 Alderman Mosley. Mosley is a yes. Anyone else walk in? I missed. Alderman Wagaspak. Wagaspak is a yes. Okay, anyone else? Anyone else online? All right, Alderman Knudsen, just trying you one more time. Okay. The voting is now closed. All right, there are 43 yeas.
1:17:56 There are 42 yeas. 0 nays. This motion passes. On the motion to reconsider, the chair recognizes Alderman Mitchell. Motion to reconsider vote. All those in favor of the reconsideration of this vote, signify by saying aye. Those who oppose say nay. This motion fails. The chair recognizes Chairwoman Dow. Thank you, Mr. President. Item number two is an ordinance authorizing the First Amendment to the Redevelopment Agreement with Renaissance
1:18:27 Department's LP to adjust the project completion date for the property at 3745 through 3763 South Wabash Avenue in the Third Ward. I move passage of this item by the first most favorable roll call vote of the Committee on Finance report and the associated unsuccessful motion to reconsider. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item number three is an ordinance authorizing the execution of a new grant agreement with the Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund
1:18:59 to provide rental housing support assistance for affordable projects. I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item number four is an ordinance amending the Municipal Code Section 2-32-085 regarding the Employee Charitable Contribution Program. I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item number five is an ordinance concerning the authority to enter into and execute an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District for the allocation of CUP Fund funds for improvements at Kelly Park at 3800 North Seminary Avenue in the 44th Ward in an amount not to exceed $500,000.
1:19:47 I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item number six is an ordinance concerning the authority to enter into and execute an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District for the allocation of tax increment financing funds for improvements at Chase Park at 4701 North Ashland Avenue in the 47th Ward in an amount not to exceed $7 million in TIF. I move passage of this item by the same motion.
1:20:19 Hearing no objection, so ordered. Item number seven is an ordinance concerning the authority to enter into and execute an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District for the allocation of tax increment financing funds for improvements at Ellis Park at 3520 South Cottage Grove Avenue in the 4th Ward in an amount not to exceed $1 million. I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objection, so ordered. Item number eight is an ordinance concerning the authority to enter into and execute an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District for the allocation of tax increment financing funds for improvements at Madison Community Plaza, located at 4008 West Madison Avenue in the 28th Ward, in an amount not to exceed $500,000. I move passage of this item by the same motion.
1:21:14 Hearing no objection, so ordered. Item number nine is a substitute ordinance concerning the authority to enter into and execute an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District for the allocation of tax increment financing funds for improvements at Ogden Park, located at 6500 South Racine Avenue in the 17th Ward, in an amount not to exceed $12 million. I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objection, so order. Item number 10 is an ordinance concerning
1:21:47 The authority to enter into and execute an intergovernmental agreement with the Chicago Park District for the allocation of tax income and financing funds for improvements at Humboldt Park, at 1440 North Humboldt Boulevard, and the 26th and 36th Ward, in the amount not to exceed $11.85 million. I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item number 11 is an ordinance approving Amendment No. 1 to the Division, Home, and Redevelopment Project Area Tax Increment Finance Program Redevelopment Plan and Project
1:22:25 concerning Section 5 in the 26th and 36th Ward. I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objection, so ordered. Item number 12 is an ordinance concerning authorizing the execution of a TIF redevelopment agreement with the Pullman Hotel Group, LLC, to provide funding assistance in the form of a TIF loan for the development of a 100-key hotel located at 11040 South Doty Avenue in the 9th Ward
1:22:58 and the amount not to exceed $2,863,821. I move passage of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objection, so order. Item number 13A is an order authorizing the Corporation Council to enter into and execute a settlement order in the case of Milady Tejada Rivera and Helen Francisco v. City of Chicago, Officer L. Gorski, Officer Z. Nolfi,
1:23:30 Officer A. Kulisek, case number 2024-L005-851, and the amount of $500,000. I move passage of this item by the same motion with the exception of Alderman Marty Quinn, who wishes to be recorded as voting no on this item. Yes, the chair recognizes Auderman Lopez. Thank you, Mr. President. Good morning. I, too, wish to be recorded as a no on this item. Very well. Please add Auderman Lopez as a no on this vote. Hearing no other objections, despite the division, so ordered.
1:24:03 Item number 13B is an order authorizing the Corporation Council to enter into and execute a settlement order In the case of Joseph O. Onesanya v. City of Chicago and Nicaea Bolden, case number 2023-L2793, in the amount of $750,000, I move passage of this item by the same motion as was applied to item number one. Very well. Hearing no other objections, so ordered.
1:24:35 Item number 13C is an order authorizing the Corporation Council to enter into and execute a settlement order in the case of Masonette v. Guevara et al., case number 18CV2342, in the amount of $17 million. I move passage of this item by the same motion as was applied to item number 1. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item number 14 is a communication transmitting reports of cases in which verdicts, judgments, or settlements were entered into for the month of October 2025.
1:25:15 This will be placed on file with the clerk. Item number 15 and 16 consist of orders of authorization for the payment of various small claims against the city of Chicago and denial of payments of various small claims against the city of Chicago. These were direct introductions, and if there are no objections, I move that these items be placed for passage in the omnibus. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item number 17 consists of proposed orders authorizing charitable solicitation on the public way tag day
1:25:49 to Planned Parenthood Federation of America citywide from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026, and Worldwide Wildlife Foundation citywide from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. This was a direct introduction, and these will be placed on file with the clerk. I want the record to reflect that Alderman Sposato has indicated that he does not support the order authorizing charitable solicitation permit for Planned Parenthood Federation of America citywide.
1:26:27 Mr. President, this concludes my report. Thank you, Madam Chair. Our next committee is the Committee on Budget and Government Operations. The chair recognizes Chairman Irvin. Thank you, Mr. President. Members of the City Council, reporting for your Committee on the Budget and Government Operations, which held a committee meeting on November 12, 2025. The committee has a series of reports recommending passage of the following items. Item number one is a communication recommending the proposed ordinance concerning a redevelopment agreement with 5050 Prairie LLC to provide neighborhood opportunity funds assistance for mixed-use development
1:27:02 at 5036 through 5044 and 5046 South Prairie Avenue in the Third Ward. I move passage of this item by the first favorable roll call vote of the committee on finance in the associated unsuccessful motion reconsider hearing no objection so ordered uh items uh two through nine are transfers in the 10th 12th 13th 43rd 44 47th and the committee on environmental
1:27:40 Mental Protection and Energy, as well as the Committee on Zoning Landmarks and Building Standards, Transfers of Funds, internally in the Committee. I make the same motion if there is no objection. Hearing no objection, so order. Thank you, Mr. President. Conclusion on report. Very well. Thank you. Committee on Economic Capital and Technology Development. The Chair recognizes Vice Chair Mosley.
1:28:14 All right. We'll move to the next committee then. For Committee on Public Safety. Chair recognizes Chairman Hopkins. Thank you, Mr. President. Reporting for your Committee on Public Safety, held a meeting on Monday, November 10th. The committee recommends passage of the following item, Resolution 2025-19950, calling for the creation of a joint Chicago-Cook County task force to reduce domestic violence against women.
1:28:45 If no one wishes to speak, I move passage of this item by the first favorable roll call of the Committee on Finance, an unsuccessful motion to reconsider. Thank you. The Chair recognizes Audermon Sposato. I just want to thank my colleague, Alderman Tabaris, for taking this task on and 100 percent support it, and thank you for taking that on. Thank you. Very well. Thank you. See you in other hands. Thank you, Mr. President. This concludes my report. Thank you, Mr. Chair. For the Committee on Housing and Real Estate, the Chair recognizes Alder Sigcho Lopez.
1:29:19 Thank you, Mr. President, and members of City Council. Reporting for your Committee on Housing and Real Estate, which held a meeting on November 13, 2025, the Committee has a series of reports recommending passage of five ordinances for various land sales. All items on the summary are from the Department of Planning and Development. Item 1, Ordinance 2025-002529, sale of city-owned property at 1641-2045, 2047-2049, 2051-2055-2057 West Warren Boulevard, and 1658-1666-1700 and 1710 West Madison Street to RE Holdings Group LLC under Chai Block Builder Platform in the 27th Ward.
1:30:09 I have moved passes of this item by the first most favorable roll call vote on the Committee on Finance and Associated and Successful Motion to reconsider. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Items 2 and 3 are for the market rate sales through the Chackblock Builder Platform in the 5th and 4th awards. There are Ordinance 2025.002525 and Substitute Ordinance 2025.002527, which passed as Substitute. I have moved passes of these two items by the same motion. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item 4 is a land sale that predates chai block builder for city-owned property, one parcel, in the 4th Ward.
1:30:44 Ordinance 2025.002528, I have moved passes of this item by the same motion. Hearing no objections, so ordered. The last item on the summary reports is Ordinance 2025.002524, a chai block builder market rate sale in the 4th Ward as well. I have moved passes of this final item by the same motion. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Mr. President, this concludes my report. very well the chair recognizes Alderman Martin thank you mr. chairman I would just like to be noted present for purposes of quorum and marked as a yes on the first
1:31:16 most favorable vote in the committee on finance and associated unsuccessful motion to reconsider Alderman Martin the clerk will add Alderman Martin is part of the roll call as well as the most favorable roll call vote the committee on finance and of course the associated on successful motion to reconsider for To the Committee on Zoning and Landmarks and Building Standards, the Chair recognizes Vice-Chair Thank you, Mr. President. Reporting for a series of reports for the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards, which held the meeting on November 3, 2025.
1:31:49 The following items were passed by a majority of the members present and are grouped for convenience. Page 1 contains the historical landmark designations of Fred C. Beeson House, No. 4, located at 5830 North Midway Park in the 29th Ward, and the Bankers Building, located at 105 West Adams Street in the 34th Ward. I move passage of these items by the last most favorable roll call vote of the Finance Committee report and the unsuccessful motion to reconsider. Thank you. The Chair recognizes Alderman Lopez.
1:32:23 Thank you, Mr. President. Alderman Silvana Tabaris and I move to defer and publish item 02025-0020463. Alderman Tabaris, you confirm that you wish to be a part of this? Very well. This item will be deferred and published. As the chair recognizes, Vice Chair Lawson. Page one also contains two fee waivers of landmark buildings. The first is located at 310 West Concord Place in the second ward, and the second is for the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry located in the fifth ward. I move passage of these items by the same motion if there is no objection.
1:32:56 Hearing none, so ordered. Moving on. Pages 1 through 9 contain various map amendments in Wards 4, 6, 8, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 36, 40, 43, and 44. I move passage of these items by the same motion if there is no objection. Hearing none, so ordered. Lastly, page 9 contains various large signs over 100 square feet in the area, 24 feet above grade, in Wards 22, 27, 29, 34, 42, 47, and 48.
1:33:34 I move passage of these items by the same motion if there is no objection. Hearing none, so ordered. Thank you, Mr. President. That concludes my report. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. The Committee on Economic, Capital, and Technology Development, Chair recognizes Vice Chair Mosley. Thank you, Mr. President and members of the City Council, reporting for the Committee on Economic Capital and Technology Development. On Monday, November 10, 2025, the committee held a meeting to recommend passage of the following items. Items 1 through 24 on the agenda were a series of scope of services, budget, management agreements, extensions of terms, and scope of annual budgets for the following SSAs and location.
1:34:15 Item number one, SSA 2, Belmont Central. Item two, SSA 19, Howard Street. Item three, SSA 48, Old Town. Item four, SSA 47, Cottage Grove. Item five, SSA 20, Southwestern Avenue. Item 6, SSA 8, Greater Lakewood East. Item 7, SSA 45, 103rd Street and Halsted.
1:34:49 Item 8, SSA 43, Devon Avenue. Item 9, SSA 29, 2014 West Town. Item 10, SSA 21, 2016 Leaking Square. Item 11, SSA 25, Little Village. item 12 ssa 24 clark street rogers park item 13 ssa 28 2014 six corners item 14 ssa 31
1:35:21 greater ravenswood item 15 ssa 38 north center item 16 ssa 44 103rd street beverly item 17 ssa 54, Sheridan Road. Item 18, SSA 56, 2022, Bronzeville. Item 19, SSA 75, Oak Street. Item 20, SSA 63, West Humble Park. Item 21, SSA 1, 2015, State Street. Item 22, SSA 15, 2025, Central Lakeview. Item 23,
1:36:04 SSA 27, Lakeview. Item 24, SSA 4, 95th Street, Beverly. Item 25, SSA 5, Commercial Avenue. Item 26, SSA 7, Kenzie Industrial Park. Item 27, SSA 10, Back of the Yards. Item 28, SSA 13, Stockyards. Item 2916 Greek Town.
1:36:35 Item 30, SSA 22, Clark Street, Andersonville. Item 31, SSA 32, 2024, Auburn, Gresham. Item 32, SSA 33, Wicker Park, Bucktown. Item 33, SSA 39, Brighton, Archer. Item 34, SSA 42, 71st Street, Stony Island. Item 35, SSA 50, Calumet Heights, Avalon. Item 36, SSA 51, Chatham. Item 37, SSA 52, 2021, 51st Street. Item 38, SSA 55, 111th and Kedzee. Item 39, SSA 60, Albany Park.
1:37:25 Item 40, SSA 61, 2023 Hyde Park. Item 41, SSA 69, 95th and Ashland. Item 42, SSA 71 Roseland. Item 43, SSA 72 Chicago Avenue. Item 44, SSA 76, 2024 North Michigan Avenue. Item 45, SSA 77 West Garfield Park. item 46 SSA 80 Inglewood item 47 SSA 81 87 Street business 48 item 48 SSA 82
1:38:05 division in Dearborn I move for passage of these items by the first favor roll call vote of the committee on finance and associated unsuccessful motion to reconsider hearing no objections so ordered items 49 through 51 on the report are a series of tax incentives ordinances that were approved by the Committee. Item 49 is a Class 6B tax incentive ordinance for the property at 4000 South Racine Avenue and the 11th Ward. Item 50 is a Class L tax incentive ordinance for the property at 135 South LaSalle Street and the 34th Ward. Item 51 is a Class L tax incentive ordinance for the
1:38:42 property at 1032 West Fullerton Avenue and the 27th Ward. I move for passage of these items by the first favor roll call vote of the committee of finance and associated unsuccessful motion to reconsider. Hearing no objections, so ordered. The ECTD committee meeting was recessed on Wednesday, November 12th, for the committee reconvened and held a subject matter hearing on the capital improvement plan for 2025 to 2029. No votes were taken. Thank you, Mr. President. This concludes
1:39:13 my report. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. This concludes all of our committee reports. Next up, agreed upon calendar. The chair recognizes Alderwoman Harris. I've received from the city clerk, Andrea M. Valencia, a total of 181 items with two additions proposed for the agreed calendar consisting of congratulatory, commemorative, and tribulatory resolutions from the following Alderpersons. Alderperson Hopkins, Alderperson Dow, Alderperson
1:39:43 Harris, Autoperson Quinn, Autoperson Lopez, Autoperson Coleman, Autoperson O'Shea, Autoperson Rodriguez, Autoperson Tavares, Autoperson Mitts, Autoperson Nugent, Autoperson Knudsen, Autoperson Gardner, Autoperson Clay. With an addition from Autoperson Hopkins, a resolution honoring the career and the retirement of Donna Pugh. And the other, the last addition is from Autoperson Lawson, a resolution honoring the life and legacy of Sister Jean Dolores-Smith.
1:40:14 Thank you. Very well. This motion has been moved to the passage of the agreed upon a calendar in the omnibus. Hearing no objections, so or the chair recognizes all the woman Clay. Thank you so much, Mayor. I'd like to be added to quorum in the first most favorable roll call vote in finance. Very well. Madam Clerk, please add all the woman Clay as part of the quorum roll call as well as the first vote committee on the finance. The passage of that and also the subsequent motion to reconsider that failed. The chair recognizes all the women mitts.
1:40:45 Thank you, Mr. President. I stand to request suspension of the rules to make an acknowledgement. All right. There's a motion on the floor to suspend the rules so that all the women mitts can make a couple of special announcements or acknowledgements. All those in favor of the suspension of the rules signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. This motion passes. The chair recognizes all the women mitts. Thank you, Mr. President. I stand today to acknowledge our veterans. We just had Veterans Day on Monday, but even in light, we have veterans here in the city council that we need to recognize.
1:41:24 Those who fought and gave their life to this country for us, those who have been on the battleground, those who have suffered mental illness and postpartum depression that we see dearly out here on the streets, and yet we as a city need to recognize the sacrifice that has been made. So I stand with my colleagues in the city council and for all the veterans throughout this city, state, and the United States, throughout the world, who have sacrificed for a time
1:41:59 that we really appreciate, and we need to know that within our hearts that we appreciate the work that you've done. Secondly, I want to recognize World Diabetes Month, and that is a testimony that I want to share with you because we're celebrating World Diabetes Month. It didn't just come, it came because I am a victim of having high diabetes. Last year, this time in the city council, my blood pressure, my diabetes was off the chain.
1:42:35 I went to a ribbon cutting in my community of a PPC wellness center. I didn't want to go because I was ill. When I mentioned it, they said, oh no, we got to help you. I got into a program, a food for life program. Food for life, as we work as aldermans, as constituents in our ward, we move and we forget about the basic food that we need to eat, how to take care of our bodies.
1:43:08 Another reason I wanted to take this journey was because diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, strokes wound in many of our families. Take the life of many of our community folks. I learned that you could change that, which was a very emotional and important journey. So this morning, myself and my chairman, Audemontella Farrell, held an event in our ward.
1:43:40 We're educating our community on how to reverse this deadly disease that we no longer have to accept if we want to live. I chose life. So therefore, I no longer eat foods that are harmful to my body. no longer eat the food that are going to take away my life.
1:44:15 Grease, butter, sugar, all of those things that hinder us as we get older. I didn't even know we wasn't supposed to drink milk. But on our journey for 11 months, you all, I didn't want to go through this because I felt like I was too busy to take time out to help myself, and I'm helping others. My doctor say, look, do you want to live?
1:44:47 And if you don't help yourself, you can't help nobody else. Mr. Mayor, I'm on a journey to take care of me first and then help my community. I just need to reverse, and I'm on a journey so that I can share with the public, because I hate going by my seniors, by my community house, our young people are dying because of diabetes, high blood pressure. We have lost what the four basic food groups are. And let me say this, food for life is God-made food, plant-based food.
1:45:23 That's what we need, plant-based food, healthy food, fresh produce, vitamins that you can eat. stop eating all the things that we want and I know we like ribs and I know we like the Italian beef. I know we like all of those things. I know we like them. But if you think about it before you bite off it, do you want to live or do you want to die? That will take the taste out of your mouth. And I'm just sharing with
1:45:57 you that the world needs to know. We don't have to accept these diseases that are causing us a lot of harm, a lot of dollars for us to be able to do this ourselves. So I thank you all very much for allowing me an opportunity to just share my story, my testimony, and the journey is not over. This journey never ends, because I want to continue to live. Stay on the journey. Stay on the battlefield, because it is a battle.
1:46:28 You see your family members eating all this food, you want to grab it too. Go to Thanksgiving dinner, I know how they're going to have that turkey laid out there for you. But let me say this. You don't have to give up everything. Just do it in a timely manner. Eat a small portion, Charming Irving. Small portion. We don't have to load our plate up. direct your comments to me i just i just said load our plate up where where where we eating
1:47:04 up everything look i'm i'm only i'm only saying this because it's real you all and we need to take it real gentlemen i'm not meaning any harm because i appreciate your your role and what you're doing you're doing a lot of great work to help yourself and i like to see people when they help themselves so thank you all so much for allowing me the opportunity to share my story my testimony thank you chairman ervin chair recognizes alderman moore um i'll meet you at
1:47:51 mcauthers in the 37th ward and we'll have some greens or something else the chair recognizes alderman moore thank you mr only while we had the rules suspended and so we can just carry on with our business um i know when it's our birthdays we get recognized but our sergeant of arms and different people help us and today is Lincoln Hayes birthday and I just wanted to recognize that okay happy birthday I don't know where he went that quick but it's his birthday thank you Alderman Moore chairman Irvin on the motion to
1:48:25 return back to the regular order of business I'll make the motion very well there's a motion on the floor to return back to the regular order of business all those in favor signify by saying aye this motion passes now back to the regular order of business okay for a new business the clerk will call the wards beginning with the first zoning amendments which are referred to the committee on zoning landmarks and building standards traffic regulations traffic control signals and traffic signs which are referred to the committee on
1:48:56 pedestrian and traffic safety an exemption from physical barrier requirements for commercial driveway alley access to parking facilities which are referred to the committee on transportation and public way all the personal spot has proposed ordinance for amendment of the annual appropriation ordinance to transfer funds from the first award wage allowance account to the automatic expense account for the year 2025, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. All the personnel spot and others have proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code section 9-101-060 to require any appropriation of funds from violations
1:49:27 of automated speed enforcement systems to be expended by ordinance, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. All the personnel spot has proposed ordinance for amendment of municipal code chapter 2-92 by adding a new section 2-92-587 entitled immigration enforcement disclosure to promote full disclosure about any companies working with or profiting from immigration enforcement services which would refer to the committee on contracting oversight all the persons laspada hopkins conway and lawson have
1:49:58 a proposed ordinance for amendment of municipal code chapter 3-92 by modifying section 3-92-020 and 3-92-075 regarding advanced pension payment as described in the Executive Order 2023-5, which is referred to the Committee on Finance. All the person in LaSpada has a proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code Chapter 2-74 by adding a new Section 2-74-170 regarding turnover, workforce vacancies, and organizational efficiencies in any departments in Chicago,
1:50:28 which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. Alderman Hopkins has a proposed ordinance for an honorary street designation as Honorary John Hancock Way, which is referred to the Committee on Transportation and Public Way. Alderman Hopkins also has a proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code Chapter 4-60-023 to allow additional package goods licenses on portions of East Huron Street and North Lakeshore Drive, which is referred to the Committee on License and Consumer Protection. Alderperson Hopkins also has a proposed ordinance for Amendment of Municipal Code Chapter 2-102 by adding a new Section 2-102-110 to require City Council approval to close bridges of Chicago for improvements, maintenance, repairs, or other public work, which is referred to the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety.
1:51:11 Alderperson Hopkins also has a proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code Section 4-4-306 to require search warrants, subpoenas, or other lawful procedures for police to request the video surveillance footage from licensed premises, which is referred to the Committee on Public Safety. Alderperson Harris has a proposed ordinance for amendment of the annual appropriation ordinance to transfer funds within the Committee on Committees and Rules for the year 2025, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. Alderperson Lee has proposed orders for Amendment of Municipal Code Title II by adding a new Chapter 2-41
1:51:44 to require the Department of Public Health to annually collect race and ethnicity data of city residents using subcategories for Asian and Pacific Islander, which is referred to the Committee on Health and Human Relations. Alderperson Quinn and Tabaris have proposed orders for Amendment of Municipal Code Title IX by adding a new Section 9-68-035 to regulate effective parking in residential areas surrounding Midway International Airport and by modifying Section 9-92-030 to allow for impounding of vehicles in violation of the new section,
1:52:15 which is referred to the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety. Alderperson Quinn has a proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code Section 4-4-331 by replacing in its entirety to prohibit sale of any hemp-derived cannabinoid products on any locations required to be licensed under Municipal Code of Chicago except by cannabis business establishments, which is referred to the Committee on License and Consumer Protection. All the persons, Lopez, Napolitano, and Riley, have proposed ordinance for amendment of municipal code, Chapter 2-32, by adding a new Section 2-32-535, prohibiting investment instruments, entities, or funds,
1:52:51 which is referred to the Committee on Finance. Two committees called the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Budget. The matter is referred to the Committee on Committees and Rules. All the Persons Lopez, Napolitano, and Riley have a proposed ordinance to amend Municipal Code Section 2-32-520 to ask the City Treasurer to provide a 30-day notice prior to change in any investment policies,
1:53:21 which is referred to the Committee on Finance. Two committees call the Committee on Finance and the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. The matter is referred to the Committee on Committees and Rules. Alder Persons Lopez, Napolitano, and Riley have opposed order that the City Treasurer be hereby ordered to immediately cease any boycott policies of United States Treasury-backed securities, which is referred to the Committee on Finance.
1:53:52 Two committees have been called the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and the matters referred to the Committee on Committees and Rules. Alder Persons Mosley has opposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code Section 4-4-331 to prohibit hemp sales in the 21st Ward, which is referred to the Committee on License and Consumer Protection. Alderman Mosley also has a proposed order for the issuance of permits for signed signboards at 8652 South Lafayette Avenue,
1:54:25 which is referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. Alderman Tabaris has a proposed order for the issuance of permits for signed signboards at 5050 South Cicero Avenue, which is referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. While the person Fuentes has a proposed ordinance for an honorary street designation as Honorary Tony Santiago Way, which is referred to the Committee on Transportation and Public Way, and a proposed ordinance for an honorary street designation as Honorary Francisco Frank DeLeon Way, which is referred to the Committee on Transportation and Public Way.
1:54:55 While the person Fuentes also has a proposed resolution for submission of a public question by referendum to Chicago voters at the March 17, 2026 primary election, and if new shared housing units should be limited in the 26th Ward to help address Chicago's rental housing shortage, which is referred to the Committee on Committees and Rules. Alderperson Burnett has proposed orders for the issues of permits for signed signboards at various locations, which are referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. Alderperson Irvin has proposed orders for the issues of permits for signed signboards at 3015 West Madison Street,
1:55:27 which are referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. Alderperson Telefiero has a proposed ordinance for issuance of permits for signed sign boards at 905 South Menard Avenue, which is referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. Alderperson Cruz has a proposed ordinance for Amendment of Municipal Code Section 4-60-022 to allow additional alcoholic liquor licenses on a portion of West Diversity Avenue and North Parkside Avenue, which are referred to the Committee on Licensed Consumer Protection. Alderperson Wagons Pack has proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code Section 4-4-331
1:55:58 to prohibit sale of cannabinoid hemp products in Mid-South Branch Corridor Residential Area, which is referred to the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards. Alderperson Wagons Pack also has proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code Chapter 3-46A regarding the Chicago Ground Delivery Tax, which is referred to the Committee on Finance. Alderperson Rodriguez Sanchez has proposed ordinance for amendment of Municipal Code
1:56:30 Section 4-60-022 to allow additional alcoholic liquor licenses on a portion of North Elston Avenue, which is referred to the Committee on License and Consumer Protection. All the Person, Rodriguez Sanchez, has proposed a resolution calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker to direct the Illinois Commerce Commission to cease all utility disconnections for nonpayment universally and to adopt flexibility, temporary credit, and collection procedures, which is referred to the Committee on Health and Human Relations. All the Person, Conway, has proposed orders for the issuance of permits for signed signboards at various locations, which are referred to the Committee on Zoning,
1:57:03 Landmarks, and Building Standards. Alderperson Conway also has a proposed ordinance for amendment of the Annual Appropriation Ordinance to transfer funds from the 34th Ward Wage Allowance Account to the Aldermanic Expense Account for the year 2025, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. Alderperson Villegas has a proposed resolution to call for hearings on the status and causes of delay in implementing Emergency Responder Commuter-Aided Dispatch System, which is referred to the Committee on Public Safety. Alderman Villegas also has proposed ordinance for Amendment of Municipal Code Section 3-56-040 to establish a pilot program for wheel tax license renewals for
1:57:36 qualified veterans, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. Alderman Villegas also has proposed resolution to call on the Department of Public Health to evaluate strategies and expand access to affordable insulin and other essential medications, which is referred to the Committee on Health and Human Relations. Alderman Alderperson Nugent has a proposed ordinance for an amendment of the annual appropriation ordinance to transfer funds within the Legislative Reference Bureau expense account for the year 2025, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. Alderperson Nugent also has a proposed ordinance for an amendment of the annual appropriation ordinance to transfer funds from the 34th Ward wage allowance to the ultimate expense accounts for the year 2025, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations.
1:58:17 Alderperson Gardner has proposed a resolution calling on President Donald Trump to release all unredacted files and communications related to the Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, which is referred to the Committee on Ethics. Alderperson Gardner has proposed an ordinance for vacation of public alleys in the area bounded by West Bryn Mawr Avenue, North Mead Avenue, and North Northwest Highway, which is referred to the Committee on Transportation and Public Way. Alderperson Silverstein has proposed an ordinance for removal of parking meters at 2819 through 2843 West Howard Street, which is referred to the Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety.
1:58:50 Alderperson Silverstein also has proposed ordinance for amendment of the Annual Appropriation Ordinance to transfer funds within the Committee on License and Consumer Protection for the Year 2025 Personnel Services to Contractual Services, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. Alderperson Silverstein also has proposed ordinance for amendment of the Annual Appropriation Ordinance to transfer funds within the Committee on Licensed Consumer Protection for the year 2025 from Personal Services to Commodities and Materials, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations.
1:59:27 Alderman Vasquez has a proposed ordinance for amendment of Mismic Code, Chapter 2-4, regarding the reporting on departmental budgets and operations, which is referred to the Committee on the Budget and Government Operations. Your Honor, that concludes the presentation of automatic introductions. Very well, thank you. Audemant Mitchell for the approval of the journal. Mr. President, I'm not aware of any corrections to the journal from the October 16, 2025 meeting, and move that it be approved.
1:59:59 Hearing no objections, so ordered. For unfinished business, Audemant Mitchell. I'm not aware of any unfinished business. Thank you. For miscellaneous business. Except for the ordinance setting and the date and time for the next meeting, I'm not aware of any miscellaneous business. Thank you. And for the date and time of the next meeting, Alderman Mitchell. I've handed up an ordinance to the clerk setting the date and time of the next meeting. Madam Clerk, could you please read this ordinance? Be ordained by the City Council of City of Chicago, Section 1. The next regular meeting of the City Council of City of Chicago shall be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, beginning at 10 a.m.
2:00:34 in the Council Chamber on the second floor in City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois. Section 2, the ordinance shall be taken effect or be enforced from and after its passage. Gregory Mitchell, Alderman, 7th Ward. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Alderman Mitchell. I move that matters in the omnibus be passed by the first most favorable roll call vote by the Committee on Finance and the associated unsuccessful motion to reconsider. Hearing no objections, so order.
2:01:15 Very well. The chair recognizes Chairman Irvin. Thank you, Mr. President. a move to go out of the regular order of business in order to conduct the public hearing on the proposed executive budget. Thank you. On the motion to go out of the regular order of business, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed say no. This motion passes. The time is now 12 noon. The clerk will read the notice of the public hearing. The following official notice of the public hearing on the executive budget of the City
2:01:47 Chicago for Fiscal 2026 was published in the Chicago Tribune on November 5, 2025. Public notice is hereby given that the executive budget of the City of Chicago for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2026 was received in the Office of City Clerk from Mayor Brandon Johnson on October 16, 2025 and was submitted by the Honorable Brandon Johnson Mayor to the City Council in the City of Chicago at a City Council meeting held on October 16, 2025. The budget document is in pamphlet form and available for inspection at the Office of City Clerk. Public notice is hereby further given that a public hearing on the Executive Budget
2:02:21 will be held on Friday, November 14th, 2025 at 1130 a.m. in City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602. In the City Council Chamber on the second floor, any person desiring to appear at the public hearing or present testimony regarding the Executive Budget may contact Alvin Stark, Sergeant of Arms, 121 North LaSalle Street, Room 201C 312-744-6800 or appear and fill out a witness slip before the hearing. If you require specific language accommodations, including ASL interpreting, please email access at cityofchicago.org by November 10, 2025.
2:02:56 Data Vic, Chicago, Illinois, this 5th day of November 2025, Andrea and Valencia, City Clerk, City of Chicago. Thank you. Any person who wishes to testify on the budget has had an opportunity to sign up with the witness slips provided by the Sergeant at Arms. The sergeant at arms at this point will collect those slips and bring them to the rostrum. Oh, they're already here.
2:03:27 Very well, thank you. Each speaker is limited to three minutes. And the first speaker that I have is Jada Potter. Good afternoon. Good afternoon.
2:03:59 Okay. Hi, my name is Jada Potter. I am a proud resident of the Fifth Ward and an organizer with JCUA. I'd like to direct my public comment today to my alderman, Desmond Yancey, and just remind you who elected you, the people, not the corporate lobby and not the yacht lobby. We are urging you to support the corporate head tax and to support the yacht tax, which would help fund progressive programs in our city. We are currently facing a budget crisis where federal grants funding programs like the youth peacekeeping jobs and care teams are being threatened by our federal government.
2:04:36 We need you to support this progressive source of revenue in order to fund these programs. Our city has seen a historic drop in crime thanks to these youth peacekeeping jobs. and police have no business being involved in mental health crises and we need the money to be able to support the care teams. There are non-police crisis responses. No one wants to increase taxes, but we have to remember that this is an issue of priorities.
2:05:09 Do we prioritize corporations and yacht clubs or do we prioritize the people, the people who voted you? The people who helped put the Jackson Park Housing Pilot Ordinance in this budget. We urge you to support the corporate head tax and to support the yacht tax in Chicago. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our next speaker, Shirley Oliver.
2:05:40 Shirley Oliver. Okay, we'll set this one to the side for a moment. Shirley decides to return. Our next speaker is last name Canaan. It's like Shrick Shrock Canaan. Okay, we'll set this one to the side as well. Oh, wait.
2:06:10 We'll set this one to the side as well. Paula Hickman. It's Paula Hickman here. Okay.
2:06:42 Thank you. So I wanted to speak a little bit about. So my name is Chris. I'm a researcher with the Chicago teachers union. I want to speak today. One, why this budget is why the protecting Chicago budget is important in what it does. And then talk a little bit about what a no vote cost Chicagoans in our schools and our residents. So to start off, I think it's important to note the historic nature of this budget. We really haven't had a budget that attacks the moment we're in like this since basically Harold Washington.
2:07:14 That's nearly four decades ago. So really, if you think about it, we have not had a budget that chooses to invest over a cut since the Bulls won the Super Bear. Very long time ago. What does a no vote cost our residents? One tool you can use to look at this is ProtectingChicagoSchoolsCalculator.com. It allows you to look up by ward how much a no vote will cost your ward in terms of loss of tip surplus. So just some examples. If you look up Ward 10, that's about $15 million lost with a no vote.
2:07:46 I'm sorry, this goes directly in terms of cost to our schools. A no vote in the 10th ward would cost our schools about $15 million in a loss of 216 positions. In the 11th Ward, schools would lose over $6 million in 89 positions with a no vote. In the 24th Ward, schools would lose over $17 million in about 231 positions. So those are big – a no vote is a big loss to working Chicago residents.
2:08:18 Yep, that's all. Thanks. Thank you. Our next speaker, Brianna Champion. Brianna Champion. All right. Very well. The next speaker that I have is Brad Peek. Brad Peek. Our next speaker
2:08:55 is Zoe Lee. Now I have, well first of all, good morning or good afternoon. My name is Zoe Lee. I'm the founder of Chicago Flips Red. You already know I personally have an issue with you, but But I want to discuss why the $21 head tax is terrible. Since you've let me grow my organization, Chicago Flips Red,
2:09:29 because you will not tell that lady next to you to settle my family's case, I have a conservative movement. And because you guys keep paying for protests and abusing our police and all those things, I've decided to use a Trump Tower to bring conservative mindsets into the state of Illinois, Chicago, to help bring revenue here. Because, as you see, the Magnificent Mile is sad. It needs a miracle, like President Trump was trying to say.
2:10:02 I bring 50 to 200 people into Trump Tower because I have no place to go to bring them to. So I'm bringing people here, tabs, $2,900, $3,600. and they are scared to hire more people because of the $21 head tax.
2:10:34 We need revenue. We're on $1.2 billion deficit. We're the third largest city in the country. There's no better summertime than summertime shot. So a boat yacht tax is crazy. When half the people don't know how to swim. And we losing heroes, Chicago young heroes from Lake Michigan. There's plenty of ways to bring in money.
2:11:07 Chicago is culture. I don't understand why. I know why. You're from Elgin. You graduated from Evanston. So that's why you don't know. You've been a clown. But from one non-goofy to a goofy, the $21 hair tax ain't going to work in this city. And these corporations are behind me. It's a no.
2:11:41 100, 200, 1,000, 3,000, it's a no. Look at the State Street. State Street looks sad. It's an embarrassment. Socialism, communism, never going to work. Never in a capitalist society. Never. Thank you. Our next speaker is Dennis White. Dennis White.
2:12:23 Well, well, well, well. Chicago have another problem here. A budget problem. crime problem, a mayor's problem, city council problem, a democratic problem. This is where the problem is. Now, you over here defend these illegal aliens like they're your children, and they probably are because if you are a Haitian mayor, then we need to check your immigrant status for deportation. So my thing is, when you have these Hispanic aldermen to go from Bridgeview, they don't live in Bridgeview, 73% of the residents of Bridgeview are black.
2:13:07 What are these Hispanic aldermen doing? They're protesting. Well, I don't know. Maybe they are the Hispanic Triple K. So my question is, who's the Grand Wizard of the Triple Ks right there? Now, I got something to say. When you all are pledged allegiance to that flag, is your alliance to that flag, or is this a lip sync that y'all do? Because whatever's going on here in the city of Chicago, it's too much going on with somebody who is competent as you are,
2:13:43 and you over here being investigated over that $3.2 million that you probably pocketed, and then I want to say something to this. I've observed everybody stand up for the flag. I stood up for the flag because I defended that flag right there as a veteran. But I observed two expanded personnel behind me who went that way who did not stand up for the flag. But when you stand up for prayer and then pray for the LGBTQ, they stood up. No problem for that. And I would like to address something to Alderman
2:14:18 Martin. When that lady got arrested for ICE, she had a warrant. You guys know the Constitution, but you don't respect the Constitution. So where is the honor? And if I was you, I'll take the honorable Mayor Brandon Johnson out because there's no honor in you. As far as these illegal aliens they only have but two more rights they have the right to remain silent or do they have the right to remain dead it don't make me no
2:14:51 difference no more because if you want violence here in the city because you the one who say a civil war and then you run to the United States I mean the United Nations talking about an investigation for human rights because of Donald Trump you need to be investigating for human rights here in the city of Chicago Brandon Johnson and one more thing when Trump get rid of these aliens I'm going to say hit the road Jack don't you come back no more no more or ice ice baby our next speaker is Jessica Jackson Jessica Jackson
2:15:42 Okay, so as an actual black person here in Chicago, I have, I'm very upset about the fact that I'm actually watching black citizens of Chicago be torn as to whether or not they should support, if they should continue to support you or not. Because I recognize that it's some type of illness or whatever that makes black people in this city get in that lane of we're going to support him no matter what just because he's black, even though your blackness is questionable.
2:16:21 So I want to do something that's fair to the black people in this city so that they don't have to be torn about who you are. How about we do this, Mayor Brandon Johnson, to prove how black you are and to prove how much you stand against white supremacy with all this revolutionary talk that you talk? Because it's easy to talk that kind of talk when you're directing it all the way to Washington, D.C., all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue, all the way to President Donald Trump.
2:16:56 I say, stand on business, like the youngest say, and prove you really about that quote-on-quote fighting white supremacy life. And this is what I want you to do. I'm going to give you opportunity. I got a case over here on Monday in the Daly Center with a whole bunch of corrupt white judges, a bunch of white corrupt public administrators show the city what you're really about
2:17:27 as a black man come over there and defend me stand up for the fact that you know that the city and the county is trying to illegally take my property and other black people's property show them that you're about that life come over there and be over there at the daily center Don't reach all the way to Capitol Hill when you could get down right here and beat white supremacy right here. Stop this division that's going on with black people, that you out here trying to act like you about being black like that.
2:18:04 Acting like you standing against Trump, against white supremacy, while you are literally watching these white judges and these white public administrators beat up on me. Come on, Mary Richardson-Laurie. Come on, black woman. Ain't the Democratic Party all about black women and protecting the black woman? Y'all come over there. On Monday, November 17th, bring your cameras, bring the media, let everybody see that you're really about that life, that you're about that revolutionary black people life, and come defend this black woman that you know, and Mary Richardson-Laurie, you know, because you done seen the documentation.
2:18:44 you know that they thank you very much our next speaker is danielle carter there you go you got a black woman right there black man you got a black woman right there black man with a black wife and three black kids and lgbt you got two black ladies over there black man who just
2:19:18 told you you got a black man right here who just told you their properties are being taken black people properties are being taken by your guy obama that's displacing senior citizens and black people black man where's the i want you to stand up with us and do a press conference with us when you're gonna do it black man brandon johnson since you're fighting white supremacy all these black people said they reached out to you that's a black man right there who want to
2:19:51 get his kid black man since you so family oriented where can we get a press conference with you and these black aldermen can we get y'all to stand up with us because you're not really about that life black man see ain't about that see you a communist you foreigners and you a foreigner and see you communists and socialists think that we're going to allow you to come in chicago where the true citizens born and raised here and we gonna let uh a foreigner from elgin come in destroy our city
2:20:26 you thought that right it was fun it was fun and games in the beginning you thought that was going to happen black man but you got black women that's gonna make sure that it don't The white man that's so racist, we got the white man that's racist, the ones helping us. So all this racial and division talk, black man, do something that's really destroying our community. Get, stand with us with the crime, black man, with the violence going on in our community, black man.
2:20:59 All the abandoned buildings, the money that y'all stole that never made it to our communities, black man. Stand with us with that, black man. This is what you can do. get rid of those illegals that you spent all that money on and put those resources in our community that's that's one of the budgets that you can do and that budget and study taxing the rich black man but you are the rich so you think that pitching that you think you're gonna get when you get out of office that million dollar pitching millionaire brandon johnson you think you're gonna get that no you're gonna go to jail my boy black man you're going to jail president
2:21:35 then Trump, DOJ, we're calling on you, black women, the beautiful black women you talked about, we're calling on you to get this black man up out of office and lock this black man up. You think you're just going to ride in the sunset with that million dollars of pension off the backs of our plight? You think that's what's going to happen? Black man, you and your black wife and black kids that's going to run up in the sunset and go live good while we are right here in our community structure.
2:22:07 Thank you very much. Our next speaker is George Blakemore. I asked the president of all, how many people, how many slips do you have? And you said, he said 30 slips. Thank you for sitting here hearing 30 people. When these chairmen will do a lottery, Irving and all of them,
2:22:44 They won't listen to the people. I don't know who's giving you a little advice, but that was some good advice. If it's 20 slips up here or 50 slips, you sit and listen to the people. So make sure that these other black men and women who chair these committees, when they come up to speak, If it's 30 people that signed up, let them all speak because you're getting paid to serve them.
2:23:16 So you remember that, Irvin? The mayor don't want you to have that lottery anymore. You cannot shake it up anymore. He said, now sign up, get away from me. If 100 people sign up, get away from me. Speak in the mic, Mr. Blakemore. If 100 people sign up, you sit or sit here and listen to them. The people, because you are here to serve the people.
2:23:50 Now, they were beating up on Brandon Johnson, and you'll do that. But these other black men and women who voted for sanctuary, he didn't do this by himself. They support that move. the other blacks all of them all of them call them out all of them the black ones all of them
2:24:20 so when you get to whooping the A whoop all of them A whoop all of them A not only that A but all of them in this sanctuary do-do bringing illegals in to to put black people out there gentrified them out every one of them needs that little whooping so when you come up and beat up on brandon johnson beat up on all the black faces in
2:24:53 okay all right thank you mr blakemore we just want you to be careful with that microphone That's the only one we have. You're welcome. Okay. All right. Our next speaker is Liz Chapman. Liz Chapman.
2:25:25 One more time. Liz Chapman. All right. So Liz Chapman is foregoing their time. Ishan Daya, you know, just be careful with that mic. That's the only one we have. Thank you. Hey, Alders. My name is Ishan Daya. I am speaking to you as a neighbor,
2:25:55 also as a policy researcher, and also as a small and medium-sized business owner. So as we think about the choice that is in front of us, I want to be really clear. There is discussion that's already been had, which I really agree with, which is that we cannot continue to tax working people into oblivion and push them out of the city. We cannot continue to balance this budget on the backs of people that are renters
2:26:25 and low-income homeowners in this city. Because as you are talking about raising a property tax, I'm talking to the alders here, as you are talking about raising a property tax, what that means is an increase in rent for our working class families that are already looking at an 80 percent increase in the cost of their health care next year right this is a question that parents that my parents have had to ask which is am i going to pay for the asthma medicine for my son or am i going to pay for food on the table of my family and what i want everyone here
2:27:02 to understand is that this is a choice between, do I balance this budget on the backs of those families that are struggling every day already and are going to be struggling more come January 1st? Or do I ask large corporations to chip in half a cent of every payroll dollar, half a cent of every payroll dollar into things that fund community safety, things that we know improve the ability to walk on the streets, improve the ability for people to have more dollars
2:27:33 in their pockets to go to those small and medium-sized businesses and patron them. The option is clear for us. We cannot see a doubled garbage fee for that family that's already struggling. We cannot see an increased grocery fee when we're already seeing grocery prices skyrocketing. We cannot see an increase in rents. We cannot see an increase in property taxes because our families are struggling every single day. So the question that y'all have in front of you is, am I going to tax large corporations just a drop of the billions of
2:28:08 dollars of tax breaks that they got? McDonald's got a billion dollars this past year. Google got $10 billion this past year. Or am I going to tax poor people in the city? Am I going to tax people that have to make the question every single day, do I pay for medicine for my kids or do I pay for food on my table. And if that's not the question that you're asking yourself, you're listening too much to corporate lobbyists and not enough to your constituents that are asking this question to themselves every day. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Casey Sweeney. Is Casey Sweeney
2:28:45 still here? Good afternoon, everyone. How are we feeling? Feeling terrific. Feeling terrific. Thank you so much. My name is Casey Sweeney. I'm a resident of the 27th Ward. I see my alderman. And here with the Chicago Teachers Union. How many of you have Chicago Public Schools families in your wards?
2:29:20 All of you. I know you're not going to raise your hands right now with me, but all of you do. Almost all of you have schools in your wards that serve young people who need to be invested in. The Protecting Chicago budget puts forward unprecedented investments in our schools, our parks, our libraries, a billion dollars into those services. And my colleague Chris said what's at stake with your no vote. There are 7,000 union jobs in CPS on the line with a no vote on this
2:29:51 budget. Many of you put your names on a letter promising a TIF surplus to Chicago public schools. I hope you commit to that promise you made. But I want to be very clear about who can and who can afford. All of you saw the elections in New York. Affordability is a big issue for people, those of us deciding what we can afford to pay. Is it a gas bill or putting gas in our car? Google had $22 million for Trump's ballroom. I think it is obvious who in the city of Chicago can afford to pay right now to invest in our
2:30:27 young people. It is corporations like Amazon, Google, Target. $21 an employee. Some of you have probably been to their offices for lunch. They've got the cold brew on tap. They can afford this community safety surcharge to make our city safer. I really hope the message is clear. I think the choice is obvious when i'm knocking on doors when i'm talking to members in your schools i've visited lane tuck in the 47th ward i was at mollison in the third ward it's pretty obvious
2:30:59 when we're talking to educators who should pay it shouldn't be us it shouldn't be our rents going up i'm a resident in the 27th ward but i was a resident in the 36th um but my rent went up over five years, $500 because the property tax increase gets passed on to renters. Please, please vote yes on the protecting Chicago budget. Make this investment in our city and our young people. It's the progressive choice. And do not balance the budget on working people's backs. Thank you.
2:31:30 Thank you. Our next speaker is Chris Barron. We have a Chris Barron. All right. We'll hold that one if chris is not here rocio garcia rocio garcia hi city council i'm rocio garcia but today
2:32:10 i'm also the richest ceo of the richest corporation in chicago and i'm so proud to be here with you all because i see that you are making sure to stand with me to protect the interests of rich people like me and protect my billions to buy my diamonds that i get to wear to your city council meeting i really don't care that young people have jobs and more opportunities that's not my
2:32:40 concern the truth is that they need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and if they don't have shoes, then they should go to a second-hand store and beg for them. The people who matter most in Chicago are those of us who live in luxury homes and live in high-rises, those of us who live in the Trump Tower. That's a leader, a leader who truly understands the needs of rich corporations and billionaires
2:33:10 like me. I am so proud of the leadership in the country. the president is truly making America great again and Chicago is going to be even better huh you know what I'm also so proud of you 27 city council members that signed the letter to ensure that we protect the interests of me and my rich friends but you know what I'm really sick and tired of pretending to work every single day I'm really under so much pressure and scrutiny
2:33:45 me with the taxes that you're thinking about imposing on me? What is that all about? For so long, I have enjoyed the status quo that is felt across the city. And that's why I've wanted to keep on mooching off of the poor people in Chicago and make sure that my wallet keeps getting fatter. You know what I had to do? I had to get a bigger safe. I had to get a bigger safe because my billions don't fit in my currency. That's why I had to move my billions and millions of dollars
2:34:18 into the Cayman Islands. But you know what? I'm most excited to do with the extra money that I'm making while not working multiple jobs to make ends meet and not struggling between paying a light bill or paying the medication for my child's asthma. But what I promise to keep doing is to keep funding the PACs and the super PACs to line your future campaigns and take down those other city council members who are not on my side or our side. Wink, wink. Those alders who care about
2:34:54 young people and child care workers and providing housing and providing critical programs for all Chicago? Those are the city council members that must go. They're not making Chicago great. Thank you very much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Allison Chesley.
2:35:33 Thank you. Our next speaker is Allison Chesley. All right. No, Allison Chesley. Please come back to order, please. No, Allison Chesley. Roundtree, our next speaker. Racekey, Racekey, Roundtree. Case number 25P2269 in 2019, D080.
2:36:06 I'm not going to be long this time, but like I was saying earlier, I don't understand how is these people allowed to kidnapping kids, trafficking kids in harbor runaways, and nothing happens. Like I said, the police station at 17th and State refused to even write the complaint up correctly. I'm still trying to get help, but I know what I'm going to have to do. I'm going to have to send this investigation to the feds, and don't nobody want to be investigated by the feds.
2:36:41 My son was kidnapped. He needs to be back with his only family member that's living, which is me, Rayski Roundtree, also known as Herman Roundtree. That was my other name before I got it changed. Just trying to get my son back. All this illegal stuff is unnecessary. It should not be happening. It's ridiculous how this Chicago, Illinois is being treated. It's real bogus. It don't need to happen. It needs to stop immediately. Chicago flip red, plain and simple.
2:37:13 Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Julie Dworkin. Good afternoon. I'm Julie Dworkin with Institute for the Public Good, and I wanted to make you aware of some of the tax breaks that the corporations that are opposing the community safety
2:37:50 So the top 20 publicly traded companies in Chicago would contribute 20 percent of the community safety surcharge, these 20 largest corporations. And these 20 largest corporations accrued approximately $323 billion in post-tax profit last year. And in addition to that, they just received an additional $60 billion in tax breaks
2:38:21 that were extended just recently at the federal level. So to put a finer point on it, I want to let you know specifically how much these companies are receiving in tax breaks. Google, $16 billion. JPMorgan Chase, $11 billion. Bank of America, $4 billion. Walmart, $4 billion, UnitedHealth Group, $3 billion, Home Depot, $3 billion, Citigroup, $2 billion, T-Mobile, $2 billion, McDonald's, $1 billion, Accenture, $1 billion, Union Pacific, $1 billion, Salesforce, $1 billion, Ford Motor Company, $1 billion, UPS, $1 billion,
2:39:09 IBM, $1 billion. BMO, $1 billion. Mondelez International, $1 billion. CIBC, $1 billion. SAP, $720 million. And CME Group, $630 million. And what they would be paying for this community safety surcharge is one one-thousandth of the amount that they just received in tax breaks. And to be clear, it is not just these companies that are receiving these corporate tax breaks.
2:39:42 It is all companies in Chicago that have just received the largest federal corporate tax breaks in history. So any claims that this surcharge would cause job loss or businesses to leave Chicago is simply disingenuous. They can afford it. Thank you. Our next speaker is Carl Gutierrez.
2:40:18 Hello, thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Carl Gutierrez speaking on behalf of a broad coalition of businesses of all sectors, sizes, and communities across our city. We want to first thank this body for the work that they've been doing over these past couple of weeks on this very difficult budget. However, we do stand in opposition to the budget as it's currently drafted. This is the largest deficit in our city's history. Our city's businesses, families, and taxpayers really need and deserve complete transparency on these issues of such significance.
2:40:55 As of currently, residents and council members have not been receiving basic answers to questions about the proposed budget and are expected to vote on it as early as next week. Our concerns are broken into kind of a core form, which is that rather than seeking necessary balance, prudence, and sustainable solutions that drive broad-based, comprehensive, and sustainable growth, the budget in send turns to taxes that challenges job growth,
2:41:28 fiscally irresponsible quick fixes that will immediately lead to credit downgrades, which make it more and needlessly more expensive to run the city, as well as additional borrowing that saddles taxpayers with more interest payments, all while ignoring opportunities to make necessary structural changes. In conclusion, this budget is not ready. Our ask is that while we understand addressing the budget, as a fiscal crisis requires shared sacrifice, we respectfully urge the mayor as well as his body to pause in moving forward
2:42:00 to allow time to consider serious long-term solutions that will not put us in the same scenario next year and then instead set us up for future shared and collective success. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Alex Goldenberg. Alex Goldenberg.
2:42:31 Good morning. I come to you today on behalf of the billionaire CEO of Salesforce and all the rich corporations and billionaires in this city, thankful that members of the city council have had the courage to stand up against the working families and poor people of this city. I've been working with my friends at the Civic Committee and the Commercial Club, representatives of the wealthiest Chicagoans, billionaires, the owners, the one who signed campaign contribution checks. I'm talking, of course, about Michael Sachs, the chief advisor to Rahm Emanuel, and our lieutenants, Chuck Swirsky and Michael Rumler,
2:43:04 all the Rahm guys who have worked so hard to ensure the wealthiest Chicagoans don't pay their fair share. You know their names. You've gotten their calls. From Derek Douglas, the executive director of the Commercial Club, he's called your office. He's let you know it's not just the unions and the individual donations who can contribute to your campaigns. They can also fund your campaigns, and they will, gladly. I want to thank all 27 who signed that letter saying that you oppose taxing the large corporations. Look, it's not that we can't afford it. We can. We just don't care about working people. In fact, we would rather see working people starve than give,
2:43:36 what did that friend of mine, Sam, say? one more cent to fund community youth programs see what the trump tax cuts we made one billion in additional savings here at salesforce that's how much that tax cut was the community safety surcharge would mean that we would only make 999 million 500 000 in tax breaks that's just not enough it's not enough sure the city wants to tax rich corporations to fund good things like youth jobs mental health services gender-based violence these are great things but not on the backs of the rich corporations, these should be
2:44:06 funded on the backs of the poor and working families. That's the way this council have always done things and how it ought to continue. In closing, as Winston Churchill once said, we shall defend our profits whatever the cost may be. We shall fight with text messages. We shall fight with digital ads. We shall fight in the editorial pages in the pro-rich corporation coverage in the legacy press. We shall fight by having our well-paid corporate lobbyists call your offices. We shall never surrender. Thank you. Rahm 2028. Nora
2:44:37 Flanagan. Our next speaker, Nora Flanagan. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I am a lifer in Chicago. I'm born and raised in the 19th Ward. Hey, Alderman O'Shea. I now live all the way up in the 50th.
2:45:08 Alderman Silverstein, which is about as far apart in Chicago as you can go. I also lived on the west side. Just getting that out there. This whole city is my neighborhood. I care about every part of Chicago. My two kids have attended their neighborhood CPS schools. My husband is a captain on the Chicago Fire Department. We are invested. This is our city. We care about all of Chicago, and I'm here to advocate for passing the Protecting Chicago budget. I specifically want to talk about youth employment because others have spoken on some of the other important issues. but I want to tell you about my sons. I have a 19 year old son who's in his second year at Johnson
2:45:42 and Wales University Culinary School after he discovered his love of cooking through the one summer Chicago program at Manley High School in their full teaching kitchens, which are in great danger of being closed due to lack of funding in our schools. My younger son spent last summer at Schur's High School learning auto mechanics because he is that kid who's been taking things apart and putting them back together since he was a toddler and wants to wrench on planes or cars or airplanes, he discovered mechanics through the One Summer Chicago program through After School Matters
2:46:17 as well. I have two kids who have found what they love and found how they want to spend their careers and their lives through programs whose funding is dependent on this budget. We have got to fund our kids' futures. We've got to fund our kids' futures through the schools. We've got to fund our kids' futures through these job programs that expanded to make space for my kid last summer. Google's going to be fine. Have you looked across the street? They're fine. McDonald's is going to be fine. Our schools, especially schools like Manly High School on the west side, like Schur's
2:46:51 on the northwest side, like where my younger son attends right now, Mather, Mather has been hit hard by the cuts to our programs. And they stand to lose a lot more if we don't pass this budget. And Mather has a lot of vulnerable student populations that need our support right now. So I'm here to say we can tax the corporations. McDonald's will also be fine. Salesforce will also be fine. But our kids and our families, our families cannot fund this city on a property tax increase. As a homeowner in Chicago, we are stretched.
2:47:24 We shouldn't be paying for this through grocery taxes or increasing our garbage pickup fees. Families aren't the ones who can afford this. The top corporations can. No, I'm good. I'm here for life. Thank you. Pass this budget, get the funding in place, and keep supporting families like mine to stay in Chicago. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Ann Wattenzer.
2:47:57 Ann. Ann's last name starts with a, okay. is that you could you say your last name it's watanabe i was not close thank you thank you i have terrible handwriting um good afternoon my name is anna watanabe i'm a registered nurse i'm a formal mental health worker with thresholds and i'm also just a concerned citizen of chicago i'm also here to advocate for the protect chicago budget to be passed
2:48:28 I have had loved ones in my life who have been brutalized by the police in the process of calling for help for a mental health crisis. And it's essential that we protect programs like the CARE program that would prevent this from happening. I know there's been a lot of concern about the corporate head tax. But like many other people have said, there's no evidence to show that a corporate head tax would drive business from Chicago. We know that when Rahm Emanuel got rid of the corporate head tax in 2014, we have not seen any difference in job growth between 2014 and now compared to the national job growth.
2:49:11 What we are asking corporations to pay is a drop in the bucket for them, but given the massive amount of profit and wealth that they have, it is essential funding for our city to get the services that we need. And we especially need our city council and our local elected officials to stand up against the federal attacks, not only against ICE agents who have been in our streets kidnapping our neighbors, but also against all of these federal funding cuts that also kill people.
2:49:45 I see this all the time in my job as a nurse at the hospital that cuts to services, cuts to public health, cuts to mental health services, cuts to youth jobs. These are all things that also have brutal impacts on our communities, our neighbors, and our city. i am just asking that our city council listen to your constituents and advocate for what's best for your constituents not for wealthy corporations um and pass the budget that we
2:50:19 need and to bring in the revenue that we need from the people that can afford to pay it not on the backs of people who are already being stretched thin and will continue to be stretched even more thinly um because of all the federal cuts and attacks that are coming down on us thank you thank you Lynn Bailey Lynn Bailey good afternoon good afternoon I
2:51:01 spoke earlier but I just wanted to reiterate what I was saying about our organization has been affected with funding and personally me and 30 other families have been affected by a private lender rock 360 which the city is aware And we can't move forward with teaching our children until our funding is addressed. I am a former detective with the Hillside Police Department.
2:51:35 I didn't leave because I had to. I left because I felt my impact was greater being in the streets with our children, following up with them and making sure that they get the resources that they need, making sure that they don't have to go to suburban cities to find safety. They don't have to go outside of their communities to get the help they need when we have the resources here to help them. But unfortunately they are seeing that hey, you were a detective, you lived in the city of Chicago and
2:52:08 you're not getting the support. How can we even feel that we have the chance to get that as well? So I'm asking the mayor's office, I'm asking the city of Chicago to support our organization. It is called Love You Too to teach them financial literacy, to teach them mental health awareness, to teach them the things that are affecting them and causing them to go out in the streets to do the things that they do. 90% of crime is
2:52:40 done by juveniles. They don't have the resources. They have to go outside their communities to get these resources, and that's not fair to the kids in our city. So I'm asking you guys to support our organization. Thank you. Cecilia Mendoza.
2:53:16 Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Cecilia Mendoza. I live in the 10th Ward, and I'm also the Associate Director of Government Relations with the National Immigrant Justice Center, NIJC. And I'm here to urge City Council to maintain level funding for the Chicago Legal Protection Fund at $3 million in the city budget. Since 2017, the Chicago Legal Protection Fund has empowered educated communities of their rights through a network of community navigators and connected Chicago residents to free legal representation with their immigration case.
2:53:50 With the Trump administration's violent attack on our city, communities cannot lose this vital resource. Any loss of funding would leave thousands of community members without trusted information and hundreds without legal representation. The Chicago Legal Protection Fund offers critical resources to keep community members safe, including survivors of gender-based violence. As an example, NIJC sought protection for a domestic violence survivor and her four children. When it came time to apply for a green card, we were able to provide the family of five free
2:54:25 legal representation because of the chicago legal protection fund securing green cards for the whole family i'm also here to say thank you thank you to the alder people their staff city officials and city staff who are actively participating and supporting rapid response teams on the ground providing support to all the families who have had family members violently ripped away from them It is because of our Rapid Response Network, led by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, ICIRR,
2:55:00 and Organized Communities Against Deportation, OCAD, that we're able to fight for the release of people illegally detained by federal agents in violation of the Casino-Nava Consent Decree. NIJC is proud to lead this fight alongside ACLU of Illinois, ICIRR, and OCAD. Chicago is stronger because our city partners fight with us to keep our community safe. Together, we'll continue to hold this administration accountable for their brutal and unlawful actions
2:55:31 and fiercely protect our constitutional rights. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Noah Harrell. Okay, that's enough. Thank you. Chambers will come back to order. Noah Hered Noah or Hered
2:56:04 Noah can you say your last name please yes it's Hered very well you may commence thank you guys for having me here today I was born and raised in Illinois and unfortunately because of what you've done in this city I had to move to the great state of Florida but I am here I am backing a governor candidate and when he is elected You're the first person we're going to do a forensic audit on. We're going to have the Department of Justice and the FBI so far up,
2:56:35 so many of your butts you ain't going to be able to see. And thank you. Captain Flora Dragby Digby. Captain Flora Digby.
2:57:11 Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Now let's admit, we know that during the summertime, where's the best place to be? It's on the Chicago waterways. My name is Flora Digby. I am a licensed captain in the city of Chicago. I am the Commodore of Southern Shore Yacht Club, which resides in the Fifth Ward. I am a resident of the Seventh Ward and an active member of the Chicago Safety Harbor Committee. And I'm here today in opposition of the proposed yacht tax. Let's be honest. I believe there's a mischaracterization of who actually owns boats.
2:57:44 Believe it or not, it's your everyday middle class person. The boats from 25 feet to 40 feet, those are the ones that we own. And the reason why we own them is because we've made a choice in our lives not to go on vacations, not to buy summer homes, but continue to invest in the city of Chicago. And so at this time, we are asking the city of Chicago and city council to go back to the table, to think about the contributions that we are currently bringing, The fact that we provide stable revenue at this time and imposing a tax upon us that is greater than 23 percent will encourage flight.
2:58:24 It will encourage owners to go to Kenosha, to go to Hammond, because those are marinas that are actually more competitive than the city of Chicago. We ask you to partner with us, to collaborate with us, to grow the memberships in the yacht clubs, because we are the ones that provide the boat building programs, the boat skills programs, the sailing programs. That's who we are. We are asking you to think about not necessarily raising 23%, but think about other revenue-generating opportunities.
2:58:56 All the slip owners in the city of Chicago, how about imposing a very basic boating skill class? That will help you increase revenue, but it will also decrease the use of city resources. It will decrease the use of the fire department, the police department, because now your incidents are going to decrease because of the education level that we bring to the table. My name is Captain Flora Digby, and again, we are in opposition of the yachting tax. Thank you. Thank you.
2:59:29 Our next speaker is Tatiana Barnett. Tatiana Barnett. Bonnet Okay All right. Thank you, Mayor Johnson and all city leaders, city council leaders. I would like to have your undivided attention right now, if I can. I know it's been a long day. My name is Tatiana Barnett. On May 6, 2024, NBC Chicago aired a three-part segment about the real estate fraud unfolding before our eyes in the Woodline community.
3:00:05 A New York-based private equity firm known as ROC 360 violated the Illinois consumer fraud laws, deceiving dozens of business owners using deceptive lending practices. These actions resulted in illegal foreclosures of dozens of properties in the Woodline and South Shore community. Prime real estate valued in excess of $30 million. ROC 360 partnered with ex-dean of students of Malcolm X College and Chicago-based developer Ramo Bay, who conspired to defrost Chicago families out of millions of dollars.
3:00:39 Mayor Brandon Johnson, in 2024, you promoted and attended the Black Men in Real Estate Expo at Malcolm X College, promoting the likeness of Ramo Bay and I Flip Chicago, maybe indirectly. The City of Chicago's legal department has received overwhelming complaints from Chicago citizens who invested their own retirement plans to restore their own communities. The city of Chicago investigated the matter, found fault, but has yet to litigate. The African-American communities are being targeted by this New York firm to seize valuable real estate near the Obama Presidential Library.
3:01:15 There is a reason that a firm of this magnitude would choose to come to Chicago to commit such egregious white-collar crimes in Chicago and not New York. Lawlessness is allowed here in Chicago. There are medical doctors, elderly women, government employees, and single mothers who have lost everything, and I mean everything, to this. What is the point of investigating the matter to throw us to the side to litigate only matters involving immigration and Trump? We ask and plead with the city of Chicago to protect its citizens and engage in necessary litigation against ROC 360.
3:01:50 The laws and statutes that apply to a government agency are stronger than private litigation. The citizens born and raised here deserve to be represented. We have waited patiently for justice. The budget needs to include proper funding to litigate against billion-dollar companies that come into our city and abuse our judicial systems that are weak. You cannot, and I mean cannot, defend immigrants and not defend citizens. It is not just, nor is it fair. Every alderman and alderwoman here can agree that this would not be happening without the legal help from the city of Chicago if it were the north side.
3:02:23 You know that. Jeanette Taylor, you know that, Monique Scott. We need to save Woodline. A corporation should not own the most prestigious African-American community here. This is similar to the Tulsa Race Massacre that destroyed Black Wall Street. The city of Chicago's legal counsel should continue the real estate litigation. If you participate in Mayor Johnson in the destruction and the promotion of this, you should... Thank you. So our next speaker is Oscar Sanchez, Oscar Sanchez, Jimmy Rothschild.
3:03:23 All right. Hello. Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Jimmy Rothschild. I work for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, which represents constituents all over the city in 43 and 44 and 47 and 50 and 5. 33 35 etc i myself i'm a homeowner in the 33rd ward in albany park when i look around my neighborhood i see a lot of people who are struggling i see a lot of people who are
3:03:55 struggling in the face of brutal raids from the federal government i see a lot of people who are struggling to pay their property taxes struggling to pay for child care struggling to pay for groceries. When I look around my neighborhood, I don't see a lot of CEOs. I don't see a lot of people who are deciding whether to buy a summer home or a boat, right? I see people who need investment in their city. And we have the opportunity to invest in our neighborhoods
3:04:26 with this budget. We have an opportunity to make sure that people stay housed, that people stay fed my wife is a social worker i'm very very proud of her she's a whole human being in her own right and she has, in her career, engaged in a lot of emergency mental health. I know how crucial and life-saving these programs like CARE can be, and I know that anything that risks funding to be able to provide mental health care for our neighbors cannot be done.
3:05:01 So we have a choice, right? We know that we have essential programs that are at risk, And we can choose to let those programs go, to let people starve, to let people die, but we don't want to do that, right? I know none of you want to do that, so we have a choice, right? We have a choice of we have to fund these programs, and we can fund them on the backs of our neighbors, on the backs of homeowners like me by raising property taxes, on the backs of my neighbors in Albany Park
3:05:33 by raising the fees that they pay at the CERMAC on Kedzie and Berto, or we can ask those corporations who are doing the best in this city, those who are making massive profits, those who have been just given huge tax breaks by the Trump administration, to pay a little bit more to make sure that our neighbors can stay safe, that our neighbors can stay housed, that the work that your constituents are all doing every day to make this city a better place can continue.
3:06:11 I urge you to vote yes on this budget. I urge you to vote yes to support your neighbors by asking corporations and not themselves to pay a little bit more. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to read through the names of those that we called earlier, but our last from the full list, G. Clary or G. Clay. Is anyone here who signed up to speak with the initial G?
3:06:46 All right. Very well, then. We'll just go through this one more time. Shirley Oliver. Shirley Oliver. All right. All right, Shirley. Kanan. Last name Kanan. First name Shrik or Shrak. All right.
3:07:17 Okay, can you say your name, please? My name is Shruti Kanan. Okay. I'm here on behalf of SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, specifically the child care workers that we represent in the city. I am an organizer now, but I worked in the classroom in daycares on the north side of Chicago for almost 10 years. And I come here kind of urgently requesting that the city improve wages
3:07:51 for child care workers. In my time in child care, I was proud to be in the classroom, I was proud to be a teacher because it runs in my blood. My mother, my uncle, two of my aunts have been teachers in India and here. But the working conditions in the field were very different from what I expected and what they should have been. At the beginning of my career, I was very motivated to do what everybody told me to do, which is work hard, put up with low wages, and keep going to school, keep improving my
3:08:21 credentials because I thought that would get me somewhere. At the end of the nine years, what I expected was very different from what it should have been. What I saw was that my health was declining, especially during COVID. I caught COVID twice on the job. Experienced teachers around me, many of them who'd been in this field for years and years, had worked hard, much harder than I did to get their degrees, were forced to leave the field because of the under-resourcing of the field. People could not make their bills, we could not make ends meet. They could not pay their bills. People had families. They had kids to support,
3:08:56 and so they just had to leave after putting years of experience into the field. I also found my life going in a similar trajectory. I got out when I could, but it's not something that I want to see keep happening. As a result of the low wages in early childhood, staff has a hard time staying in the field. It affects kids because kids need consistent caregivers, which they don't get. With all the turnover, it's a constant revolving door of workers coming in and out, and all of society suffers.
3:09:28 If we are not able to support our kids in this city, I fear to think of what the future would be 10 years, 20 years, 50 years from now when those kids come into maturity and take power here, take power in corporate boardrooms, and so on. So we are very encouraged by the fact that the city put in $7 million into early childhood specifically for worker wages. We are now calling for $20 million in the next city budget so that those wages can stay in effect and workers can really get to what they need to, which is public educator-level salaries.
3:10:04 This cannot be done without taxing the wealthy in this city. We are so afraid of sending wealthy people away, but we have no problem telling working people that they have to work much harder, much longer just to make ends meet, which is not okay. So I support all the mayor's budget proposals that lead to taxing the wealthy so that our communities can have the services they need. Thank you. Paula Hickman. Paula Hickman.
3:10:42 Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name is Paula Hickman. I live in the 17th Ward. I've been a proud early childhood educator in Chicago for 23 years. I currently work for KinderCare, and I am a proud member of SEIU. I've been with them for two years. I am also a mother of six. I currently, I told you I work at KinderCare.
3:11:13 Like so many working families in this city, we feel the weight of every dollar. I grew up in a diverse community where I had the gift of a strong preschool education and a chance to become a youth leader at the Boys and Girls Club. Those experiences shaped me. They taught me that when a child is supported early, their whole future can open up. That's what led me into this profession, a passion for planting seeds of confidence,
3:11:47 curiosity, and the love of learning. But today, I want to speak on the reality behind that passion. For 23 years, I've been giving my heart to this work, but the pay has never reflected that value. Supporting a family of six on a child care wage is incredibly hard. Between the times when I've had to stretch for groceries, delaying my bills, worrying about if I could afford gas to get back and forth to work
3:12:17 all while caring for other people's children was a struggle for me and I'm pretty sure it was a struggle for a lot of my other co-workers. If I earned a comparable wage to a CPS educator, wages would allow a person to actually live, you know. My life would look completely different. I would be able to build on more and save more for my family. Stability would be even better. Low pay doesn't
3:12:53 only affect educators, it affects children and families directly. The turnover rates are high. Classrooms often suffer because of understaffing, and centers constantly struggle to stay open. Under Mayor Brandon Johnson, I want to thank you so much for actually taking consideration for child care and actually investing that $7 million.
3:13:26 But now we're actually calling for at least $20 million if we can help fund all of our child care workers. I'm also saying to support Mayor Brandon Johnson in the community safety surge, the social media tax, and the tariff plus. Thank you. Thank you. Brianna Champion. Our next speaker Brianna Champion. Hello everyone. Hello. My name is
3:13:58 Brianna Champion and I am an organizer with the Chicago Black Voter Project from the South Side. I live in the Fifth Ward. We know that our city has the capacity to meet everyone's needs and we believe that that collective work and responsibility is how we make it all possible. I am, however, confused and disappointed by Chicago's alder people. who come from the same neighborhoods as us and continually distance themselves from the collective you are being presented with the historic and unprecedented opportunity to pass a budget that
3:14:34 protects those closest to you and those who need it the most yet you are still holding the interests of billionaires who are using you and will never care about you above the survival of your own people how could you not support a community safety surcharge it's a small amount requiring our city's wealthiest corporations contribute to fund crisis response systems you know firsthand the impacts of closed mental health clinics in our community why does it make sense to you to levy working-class people with
3:15:09 garbage and grocery taxes when you too were a starving artist not knowing how you are going to afford your most basic needs that month i have spent the last five months talking to our neighbors about how we pun fund public safety you have no excuse to ignore over 70 percent of chicagoans calling to tax billionaire corporations those same corporations just received a windfall of a lifetime thanks to their billionaire president that bill trump passed
3:15:44 in july was the largest transfer of wealth to rich folks in american history that don't make you mad over 8 800 chicago public schools community members will lose their jobs if we do not return the tiff surplus to our schools parks and libraries imagine how a loss that great would destabilize our city. I'm tired of hearing that corporate billionaire
3:16:17 leeches are going to leave us if they ask them to pay more in rent. Because the truth is, long-standing black working-class families with the deep roots in this city are being pushed out. Black and brown people are being kidnapped in broad daylight. What are you doing to stop this? You talk about balancing this budget as if real people's livelihood isn't what's really hanging in the balance alders of chicago you are being presented with a very clear and well-researched solution to the economic and
3:16:53 corporal attacks the trump administration has imposed on us thank you just a couple of more here of names that we'll call again brad peak Is Brad Peek still here? All right. Chris Barron. Chris Barron. Allison Chelsea.
3:17:23 Allison Chelsea. Oscar Sanchez. Oscar Sanchez. And then initial G, last name, difficult to make sense of here, Clay, Clary, initial G. All right, very well. Are there any other individuals that wish to speak to the proposed executive budget? All right, seeing none, it is now.
3:17:57 Okay, we will permit time for these last two individuals. Please, is there a slip that they can fill out so that they're officially on record? And then fill out those slips, and we will make time for these last two speakers. I just need their names.
3:18:43 Can you state your name, and then let's make sure I have that pink slip up here. Say your name, sir. Thank you, Mayor. I really appreciate it. I did try and register beforehand. They told me it was cut off at 1130. I got you. Go ahead. State your name, sir. Pat Doerr from the Hospitality Business Association of Chicago. I appreciate all of you aldermen who are still here after all those grueling budget hearings. It was a long one, just for the record, as I was trying to do before. The head tax, as last version we saw, still penalizes many bar and restaurant groups.
3:19:13 through both the rulemaking provision and the way it's phrased. It's not full-time employees. It's anybody making $7,500 a quarter. That covers a lot of well-paying, part-time bartender and server jobs. We would respectfully ask, if that's even still in the discussion, that it be revised to reflect it includes real full-time employees, not people working part-time jobs. The way it is written right now in the head tax, jobs making less than the federal poverty line for a four-person family would be subject to the head tax.
3:19:47 I don't think any member of this council wants to penalize job creation on entry-level jobs for people. Whatever policy concerns, it's simply set much too low and written much too broadly and will apply to too many good-paying jobs to get people on the career ladder. And I don't know if it has a chance long-term or not. I'm not in that group, that coalition. But as written now, it is very hard on our hospitality industry, our hotel industry, and everybody providing entry-level jobs. Thank you for your time. Really appreciate all the aldermen who were here until 830 last night on this.
3:20:19 Thank you for your effort and your times. Cheers. Thank you. All right, Teresa, T.J. Hughes. Good evening. I mean, afternoon. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for letting me speak. I didn't know when I came, it was all, you know, everything was closed. So I appreciate this. I just wanted to say, since I've been sitting here listening to everybody, that I do support you as far as the increase from the corporate people to pay taxes.
3:20:52 Because if you just think about it, all of their monies have come from the sweating pains of black people who, if it wasn't for us, they wouldn't even have these corporate positions. They wouldn't even have these companies because they were too trifling to get out and work for the stuff themselves, so they got free labor from our people. So I support you 100% for asking for them to pay more in their taxes.
3:21:25 And then another thing on the other side, if I may, I'm still waiting for my follow-up, Mr. Mayor, with you. So, you know, that's been like months and months ago. You want your third meeting. I got you. We can do it. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Are there any other individuals that wish to speak or wish to make an appointment with me? All right. All right. The time is now 1 20. So this concludes the public hearing on the proposed executive budget. The chair recognizes Chairman Irvin.
3:22:00 Thank you, Mr. President. I move we return to the regular order of business. On the motion to return back to the regular order of business, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Any opposed say no. The motion passes. Alderman Mitchell, on the motion to adjourn. Mr. President, if there being no further business before this body, I move that we adjourn. Hearing no objection, so order. The meeting is adjourned.
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