Immigrants, minorities caught in middle as mayor tries to strong- arm aldermen
On Monday, the City Council will vote on the $ 12.8 billion budget. This year’s budget process reminds us of how much work is needed to build a just, ethical and accountable Chicago.
Last week, Mayor Lightfoot told the City Council Black Caucus that if they vote no on her proposed budget, their communities will not be prioritized in the city’s capital improvement plan. To the Latino Caucus, the mayor suggested she may close loopholes in the Welcoming City ordinance, which allow police to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, if they approve her budget.
Some dismiss this as “politics as usual” in Chicago. But this is not the political culture we deserve — and we must not normalize it.
In a Democratic stronghold, immigrant groups should not have to work to separate their civil liberties from an unpopular political vote. Black faith leaders should not have to call on the mayor to stop threatening their communities if she disagrees with their alderman. The mayor’s words remind us of who has an unalienable right to disagree, and whose lives are threatened in dissent.
Nationally, we are counting on the voices and votes of Black and Brown Americans to save our democracy. But in Chicago, we perpetuate systems built to silence Black and Brown communities.
When the mayor uses the capital improvement plan or civil liberties as a bargaining chip, she is attempting to win a political fight by leveraging government structures built to concentrate wealth and power for white communities. Chicago cannot build an equitable future while maintaining these structures; we must reimagine how we budget, how we debate, how we negotiate — and what is off- limits, no matter how heated our politics.
Political fights will come and go, as will political leaders. The tenor of our policy debates must always strive to rise above the day’s pressures. In budget negotiations, the mayor failed to meet this bar of civic leadership. We call on the mayor to apologize for her comments, encourage all aldermen to vote their conscience, and pledge not to take retaliatory action against Black or Brown communities whose representatives disagree with her. Niketa Brar, Ahmadou Drame, Niya Kelly, board and leadership team,
Chicago United for Equity
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