Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies on the City Council used a parliamentary maneuver to block an advisory referendum that asked voters if Chicago should remain a sanctuary city. A special City Council meeting was called to consider the issue.
The meeting lasted less than an hour. The mayor ruled that the referendum that asked, “Should the city of Chicago limit its designation as a sanctuary city by placing spending limits on its public funding?”, needed a two-thirds vote, or 33 aldermen to suspend the rules so it could be considered. It had not been approved by the Rules Committee.
The vote was 31-16. Voters will not be allowed to let their choice be known.
Ald. Anthony Beale championed the referendum and the goal was to get the referendum on the March 19 primary ballot. Aldermen Raymond Lopez and David Moore sponsored the resolution with Beale.
Chicago is having a crisis over handling the influx of illegal aliens. Governor Abbott, for example, is sending busloads of illegal aliens to sanctuary cities to relieve overcrowding in Texas. There is a housing crisis and the illegals end up living in tent cities on the city’s dime. Chicago residents have had enough. The city’s politicians, including the mayor, don’t seem to be getting the message. The mayor complains and demands federal funds to cover the costs of the services for illegal aliens, yet he stubbornly clings to the outdated idea of leading a sanctuary city.
Everything was fine as long as illegal aliens remained in Texas or other border states. Once that no longer was sustainable, sanctuary cities were the logical solution. Blue sanctuary cities boasted that all are welcome, regardless of legal status, and they are ready to take care of them. Then Governor Abbott (and DHS) began sending them to cities like Chicago and suddenly the tune changed.
Tempers are short and Democrats are blaming Republicans like Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis. Oh yeah, they blame Trump, too. Because of course. None of them live in Chicago.
Efforts to stymie Beale’s efforts led to a special meeting last month in which bullying allegations were lodged against Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th). The allegations forced Ramirez-Rosa to resign as Johnson’s Council floor leader and Zoning Committee chair.
A week later a Rules Committee meeting was called to consider a revised, softer version of Beale’s sanctuary city question. That effort failed during a rowdy meeting that adjourned after council members were shouted down by an angry crowd that Rules Committee Chair Michelle Harris (8th) ordered forcibly removed.
Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said the Welcoming City Ordinance that originated with Mayor Harold Washington has “nothing to do with whether or how the city provides shelter or care” to asylum-seekers and repealing it will “do nothing to stop the flow of buses.”
“At best, these moves … are the result of confusion and misdirection. At worst, they’re cynical ploys that are feeding on fear and resentment. … They play into the hands of Greg Abbott, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump,” Tsao told the alderperson. “If we fall into this trap, shame on us.”
City leaders are proud of themselves for choosing illegal aliens over its residents. You know, the taxpayers who pay their salaries and pay for the services of illegal aliens.
After the special meeting, a coalition of community organizers and Council members celebrated the Council’s vote, calling it a victory for immigrant communities.
“We will be on the migrant mission, we will support our undocumented and migrant community, and we will continue to invest in our Black communities,” said Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th). “The Trump tactics of the right of sowing division between our communities will end. And our vote today was an indication that there is a City Council that will not allow those tactics to thrive here.”
Who wants to tell Fuentes? It is Joe Biden who is a divider of people. By leaving the southern border wide open, millions of illegal immigrants have come across the border. This puts a strain on border communities and border states. Local and state governments are stuck with the bill and that makes locals angry, as it should. Immigration is a federal issue. It is not Trump’s DHS that is moving illegal aliens all around the country, it is Joe Biden’s DHS. The Biden border crisis is a humanitarian crisis and a national security crisis. Americans are deeply divided these days and Joe Biden has instigated a lot of the tension between various groups of people. Just look at Biden’s approval ratings. All demographics have stopped supporting him. He deserves the mass exodus of support.
Alderman Beale got to the core of the problem – the mayor knows if the referendum went to the voters, they would cancel Chicago’s sanctuary city status.
The council’s decision to adjourn without considering the sanctuary status referendum vote drew condemnation from Ald. Anthony Beale demanded to know whether Mayor Brandon Johnson and councilors were afraid that city voters would tell them “the truth” about funding decisions regarding the migrant influx.
Activists are calling for President Joe Biden to take the lead in providing work permits and legal protections for migrants, so they can begin to provide for themselves.
Good luck with that. Joe Biden ignores both red and blue states when officials ask for resources to take care of the crises he created.
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