Last week, Ald. Silvana Tabares and I gave notice to discharge and vote on changes to the Welcoming City Ordinance that would have returned the exceptions as to when our city departments could engage with federal authorities.
The changes would have restricted engaging with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to instances when an undocumented individual chooses to commit crimes in these categories: gang-related, drug-related, prostitution/human trafficking and sex crimes involving minors.
The current state of immigration law and its enforcement failures are clearly beyond the scope of the city of Chicago. They are the responsibility of the federal government, whose failures go back decades and involve both parties. As aldermen, we can only deal with the problem in front of us: how to address those who engage in criminal activity once they are in our communities, on our streets, impacting our residents.
We have tried to return the commonsense carve-outs to the Welcoming City Ordinance that Lori Lightfoot removed as mayor. We correctly stated then that it was insulting to lump criminals with the thousands of undocumented immigrants who follow our laws and contribute positively to our society. We are again making that distinction with this ordinance.
I have represented immigrant communities for more than a decade, and there is a clear distinction between the vast majority of undocumented individuals who go about their lives waiting respectfully for a chance to emerge from the shadows and those who choose a criminal path. Incoming President Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that he is directing his border czar Tom Homan to go after those individuals who choose criminal behavior once they are in our country. Both houses of Congress advanced bipartisan deportation legislation related to criminal activity, which further highlights the political shift to the center on a very reasonable compromise.
Opponents have exaggerated many issues on this topic; however, they rightly point out that the federal government can already enter communities looking for targets. If ICE can already seek out these individuals, would it make more sense to simply turn over those our officers have arrested? Would it not keep thousands more safe from being collateral captures of the Trump administration?
I believe so. So does Homan. That is exactly what he stated to me when we met in December.
Voting “yes” on this ordinance would have given the Trump administration a policy and enforcement win, but it would also have allowed Chicago to remain welcoming to those here waiting for a pathway to legalized status in the United States by removing a very real target off their backs.
The City Council has made its bed. Now we must wait and see who is forced to lie in it.
— Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th
CTA chief failed riders
This week, CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. announced his upcoming resignation from his post. He leaves behind a system he rarely rode, a $5.75 billion Red Line extension project (the most expensive per mile in CTA history), the second worst pandemic ridership recovery of a major transit agency in the U.S., a deteriorated Forest Park branch on the Blue Line, large portions of track needing repair, a $577 million deficit and an agency struggling to regain the trust of its current and former riders.
The last years of Carter’s decadelong tenure frequently pitted him against lawmakers, riders and activists, most of whom wanted to collaborate with the agency to improve its reliability. In the face of this opposition, Carter turned to making false statements to riders, lawmakers and even his board. His long tenure was backed by Mayors Rahm Emanuel, Lori Lightfoot and, until the announcement of his departure, Brandon Johnson, who refused to offer any criticism of Carter.
He is survived by thousands of hardworking CTA employees no longer hampered by his leadership, millions of riders ready for reliable commutes and a city that relies on the CTA, whether there are 1,000 or 1 million riders.
— Nik Hunder, Chicago
Service and sacrifice
I take no delight in seeing a famous person fail at the job he was elected or chosen to do. For example, a front-page photo in a Chicago newspaper showing CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. exiting a train was accompanied by text referring to his apparent failures while overseeing CTA safety. “The end of the line,” the headline screamed.
Well, at least you tried, sir!
I really wonder what motivates people like Carter or Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson or Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling to get up each morning and dive into the battles of the day. Assuming each person has the best of intentions, his or her job still has to be a challenge of the utmost proportions.
To those who are willing to put it all out there each and every day, I say thank you. Thank you for your successes and your failures as well. Thank you for bearing the daily burden. Thank you for sometimes being sacrificial lambs. Thank you to your families who in their own way bear the heat of the day.
Do not feel you failed because you didn’t. Every honest effort of every honest day contributes to the building of society. And here we are, the greatest, most developed and successful human beings on the face of the planet. I’ll take that any day.
— Kathleen Melia, Niles
How to protect cyclists
The front-page article about cyclist safety and the progress made in recent years was insightful (“Can Chicago make streets safe for walking, cycling to school?” Jan. 13). Kudos to the many advocates and students who clearly are taking this seriously and working hard to ensure that cyclists are as safe as possible.
But, as a longtime cyclist and personal injury lawyer, my own impression is that without driver education, there will never be cycling safety. I’ve been hit several times in the protected bike lanes, and the quote from Christopher Garcia in the article — “People don’t really notice cyclists. … They don’t even check their rearviews” — says it all. All the infrastructure in the world won’t do much if people are not conditioned to look for cyclists all the time.
Drivers must understand the gravity of the situation; the failure of a driver of a 2-ton vehicle to not look for a cyclist on a 20-pound bike may result in a dead or severely injured cyclist.
This awareness is the way it is in many cycling-friendly areas of the world. Here, not so much. At least not yet.
I propose the following: mandatory education for all drivers focused on looking for and seeing cyclists, understanding cycling rights and hand signals, knowing the purpose and function of cycling infrastructure, and emphasizing the seriousness of cycling-auto collisions.
I’m also a proponent of roundabouts. I am not a fan of bump-outs, as all they do is clog up traffic and frustrate motorists.
The priority must be on educating drivers so they are trained to look for cyclists at all times. Yes, cyclists must follow the rules of the road. I suspect many will harp on that point, and I do not disagree.
But please, teach people to look for bikers, and we’ll be a lot safer.
— Stephen Hoffman, Chicago
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