[Applause] Chaos erupted at City Hall as protesters took over a meeting discussing Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city. Good afternoon, I’m Anthony Pon and I’m Natalie Bomy.
This is the major news of the day, with explosive outbursts forcing the council meeting to come to a halt. Tempers are still running high as we speak.
Dane PLO was in the chambers early, and he joins us now with the latest developments on this ongoing debate. Dane, take it away. This incident was reminiscent of the council wars in the 1980s, with hundreds of loud and angry protesters filling the city council gallery.
Their presence led the Alderman to call off the public meeting, stating, “Okay, let’s clear the room. Sergeant in arms, please clear the room.” The meeting, which was supposed to discuss a proposal to let Chicagoans decide the city’s status as a sanctuary city through a referendum next spring, quickly descended into chaos. The chaos unfolded after hundreds of primarily African-American protesters packed the city council gallery and started shouting down the Alderman. Their anger stemmed from the cancellation of a special city council meeting on the migrant question the previous week, during which Mayor Brandon Johnson’s floor leader, Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa, attempted to prevent a quarrel by discouraging Alderman from entering the chamber. This led to a confrontation between Alderman Rosa and long-serving Alderwoman Emma Mitz. After about half an hour, today’s meeting was suspended and the crowd was cleared.
However, some Alderman placed blame on the mayor and supporters of the sanctuary city for causing the chaos by trying to block the referendum. The meeting will resume on Thursday, with the rules committee continuing the discussion on the sanctuary city referendum. It is currently unknown if any special rules or security measures will be implemented for that meeting. Following the clearance of the gallery, the regular city council meeting proceeded peacefully as scheduled.
Thank you, Dane, for the update..
