February 3, 2023

On Wednesday, February 1st, during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting, a Chicago resident of the 11th Ward was removed from the City Council gallery two hours after giving a public comment regarding the draft ComEd franchise agreement proposal put forward to City Council by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In no way was this person acting in a way that would justify their removal; they were only guilty of voicing disagreement with the proposal of the Mayor. The reason cited for their expulsion from the chamber was a procedural rule, Rule 50, that only applies to members of this body, not members of the public, and was wholly inappropriate to utilize as justification for their removal. 

This person’s removal happened only hours after they delivered remarks framing Mayor Lightfoot’s hastily proposed contract in a negative light, criticizing her proposal and its timing as a political move to win herself election clout at the expense of regular Chicagoans. We believe that this was an act of political retaliation and are gravely concerned about the violation of this person’s fundamental rights to express their political opinion and observe the proceedings of an elected body of leaders. All residents of Chicago have a fundamental right to participate in City Council and make their voices heard—even if their elected leaders disagree with their positions. To retaliate against members of the public for their free speech is a fundamental violation of every law and norm governing our city. 

While we await further explanation from the Sergeant-at-Arms, we struggle to see this blatant violation of rights as anything less than a baseless attack on a resident and their rights. Their removal was orchestrated at the direct request of an individual within City Hall who we can only assume was Mayor Lightfoot given the nature of their prior public commentary. For a sitting Mayor of Chicago to potentially retaliate against a public commenter simply because she does not approve of what they say is utterly unacceptable in a democracy. Of course, this comes at a time where ComEd itself is currently under investigation for its own ethical violations—violations Mayor Lightfoot seems to think are minor enough to not address concretely in her proposal. It is unsurprising that a company and a mayor so aggressively against giving control over our power back to the people would go out of their way to continue silencing members of the public when they choose to speak out. 

As members of City Council, we denounce the Mayor’s naked act of retaliation and demand a public accounting of events and an apology to both this resident and all Chicagoans. If Mayor Lightfoot will not uphold her promise of “bringing in the light,” we will ensure that our residents are not left in the dark. Chicagoans deserve better than rushed deals, abuses of their rights, and unaccountable government. Chicagoans deserve to have their voices heard. 

Ald. Daniel La Spata, 

1st Ward

Ald. Jeanette Taylor, 

20th Ward

Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 

25th Ward

Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 

33rd Ward

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 

35th Ward

Ald. Andre Vasquez, 

40th Ward