Mayoral Challenger Calls for Faster Action on Compensation

Thursday’s five mayoral candidates ridiculed the city hall’s slow move on compensation, and the efforts of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and another challenger to her office are a testament to the perpetuation of slavery for blacks in Chicago. He said it equated to “smoke and mirrors” in the quest to modify the effects.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, community activist Jamal Greene, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, and Aldo. Sophia King (No. 4) and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Ballas all City Council Subcommittee on Compensation.

Since its establishment in June 2020, the subcommittee has taken no substantive action to investigate how such returns would be made and who should receive them.

“I find it very disrespectful and disrespectful for this mayor, who is a black woman, to take a stand against the members of the black caucus of the city council. [fellow mayoral challenger and 6th Ward Ald.] Rod Sawyer wanted the full commission,” Buckner said. “Instead, there was a subcommittee that I had only met twice…that was smoke and mirrors.”

“It’s not the first time this mayor has turned his back,” Johnson said. “The worst thing in the black community is flakes.”

Sawyer initially called for a larger commission to develop a plan to “ensure fairness, equality, and equality for impoverished African Americans in Chicago.”

Sawyer, who did not attend the forum due to scheduling issues, later defended his efforts in an email.

“In the two years I fought the mayor on this issue, I have never seen another candidate help me, except for Willie Wilson,” Sawyer wrote. “I will continue to fight for the pillars of reparations: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-recurrence.”

Billionaire entrepreneur Wilson, who was not at the forum, asked for an ordinance This includes CTA free rides, city college tuition, and a larger share of city contracts for descendants of African-American slavery.

Lightfoot was not present at the rescheduled forum this week. In an email, a campaign spokesperson touted the incumbent’s “innovative investments in historically neglected communities.”

According to Lightfoot’s campaign, “She is tackling intergenerational poverty through numerous cash assistance programs, including one of the nation’s largest income guarantee programs.”

All mayoral candidates who attended Thursday’s forum hosted by Reparations United — an organization that advocates for reparations for the descendants of enslaved African Americans — said they wanted a stronger oversight of the budget to investigate the issue. He said he would support the commission.

The candidates were not asked whether they supported direct payments to descendants of slaves, but four said yes.

Green said he would push for a “strong package for reparations.” King said he supported such an “economic response to right the wrongs of the past.” Mr. Buckner said a “settlement that has put people at a disadvantage for generations and years” was appropriate. Plan to guarantee “guaranteed.”

Valas called his definition of reparation “an opportunity for governments to reprioritize their budgets to create true ownership of the wealth accumulated in communities that have been manipulated and exploited.”

US Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, the ninth candidate for mayoral election, was also absent from the forum.

2021, Evanston It became the first American city to pay reparations in the form of a $25,000 grant related to housing costs.