City Council met on Wednesday for an especially busy and productive session. I’m committed to making sure everyone I represent knows what pieces of legislation–big and small–I’m supporting, and you can check out my full voting record so far here. 

I also want to give members of the community an overview of some of the key measures I’m pushing for, and what they would do. This week, we:

-We passed the Fair Workweek Ordinance, which will require large employers to give their workers advance notice of their work schedules and compensate them for last-minute changes. This will help low-wage workers who struggle to meet the obligations of family, school or second jobs because of hectic and unpredictable scheduling. 

-I co-sponsored amendments to the Welcoming Cities ordinance, which established Chicago as a “sanctuary city” in 2012. Immigration activists have long been pointing out the ways that Chicago’s sanctuary protections fall short, and the amendments I introduced will close existing loopholes to ensure that none of our city’s resources are used for federal immigration enforcement.

-I co-sponsored an ordinance calling for a ComEd Contract Feasibility Study to explore alternative options to the city’s expiring contract with ComEd. One of the options we will explore is municipalization, which could allow us to accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources. You can read more about this issue in Crain’s Chicago Business. 

-I co-sponsored a suite of ordinances aimed at expanding affordable housing and improving our public housing, as well as the Bring Chicago Home ordinance, which would raise the real estate transaction tax on big, downtown properties and provide additional funding for services for people experiencing homelessness.

-I co-sponsored the Save the Trees ordinance, which would pilot a less-invasive method of repairing aging water lines in order to save trees slated to be cut down due to underground work.

We also introduced an extra special piece of legislation drafted by Anthony Tamez-Pochel, a member of our neighborhood services team and the Chi-Nations Youth Council. Anthony worked with the Indigenous community, including members of the American Indian Center and the Chi-Nations Youth Council, to create an ordinance to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day.

I’m proud to sponsor this legislation that recognizes the devastating legacy of forced removal, assimilation, genocide and slavery throughout American history, as well as the contributions of the First Nations and American Indian people in Chicago. And I’m incredibly grateful for the leadership of Indigenous people right here in our ward.