Chicago City Council Latino Caucus Stands Firmly Behind City’s Welcoming City Ordinance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2023
Chicago, IL – Today, a member of the Chicago City Council introduced legislation to rollback Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, a policy that has been strengthened over subsequent administrations since first being introduced by Mayor Harold Washington in 1985.
The following is a statement from the Latino Caucus of the Chicago City Council:
No one should be afraid to call 9-1-1 in an emergency – that’s why the Chicago City Council’s Latino Caucus stands firmly behind our city’s Welcoming City Ordinance.
A decade of research has shown that sanctuary policies promote public safety because victims of crime – regardless of their immigration status – are more likely to cooperate with police and report crime.
Rolling back Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance would violate the Illinois Trust Act, threaten the progress Chicago has made on the consent decree, and jeopardize the safety of all Chicagoans.
Over one thousand people, including children, are currently sleeping on police station floors. Violating state law to rollback the Welcoming City Ordinance won’t help a single long term resident or new arrival in need of housing. This moment necessitates real solutions rooted in Chicago’s compassionate values and history as a city that welcomes and integrates new arrivals from across the world and our nation.
The City Council Latino Caucus includes 15 members from across the city. They represent wards as diverse as Chicago itself. In addition to Chair Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33) and Vice-Chair Andre Vasquez (40), the Caucus membership includes: Ald. Daniel LaSpata (1), Ald. Peter Chico (10), Ald. Julia Ramirez (12), Ald. Jeylú Gutiérrez (14), Ald. Michael D. Rodriguez (22), Ald. Bryon Sigcho-Lopez (25), Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26), Ald. Ruth Cruz (30), Ald. Felix Cardona (31), Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35), and Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36). Chicago’s Clerk Anna Valencia is an ex-officio member of the Latino Caucus and Latino Caucus Foundation.
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