Chicago City Council expected to vote on fur ban, more than $3 million in police misconduct settlements
A proposed fur ban and several settlements in police misconduct lawsuits are up for final votes by the Chicago City Council on Wednesday.
A group of aldermen and Black clergy members rallied ahead of the meeting to urge the council to vote down a proposal from Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) to ban new fur from being sold in the city. They argue it will close down Island Furs, a Black-owned business in the Beverly neighborhood, which has served the community for more than 30 years.
Since 1994, Island Furs owner and cofounder Gerard Brown has stitched and repaired fur coats that last generations.
Brown's showroom is full of fresh new pieces — all items he would not be able to sell if the new city ordinance passes. He noted that the man credited as the founder of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, was involved with the fur trade.
"DuSable started the fur trade here in Chicago, so it's kind of bizarre to try to truly eliminate our livelihood," Brown said last week after the City Council License Committee backed Lopez's proposed fur ban.
Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th), who has two furriers in his ward – Island Furs and Andriana Furs – called the proposal "a complete overreach."
"This is about closing businesses. This is about closing one of only three Black furriers in the entire United States. I can't believe we're here today, that this is actually going to come to a vote," he said.
Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th), who chairs the City Council Black Caucus, said, "We believe that we have better business to attain to, and specifically saving small businesses."
"It's cruel to hurt small businesses like Island Furs and Andriana Furs in the 19th Ward. This issue should be taken to a state level, and not here in City Council," she said.
In addition to Island Furs and Andriana Furs, the proposal would impact four other furriers in Chicago. If passed, those businesses would have one year to adjust to the ban, which provides exemptions for used fur products and fur products for religious or "traditional tribal, cultural or spiritual purposes by a member of a federally or state-recognized Native American tribe." Otherwise, businesses would only be able to sell faux fur products.
The ban does not cover leather, cowhide or deerskin products, or animal pelts preserved through taxidermy.
Supporters of the proposed ban said the way animals are trapped, bred, and killed for their pelts leads to suffering and public health risks.
Police misconduct lawsuit settlements also up for vote
Meantime, the City Council also is set to give final approval to a handful of proposed settlements accusing police of misconduct.
Miracle Boyd, a Chicago activist who was punched in the face by an officer during a 2020 protest in Grant Park, is in line for a $280,000 settlement. In July 2020, Boyd was rallying in Grant Park, calling to defund police in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Some in the crowd attempted to tear down the Christopher Columbus statue. Police have said some members of the crowd began attacking officers with fireworks, rocks, frozen bottles, and other objects.
Boyd, then 18, and an activist with GoodKids MadCity, was filming video on her cell phone when she saw Nicholas Jovanovich "walking aggressively toward her," and calling her a "piece of s***," according to her lawsuit. Jovanovich then hit her in the face "without justification," knocking out her tooth, and telling her "give me that f***ing phone."
In addition to losing a tooth, Boyd also suffered nerve damage, according to her lawsuit.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, ruled Jovanovich used excessive force, and made several false or misleading statements during the investigation, and recommended he be fired. Jovanovich resigned before the Chicago Police Board could move forward with any disciplinary action.
Boyd has said she didn't do anything to excuse the officer's actions, noting it's legal in Illinois to record public interactions with police.
The City Council also is poised to pay $2.5 million to the families of two people killed during high-speed police chases that violated Chicago Police Department policies.
The family of Ezell Ricky Island would get a $1.5 million settlement, after he was killed in a crash on the West Side in February 2020.
Island was in the back seat of a car being chased at speeds of more than 75 mph after cutting off an unmarked police SUV as he pulled out of a liquor store parking lot.
The driver of the SUV refused to stop when police tried to pull him over, and ended up crashing into a pillar supporting CTA tracks along Lake Street. Island was killed and three others were injured in the crash.
A lawsuit filed by Island's family accuses police of chasing the SUV without permission and not reporting the chase to dispatchers at the city's 911 center, as required by police orders.
A $1 million settlement would go to the family of Mignonne Robinson, who was killed after being hit by a car fleeing police three days after the chase that killed Island.
Robinson was driving on Kedzie Avenue when her car was hit by a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop on Jackson Boulevard. Her family's lawsuit claims police failed to notify dispatchers of the chase, and of conducting a chase at high speeds even though the risk to innocent bystanders outweighed the benefits of pulling over a driver for running a red light.
LGBTQ+ hotel, Rector Building landmark status up for final approval
Aldermen also are expected to approve landmark status for the Rector Building, at 79 W. Monroe St., which is undergoing a $64.2 million renovation as part of the city's effort to revitalize underused buildings in the Loop.
A developer is converting 11 of the building's empty office floors into apartments and businesses.
Built in 1905, the 14-story building is the oldest surviving commercial high-rise designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt, who designed buildings all over the city and elsewhere in the late 19th and early 20th century, according to the city's Department of Planning and Development.
Landmark designation for the building would protect its exterior architecture as the interior undergoes renovations.
Aldermen also are expected to give the green light to a boutique hotel in Lakeview geared toward LGBTQ+ visitors. The six-story hotel near Belmont and Halsted would feature a rooftop deck and a basement speakeasy bar.
The developer is Allan O'Brien, owner of Men's Room Chicago, a popular fashion store a few hundred feet away on Halsted.
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Micek A 'historic battle': Mass pols protest Medicaid cuts in 'Big Beautiful Bill' | John L. Micek Mass. Rep. Trahan's 'Les Miz' moment on Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' | Bay State Briefing Read the original article on MassLive.
