Laura Washington: The mayor' choice of an inexperienced ally to lead Chicago parks could backfire
It's a risky move. Despite Mayor Brandon Johnson's precarious position, it's one he seems willing to make.
Nearly two years into a turbulent mayoral term, Johnson needs a turnaround. Longtime allies could help him get there.
That's why he has tapped 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa as general superintendent and chief executive officer of the Chicago Park District, to replace City Hall veteran Rosa Escareno. Johnson recently declared he wanted to clean house of holdovers from previous administrations, and Escareno, among others, retired soon after that.
On Friday, the Johnson-appointed Park District board quickly confirmed the appointment, effective April 1.
Johnson aims to bring in his own 'trusted' people to execute his progressive agenda. I get that, but the Ramirez-Rosa move could backfire and dig Johnson into an even deeper political hole.
The appointment invites two significant risks that revolve around experience and controversy.
The three-term alderman represents a Northwest Side ward that includes parts of Avondale, Hermosa, Irving Park and Logan Square. He was elected on a socialist banner and rose to quickly make a name for himself as an outspoken lefty stalwart.
That, and his support for Johnson in the 2023 mayoral election, earned him coveted spots as Johnson's floor leader and chair of the council's Zoning Committee. Ramirez-Rosa has advocated for some of Johnson's biggest progressive gets, including the passage of city ordinances that eliminated the subminimum wage for tipped workers and mandated that all Chicago-based employers provide staff with at least 10 days of annual paid leave.
The mayor's office issued a news release that tried mightily to tout the alderman's accomplishments. Before joining the City Council, Ramirez-Rosa, 36, worked as a congressional aide, a union staffer and a deportation defense organizer with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and he served on a Local School Council at a public elementary school. He earned a bachelor's in political science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Ramirez-Rosa, the mayor's office touted, has worked 'to address key issues like public safety, homelessness, and maintenance at city parks.' He brings a 'proven track record of securing millions in funding for urban green space improvements and advocating for equitable infrastructure and youth programs.'
Glaringly absent from his resume, however, is any experience managing even a midsize organization, much less a sprawling entity such as the Park District.
Johnson is putting a virtual administrative novice in charge of a system with more than 600 parks, a $598 million budget and about 6,000 employees. That would seem to be a job requiring exceptional administrative experience and skills.
Johnson should know how crucial that is. His own inexperience is showing, and it's not a pretty picture. He came to the office after stints as a Cook County commissioner, a union organizer and Chicago Public Schools teacher, but unschooled in managing organizations.
Johnson's tenure has been marred by his struggles to bring down the city's violent crime and handle its troubled finances and migrant crisis, multiple fights with the City Council; botched appointments and questions about his oversight of city sister agencies such as CPS and the CTA, to name a few challenges.
Johnson's thin management resume has likely exacerbated those troubles. And he hasn't learned much on the job.
Voter sentiment tells the tale. Nearly 80% of Chicago voters said that they disapproved of Johnson's performance as mayor, a recent poll of 700 likely Chicago voters by the firm M3 Strategies shows.
Then there's controversy. Ramirez-Rosa has been a magnet for it, in ways that could further irritate the city's already-tender Black-Latino relations.
In November 2023, he was forced to step down from his powerful perches as floor leader and Zoning Committee chief after a high-profile confrontation with a colleague, 37th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts. He was accused of manhandling Mitts during a heated debate about Chicago's status as a sanctuary city, by blocking her from entering the City Council chambers. That incident triggered a call from council critics to censure him.
Ramirez-Rosa later apologized to Mitts and survived the censure push, but there was bad blood over his treatment of the veteran African American alderman.
Ramirez-Rosa is a staunch backer of aiding the thousands of migrants who have arrived here, as well as Chicago's sanctuary city status.
That has been a key friction point among African American voters who resent that the city has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to house and support the predominantly Latino migrant population — to the detriment of Black citizens in need, they fear.
Now, more than ever, Johnson needs savvy, experienced pros who can smoothly execute his agenda. Ramirez-Rosa may not fit that bill.
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The Hill
21 minutes ago
- The Hill
Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day as hundreds reported dead
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were canceled. Israel's strikes have killed at least 406 people in Iran and wounded another 654, according to a human rights group that has long tracked the country, Washington-based Human Rights Activists. Iran's government has not offered overall casualty figures. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment Friday of Iranian nuclear and military sites killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Neither side showed any sign of backing down. Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling a further widening of the campaign. Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades. Explosions shook Iran's capital, Tehran, around noon and again around 3:30 p.m. Sirens went off across much of Israel around 4 p.m., warning of Iran's first daytime assault since fighting began. Israel said 14 people have been killed there since Friday and 390 wounded. Iran has fired over 270 missiles, 22 of which got through the country's sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses, according to Israeli figures. Israel's main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said if Israel's strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop.' Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, criticized the United States for supporting Israel and said if Israel's 'hostile actions' continue, 'the responses will be more decisive and severe,' state TV reported. U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. 'had nothing to do with the attack' and that Iran can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. Photos shared by Iran's ISNA News Agency showed bloodied people being helped from the scene of Israeli strikes in downtown Tehran. Israeli strikes targeted Iran's Defense Ministry early Sunday after hitting air defenses, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. On Sunday night, Israel said it had begun striking dozens of surface-to-surface missile targets in western Iran. Israel also claimed it attacked an Iranian refueling aircraft in Mashhad in the northeast, calling it the farthest strike the military had yet carried out. Iran did not immediately acknowledge any attack. Video obtained and verified by The Associated Press showed smoke rising from the city. Iran's foreign minister said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf. Semiofficial Iranian news agencies have reported that an Israeli drone strike caused a 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural gas processing plant at the South Pars natural gas field. Human Rights Activists said its breakdown of the toll so far showed at least 197 civilians and 90 members of the military have been killed across Iran. At least 119 more deaths could not be identified. The group crosschecks local reports against a network of sources inside the country, where access for international media is more limited than in Israel. In a sign that Iran expects Israeli strikes to continue, state television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters beginning Sunday night. In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a 9-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven were missing. Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42. The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for military and other research in Rehovot, reported 'a number of hits to buildings on the campus.' It said no one was harmed. An oil refinery was damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it, which said no one was wounded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off urgent calls by world leaders to deescalate. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, he said regime change in Iran 'could certainly be the result' of the conflict, and he announced that Israel had killed the intelligence chief for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also claimed, without giving evidence, that Israeli intelligence indicated Iran intended to give nuclear weapons to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But Iran has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so. The U.N.'s atomic watchdog issued a rare censure of Iran last week. The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Iran's foreign minister on Saturday called the nuclear talks 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive nuclear talks, said Washington remained committed to them and hoped the Iranians would return to the table. In a social media post, Trump warned Iran that any retaliation directed against it would bring an American response 'at levels never seen before.' 'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' he wrote. In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage at Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility. U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to be hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said. Israel also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said four 'critical buildings' were damaged, including Isfahan's uranium-conversion facility. The IAEA said there was no sign of increased radiation at Natanz or Isfahan. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity Sunday in line with official procedures, said it would take 'many months, maybe more' to restore the two sites. ___ Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel, and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Sam Mednick and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day as hundreds are reported dead
DUBAI — Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an offramp, were canceled. Israel's strikes have killed at least 406 people in Iran and wounded 654, according to a human rights group that has long tracked the country, Washington-based Human Rights Activists. Iran's government has not offered overall casualty figures. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment Friday of Iranian nuclear and military sites killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Neither side showed any sign of backing down. Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling a further widening of the campaign. Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades. Explosions shook Iran's capital, Tehran, around noon and again around 3:30 p.m. Semiofficial news agencies close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported one strike in the area of Vali-e Asr Square downtown and another in a neighborhood named for the air force, which is headquartered there. Sirens went off across much of Israel again around 4 p.m., warning of what would be Iran's first daytime assault since the fighting began. There were no immediate reports of casualties. President Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that if Israel's strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop.' He said the United States 'is a partner in these attacks and must take responsibility.' Israel said 14 people there have been killed and 390 wounded. Iran has fired more than 270 missiles, 22 of which got through the country's sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses to make impact, according to Israeli figures. The country's main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day. Israeli strikes targeted Iran's Defense Ministry building early Sunday after hitting air defenses, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels. Araghchi said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf. He said Iran targeted 'economic' sites in Israel, without elaborating. Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike caused a 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural gas processing plant. The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air-defense systems around them, which Israel has been targeting. In a sign that Iran expects Israeli strikes to continue, state television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters beginning Sunday night. In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a 9-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven were missing. An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged or destroyed buildings, bombed-out cars and shards of glass. Some people could be seen leaving with suitcases. Four other people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42. The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for research in Rehovot, reported 'a number of hits to buildings on the campus.' It said no one was harmed. An oil refinery was damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it, which said no one was wounded. World leaders made urgent calls to de-escalate. The attack on nuclear sites set a 'dangerous precedent,' China's foreign minister said Saturday. The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off such calls, saying Israel's strikes so far are 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.' Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But Iran has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so. The United Nations atomic watchdog issued a rare censure of Iran last week. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive nuclear talks, said Washington remained committed to them and hoped the Iranians would return to the table. Iran's foreign minister on Saturday called the nuclear talks 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes. In a social media post early Sunday, Trump reiterated that the U.S. was not involved in the attacks on Iran and warned that any retaliation directed against the United States would bring an American response 'at levels never seen before.' 'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' he wrote. In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage at Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility. U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Mariano Grossi told the Security Council that the aboveground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to be hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said. Israel also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said four 'critical buildings' were damaged, including Isfahan's uranium-conversion facility. The IAEA said there was no sign of increased radiation at Natanz or Isfahan. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity Sunday in line with official procedures, said it would take 'many months, maybe more' to restore the two sites. Gambrell, Melzer and Goldenberg write for the Associated Press. Gambrell reported from Dubai, Melzer from Nahariya, Israel, and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv. AP writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Sam Mednick and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Alex Polikoff, Who Won a Marathon Housing Segregation Case, Dies at 98
Alex Polikoff, who won a landmark discrimination case before the Supreme Court in 1976 showing that the City of Chicago had segregated Black and white public housing residents, and who then spent decades fighting to make sure that the court's will was enforced, died on May 27 at his home in Keene, N.H. He was 98. His daughter Eve Kodiak confirmed the death. Mr. Polikoff's class-action lawsuit, known as Gautreaux after its lead plaintiff, Dorothy Gautreaux, ranks among the most important decisions in the history of civil rights litigation. Ms. Gautreaux, a public-housing resident, and her five co-plaintiffs claimed that the Chicago Housing Authority had systematically funneled Black residents into a small number of poorly constructed high-rise complexes, which became havens of crime and drug use. Such segregation was an open secret in Chicago, and the subject of decades of protest — Mr. Polikoff filed the case in August 1966, just months after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began his own grass-roots campaign to desegregate the city. But Chicago, under Mayor Richard J. Daley, pushed back. Dr. King left the city without success, while Mr. Polikoff spent a decade fighting the city in court. Ms. Gautreaux died in 1968, eight years before the case reached the Supreme Court. By then, the lawsuit had been combined with a similar suit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In oral arguments before the court, Mr. Polikoff squared off against one of his former classmates from the University of Chicago Law School: Robert H. Bork, the solicitor general. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
