Latest news with #LatinoCaucus
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: Closing arguments underway in Crosetti Brand trial
Good afternoon, Chicago. At just 11 years old, Jayden Perkins was brave and strong, prosecutors said today, but he was 'absolutely no match' for the grown man who rushed at his mother and stabbed her repeatedly. In a tense courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, prosecutors began their closing arguments to the jury after a more than three-week trial that involved more than 30 witnesses and some 300 exhibits. Crosetti Brand, 39, is charged with murder, attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated domestic battery, accused of killing Jayden as he tried to protect his pregnant mother, Laterria Smith. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Members of the City Council's Latino Caucus are calling for an investigation into how Chicago police responded to Wednesday's demonstration outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in the South Loop, where federal agents detained immigrants and clashed with aldermen. Read more here. More top news stories: While Gov. JB Pritzker scored wins during legislative session, cellphone ban, other initiatives fell short Illinois affirms right to emergency abortions, following Trump administration's change in federal guidance After its inaugural year as a state-funded effort, Illinois' court-based rental assistance program for tenants struggling to pay rent and their landlords will stop accepting applications tomorrow and will see a third of its funds wiped away in the 2026 fiscal year that begins July 1. Read more here. More top business stories: Chicago Bears player Joe Thuney paid $1.7M for Lake Forest home Streeterville 3-bedroom home with custom stone bathrooms: $2.7M Jerry Reinsdorf and Justin Ishbia reached a long-term investment agreement that establishes a framework for Ishbia to obtain a future controlling interest in the Chicago White Sox, the team announced today. Read more here. More top sports stories: Chicago baseball report: Cubs waste Matthew Boyd's strong start — while White Sox pitcher shines in Double A 5 Chicago Cubs who could make the National League All-Star team with fan voting underway Two Chicago chefs have fought long and hard to make it to the 'Top Chef' season finale, which airs tonight and concludes June 12 on Bravo. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: 'The Better Sister' review: Estranged sisters reunite after a husband is murdered. Cue the intrigue. 'The Phoenician Scheme' review: Wes Anderson and Co. embark on an elaborate save-a-soul mission Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Vatican's child protection advisory commission today for the first time amid questions about his past handling of clergy sex abuse cases and demands from survivors that he enact a true policy of zero tolerance for abuse across the Catholic Church. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: David Jolly, a Trump critic and former GOP congressman, to run for Florida governor as a Democrat What the Trump travel ban means for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in the US
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Closing arguments underway in Crosetti Brand trial
Good afternoon, Chicago. At just 11 years old, Jayden Perkins was brave and strong, prosecutors said today, but he was 'absolutely no match' for the grown man who rushed at his mother and stabbed her repeatedly. In a tense courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, prosecutors began their closing arguments to the jury after a more than three-week trial that involved more than 30 witnesses and some 300 exhibits. Crosetti Brand, 39, is charged with murder, attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated domestic battery, accused of killing Jayden as he tried to protect his pregnant mother, Laterria Smith. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Members of the City Council's Latino Caucus are calling for an investigation into how Chicago police responded to Wednesday's demonstration outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in the South Loop, where federal agents detained immigrants and clashed with aldermen. Read more here. More top news stories: After its inaugural year as a state-funded effort, Illinois' court-based rental assistance program for tenants struggling to pay rent and their landlords will stop accepting applications Friday and will see a third of its funds wiped away in the 2026 fiscal year that begins July 1. Read more here. More top business stories: Jerry Reinsdorf and Justin Ishbia reached a long-term investment agreement that establishes a framework for Ishbia to obtain a future controlling interest in the Chicago White Sox, the team announced today. Read more here. More top sports stories: Two Chicago chefs have fought long and hard to make it to the 'Top Chef' season finale, which airs tonight and concludes June 12 on Bravo. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Vatican's child protection advisory commission today for the first time amid questions about his past handling of clergy sex abuse cases and demands from survivors that he enact a true policy of zero tolerance for abuse across the Catholic Church. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Aldermen call for hearing into Chicago police response to ICE demonstration
Members of the City Council's Latino Caucus are calling for an investigation into how Chicago police responded to the Wednesday demonstration outside a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement office in the South Loop, where federal agents detained immigrants and clashed with aldermen. Twelve of the 14 aldermen in the caucus signed a letter condemning the high-profile showdown at 2245 S. Michigan Ave. The council's Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights — which Latino Caucus Chair Ald. Andre Vasquez leads — will hold a hearing 'to examine the extent of ICE's misconduct and determine whether the Chicago Police Department played any role in (Wednesday's) actions,' according to the letter. In a Wednesday evening statement, the Police Department denied that officers aided the federal agents. 'We condemn in the strongest terms ICE's unlawful detainment practices,' the statement from Latino Caucus members read. 'We stand united in calling for a full investigation into the conduct of ICE agents involved in this operation and for the immediate release of all individuals detained under these unlawful circumstances.' Vasquez told the Tribune the committee later this month hopes to call Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson's deputy mayors Garien Gatewood and Beatriz Ponce de Leon, who oversee community safety and immigration rights, respectively. He cited 'conflicting' information on the events at the ICE office and said 'we just want to make sure that protocols are being followed properly related to CPD.' Johnson on Thursday sidestepped questions on whether he had full confidence in the police response or whether it was appropriate for City Council to probe CPD's actions. 'Look, I think it's important that we assess the entire situation,' the mayor said while speaking to reporters at a National Immigrant Heritage Month event. 'And so assessing what happened to ensure that when the actions of the federal government come up against our values, that the full force of government is showing up in an emphatic way, but in a way that upholds our Welcoming City ordinance.' The mayor then pivoted to attack an easier political target, President Donald Trump, and shouted out the protesters as 'the resistance that we need.' 'We saw armed, masked men walk down our streets in broad daylight, and they kidnapped mothers and fathers. We saw them brutalize protesters and shove crying grandmothers into the back of unmarked vans,' he said. A source who spoke with Snelling said Chicago police officers were responding to an emergency call about a safety threat and realized upon arrival that their presence could look like they were partnering with ICE. Police leadership planned to scale back, the source said, but by then a mass gathering was convening so CPD opted to stay. In his Wednesday statement, Chicago police spokesperson Tom Ahern said CPD began an emergency response at the courthouse Wednesday after receiving two calls of an officer needing assistance. At the scene, Chicago police officers spoke with individuals inside the building and in the large crowd outside 'to ensure the safety of all involved, including those exercising their First Amendment rights.' 'Officers arrived without knowledge of immigration enforcement occurring at the location,' Ahern said. 'At no point did CPD assist in immigration enforcement. All actions taken by CPD during this incident were in accordance with CPD policy and the City of Chicago Municipal Code.' Carlos Pimeda, far right, tears up as he explains to Chicago aldermen Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, far left, Anthony Quezada, 35th, second left, and Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, that he dropped his family friend off at 8:15 a.m., onJune 4, 2025, at the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) and he's been in the facility for almost 6 hours. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Handcuffed detainees are led into a van by federal agents on South Michigan Avenue as protesters demonstate on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Federal agents bring people to white vans outside of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Handcuffed detainees are led into a van by federal agents on South Michigan Avenue as protesters demonstate on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) A protester leads a chant in the alley behind the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) A Chicago police officer speaks to Alds. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, and Anthony Quezada, 35th, as they block the driveway to stop federal vehicles from entering the parking lot outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Two boys cry after their mother was taken away in a van by federal agents on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) People cry as they see their loved one being escorted by federal agents outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) People in handcuffs are escorted by federal agents to white vans parked outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Chicago police stand inside while demonstrators gather on June 4, 2025, at a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, listens in to a speaker during a press conference outside of BI Incorporated's ISAP (Intensive Supervision Appearance Program) on June 4, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) A woman and child move out of the way as federal agents bring people to white vans outside of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) A federal agent pushes Ald. Jessie Fuentes, 26th, as she stands near the parking lot next to the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Federal agents hold back protesters as they lead handcuffed detainees into a van on South Michigan Avenue on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Ald. Anthony Quezada, 35th, is knocked down alongside Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, while confronting federal agents on June 4, 2025, as the agents approached a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to remove detainees from the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) OCAD organizer Antonio Gutierrez speaks to Carlos Pimeda, after Pimeda had waited for 6 hours for a family friend to return from his check-in at the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, on on June 4, 2025. Pimeda brings his friend to his immigration check-ins and they usually last about an hour. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Federal agents move people back after they escorted people in handcuffs to white vans parked outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) A man tears up as he talks on the phone in the alley behind the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025, as protesters scream at them. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) People wave to their loved one inside of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) People in handcuffs are escorted by federal agents to white vans parked outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Exterior of ISAP (Intensive Supervision Appearance Program) at BI Incorporated on South Michigan Avenue on June 4, 2025. A scene unfolded earlier where ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers detained a number of people at the ISAP office. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Masked federal agents arrive to remove detainees as protesters demonstrate on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Alds. Jessie Fuentes, 26th, left, stands with Anthony Quezada, 35th, and Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, as they cry after people in handcuffs were escorted by federal agents to white vans parked outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Federal agents hold back protesters as they lead handcuffed detainees into a van on South Michigan Avenue on on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez, 25th, yells at federal agents as they return to their vehicles parked nearby the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, ISAP, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the South Loop on June 4, 2025, after the federal agents escorted people in handcuffs from the facility into vans. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, is pushed back by federal agents as they arrive to remove detainees on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) The van door closes after handcuffed detainees are loaded in by federal agents on South Michigan Avenue as protesters demonstate on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Handcuffed detainees are led into a van by federal agents on South Michigan Avenue as protesters demonstrate on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) People hug after federal agents took away detainees in vans on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) A boy cries after his mother was taken away in a van by federal agents on June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Show Caption1 of 31A family walks away in tears after their mother was detained June 4, 2025, outside a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Expand Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, Gov. JB Pritzker stood by the CPD response. 'Let's be clear, the Chicago police followed the law,' Pritzker said at an unrelated event. 'And yet those ICE officers were pushing people out of the way in a fashion that I don't think any of us think is right. And I have to say they overstep constantly, one time after another.' The governor is slated to testify in Washington next week during a GOP-led congressional hearing on Illinois' sanctuary policies for immigrants, just as Johnson did in March. The two of them, along with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, are being sued by the U.S. Justice Department over their jurisdictions' respective laws barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The upcoming City Council hearing could potentially pit the Johnson administration against progressives on the issue of policing. His choice to tap Snelling for the top cop role in 2023 was widely lauded, especially from pro-law enforcement types who worried about his earlier 'defund the police' rhetoric before he ran for mayor. Johnson has since had Snelling's back publicly as Chicago sees a drop in crime, though the superintendent has broken with the mayor on the issue of ShotSpotter and a pending teen curfew ordinance in City Council. Ald. Jessie Fuentes, a progressive who participated in the Wednesday demonstrations, told the Tribune, 'We are concerned with police officers' prolonged appearance inside of the office where individuals were detained by ICE.' 'When CPD arrived and realized what the situation was, the responding Commander should have gotten his officers out and briefed the community,' Fuentes wrote in a text. 'Instead the Responding Commander was rude to electeds, did not coordinate his officers properly and now the perception is CPD was working with ICE.' A statement from The Resurrection Project, an immigrant advocacy group, alleged that at least 20 immigrants were detained by ICE during their check-ins — and echoed Fuentes' misgivings on CPD. 'We are deeply concerned to see that Chicago police provided material assistance to ICE, making this mass deportation possible by blocking traffic and providing initial crowd control,' the Wednesday statement said. 'The only people they protected were federal agents tearing our community members away from the people who love and depend on them. This kind of collaboration is an apparent violation of the Illinois Trust Act that degrades public trust in law enforcement.' By Wednesday afternoon, elected officials, including Alds. Anthony Quezada, Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and Fuentes had joined the growing number of protesters at the ICE office. The Latino Caucus statement said 'Quezada was physically assaulted by an ICE agent—struck with a baton and thrown to the ground multiple times' while Sigcho-Lopez, Rodriguez Sanchez and Fuentes told the Tribune they were also jostled. The Tribune's Jeremy Gorner contributed reporting.
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Aldermen call for hearing into Chicago police response to ICE demonstration
Members of the City Council's Latino Caucus are calling for an investigation into how Chicago police responded to the Wednesday demonstration outside a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement office in the South Loop, where federal agents detained immigrants and clashed with aldermen. Twelve of the 14 aldermen in the caucus signed a letter condemning the high-profile showdown at 2245 S. Michigan Ave. The council's Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights — which Latino Caucus Chair Ald. Andre Vasquez leads — will hold a hearing 'to examine the extent of ICE's misconduct and determine whether the Chicago Police Department played any role in (Wednesday's) actions,' according to the letter. In a Wednesday evening statement, the Police Department denied that officers aided the federal agents. 'We condemn in the strongest terms ICE's unlawful detainment practices,' the statement from Latino Caucus members read. 'We stand united in calling for a full investigation into the conduct of ICE agents involved in this operation and for the immediate release of all individuals detained under these unlawful circumstances.' Vasquez told the Tribune the committee later this month hopes to call Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson's deputy mayors Garien Gatewood and Beatriz Ponce de Leon, who oversee community safety and immigration rights, respectively. He cited 'conflicting' information on the events at the ICE office and said 'we just want to make sure that protocols are being followed properly related to CPD.' Johnson on Thursday sidestepped questions on whether he had full confidence in the police response or whether it was appropriate for City Council to probe CPD's actions. 'Look, I think it's important that we assess the entire situation,' the mayor said while speaking to reporters at a National Immigrant Heritage Month event. 'And so assessing what happened to ensure that when the actions of the federal government come up against our values, that the full force of government is showing up in an emphatic way, but in a way that upholds our Welcoming City ordinance.' Johnson then pivoted to attack an easier political target, President Donald Trump, and shouted out the protesters as 'the resistance that we need.' 'We saw armed, masked men walk down our streets in broad daylight, and they kidnapped mothers and fathers. We saw them brutalize protesters and shove crying grandmothers into the back of unmarked vans,' he said. A source who spoke with Snelling said Chicago police officers were responding to an emergency call about a safety threat and realized upon arrival that their presence could look like they were partnering with ICE. Police leadership planned to scale back, the source said, but by then a mass gathering was convening so CPD had to stay. In his Wednesday statement, Chicago police spokesperson Tom Ahern said CPD began an emergency response at the courthouse Wednesday after receiving two calls of an officer needing assistance. At the scene, Chicago police officers spoke with individuals inside the building and in the large crowd outside 'to ensure the safety of all involved, including those exercising their First Amendment rights.' 'Officers arrived without knowledge of immigration enforcement occurring at the location,' Ahern said. 'At no point did CPD assist in immigration enforcement. All actions taken by CPD during this incident were in accordance with CPD policy and the City of Chicago Municipal Code.' The upcoming City Council hearing could potentially pit the Johnson administration against progressives on the issue of policing. His choice to tap Snelling for the top cop role in 2023 was widely lauded, especially from pro-law enforcement types who worried about his earlier 'defund the police' rhetoric before he ran for mayor. Johnson has since had Snelling's back publicly as Chicago sees a drop in crime, though the superintendent has broken with the mayor on the issue of ShotSpotter and a pending teen curfew ordinance in City Council. Ald. Jessie Fuentes, a progressive who participated in the Wednesday demonstrations, told the Tribune, 'We are concerned with police officers' prolonged appearance inside of the office where individuals were detained by ICE.' 'When CPD arrived and realized what the situation was, the responding Commander should have gotten his officers out and briefed the community,' Fuentes wrote in a text. 'Instead the Responding Commander was rude to electeds, did not coordinate his officers properly and now the perception is CPD was working with ICE.' A statement from The Resurrection Project, an immigrant advocacy group, alleged that at least 20 immigrants were detained by ICE during their check-ins — and echoed Fuentes' misgivings on CPD. 'We are deeply concerned to see that Chicago police provided material assistance to ICE, making this mass deportation possible by blocking traffic and providing initial crowd control,' the Wednesday statement said. 'The only people they protected were federal agents tearing our community members away from the people who love and depend on them. This kind of collaboration is an apparent violation of the Illinois Trust Act that degrades public trust in law enforcement.' By Wednesday afternoon, elected officials, including Alds. Anthony Quezada, Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez and Fuentes had joined the growing number of protesters at the ICE office. The Latino Caucus statement said 'Quezada was physically assaulted by an ICE agent—struck with a baton and thrown to the ground multiple times' while Sigcho-Lopez, Rodriguez Sanchez and Fuentes told the Tribune they were also jostled.
Axios
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Racial evolution of the Chicago City Council
Editors note: This story is part of our ongoing series about equity in a city that has recently reached a nearly equal balance of one-third Black, white and Latino residents. Today we examine racial representation on the Chicago City Council. After decades of so-called "plantation wards" occupied by non-white residents but led by white alders, today's Chicago City Council nearly matches the racial makeup of the city's population, thanks to a transformational 2023 election. Why it matters: Equitable racial representation in government can help drive equitable policies and outcomes. But diversity efforts are facing federal pushback, including an investigation launched this week into Mayor Brandon Johnson for allegedly favoring Black hires on his staff. The big picture: For decades, white alders held disproportionate power on the council, but today they hold 28% of council seats, lagging behind their 32% of the 2024 population. Black representation has flipped from 30% of council seats in the 1980s (when Black residents were 40% of the city) to 40% today, while the Black population is 28% of the city. "Well, finally," says Black freshman Ald. William Hall (6th). "How many years did it take to get here and to get the first Black female finance [committee] chair and general counsel? I think that what we're doing is catching up. It's inspirational when you see people who look like you leading and serving and working." Latino representation grew from a single alder in 1983 to 14 today, or 28% of the council, nearly matching the city's 29% Latino population. Many Latino alders, including Latino Caucus chair Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), represent racially mixed wards, creating a need to balance a variety of priorities. "I think [ethnic] representation is very important," Vasquez tells Axios. "But what's more important is that we're in touch with the constituents in our communities and we really listen." Asian representation hit its highest point (4%) in 2023 after Nicole Lee (11th) and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) won seats representing Chinatown and Edgewater/Uptown. Still, it remains behind the city's 7% Asian population. "I just think it's important to bring our perspectives to the table," Filipino American Manaa-Hoppenworth tells Axios. "We bring the perspective of immigrants seeking better lives, and we know that to build strong communities, you need to bring empathy and collaboration, so I'm proud to be here in the city council doing that." Between the lines: Some of the biggest power struggles on the council have shifted from Black and white issues to skirmishes between the Black and Latino caucuses. Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) called the intense 2022 ward remap battle for representation"probably the most racialized thing I've ever been a part of." Yes, but: Some alders say race is playing a shrinking role in voter choice as Black alders lead at least four plurality white wards. "I think people are now voting based on the quality of the service that you give them, not your ethnicity," Black Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), who represents the plurality white 27th Ward, tells Axios. "Maybe we're starting to get into Dr. Martin Luther King's dream when people are judged not based on their race." Reality check: Council power hasn't yet translated to economic power. A new Urban League analysis suggests the median net worth of a Black Chicago family is $0 compared to $210,000 for white families. This is one of the reasons Hadden believes the Black caucus, for all its diverse views, remains important. "A lot of our efforts are really based on equity and parity, whether it's in contracting or the distribution of grants or economic development," she said. "And so that's still very important to me as a black Chicagoan, and it's important to my community." What's next: Former council member Dick Simpson says he's not surprised to see council representation lag behind population changes as alders use "gerrymandering to protect political bases."
