Meet the progressive Chicago organizer now operating inside the halls of power
United Working Families backed Mayor Brandon Johnson. Kennedy Bartley, its 28-year-old leader, is tasked with leveraging unprecedented access to City Hall.
United Working Families backed Mayor Brandon Johnson. Kennedy Bartley, its 28-year-old leader, is tasked with leveraging unprecedented access to City Hall.
The City Council debated everything from a major contract to house migrants in tents to the state’s communication with the city.
The administration says it’s looking into whether it can staff the tent camps with local organizations once they are built.
A top Johnson aide said the INVEST South/West development program on the South and West sides, a hallmark of the Lori Lightfoot administration, is perceived as “an unfulfilled promise.”
From a tax to help the unhoused to raising the minimum wage for restaurant workers, a slew of plans progressives have long wanted got introduced — but passage remains miles away.
Johnson has criticized past mayors’ reliance on raising property taxes, saying he won’t burden working families. The budget hole is due in part to the influx of migrants and pension costs.
The proposal aims to stop using police station lobbies and airports as points of intake, where nearly 2,000 migrants are currently staying.
The board doesn’t have the authority to investigate and the case was closed. The Office of the Inspector General won’t say if it is conducting an inquiry.
The former mayor recently started lecturing at the university’s Boston campus, saying she’ll teach about how to deal with the media and run a city in a crisis.
Johnson’s appeals to be a mayor “for all of Chicago” may be expanding his base, but some progressives worry his early efforts lack boldness.