- 6/3/2025
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson holds a press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Update this week. Good morning and thank you all again for being here. Today I'm
00:07going to provide you with an update on our progress to build the safest, most
00:11affordable big city in America, starting with community safety. Chicago saw the
00:17least violent Memorial Day weekend in 16 years. Compared to last year we saw a 22
00:23percent decline in violent crime, a 71 percent decline in homicides and 43
00:29percent decline in shooting incidents. Again I want to thank our men and women
00:36who serve in our Chicago Police Department, profound appreciation for
00:41their leadership, all of our first responders, of course also our violence
00:45intervention workers play an incredible role in building safer communities and
00:50of course all of our community-based organizations who worked hard that
00:55particular weekend to keep Chicagoans and our visitors safe. When we look at the
01:01month of May, as a whole we had a 23 percent decrease in violent crime, a 38
01:08percent, 38 percent decline in homicides, 43 percent decline in shootings, and 31
01:15percent decline in robberies. These are all comparative numbers to last year. Our
01:20year-to-date numbers are consistent and they remain consistent as you can see from the slide.
01:27Now these numbers are encouraging but we are continuing to evaluate and refine
01:34our strategies throughout the summer to continue to drive crime and violence
01:40down as a whole. This is just the beginning of our work to reduce violence. We do have a long way to go to get to where we want to be as a city, as a city, as a city.
01:50As I've indicated, my goal is to build the safest, most affordable big city in
01:55America. Unfortunately we did however see a mass shooting incident this weekend in
02:01Auburn-Gresham. We are working with the community and that includes of course Father
02:07Michael Flager, which I do thank him for his years of service and commitment to not
02:13just this particular community but the city as a whole. And we're going to continue
02:19to work with all local leaders to continue to build a collaborative response to
02:26this tragic incident. But in response to this shooting we are standing up the
02:32Emergency Assistance Center. This will be at 1210 West 78th Place. That's going to be
02:39tomorrow from 4 till 7 p.m. The purpose of the Emergency Assistance Center is to
02:44provide support for victims of that incident, witnesses, and community members
02:50who are obviously in a tremendous amount of pain right now. We are grateful for the
02:56partnership of CPD and Saint Sabina in this effort and the work to relieve trauma
03:03and prevent further incidents of violence is our ultimate goal. We're also
03:11relaunching, just as a way to continue to demonstrate our commitment to transforming
03:17our communities, our Take Back the Block series where we will bring the full weight
03:22of city government directly to the areas most impacted by crime and violence. Our
03:28approach from the beginning has always been to build a safer city block by block
03:32and the Take Back the Block initiative continues of this effort. And that is
03:38what we mean by essentially the full force of government where we bring parks,
03:46libraries, fire, aviation, from CPD working to solve crimes, to DSS keeping our
03:53streets clean, to DFSS engaging our young people. It really takes every single part of
03:59our government and community to build a safer city. Our infrastructure departments,
04:04we make repairs, we clean and show up in our neighborhoods with the clean and green
04:08operation. We collaborate across departments to solve problems wherever they
04:13occur. And this is really the embodiment of city government being directed towards
04:19the people. But it's not just city government. Take Back the Block is an invitation to
04:24community organizations, block groups, associations and clubs to work with us to
04:29take back their communities. It's going to take all of us to ensure that our
04:34communities are absolutely safe. Our first Take Back the Block is actually going to be
04:38this Friday and we expect six activations in total throughout this
04:43summer. We will deploy these efforts strategically to the areas where we are
04:48seeing spikes in crime and violence. So thank you for that. Now just briefly I'll close with just
04:54some other initiatives but I want to take a moment to talk about the economic
04:58initiatives that we put forth in May. Again the goal is to ensure that Chicago
05:03becomes the safest most affordable big city in America. So we've touched on
05:08safety already but the crux of building a more affordable city and bring it down
05:13the cost of housing that that is really the effort and the main driver of the cost of
05:19working people. It's just it's become an increasingly more difficult to afford homes and
05:24so to that end we've made some significant product progress. So we passed a green
05:30social housing policy. Very excited about that. Giving the city a sustainable
05:34financial tool to build housing that meets green standards. We celebrated the
05:39topping off of the Thrive Exchange which is a mixed use mixed income housing
05:43development and South Shore. We reclaimed vacant space and broke ground on the 99
05:50unit mixed income Cabrini green project on the near north side. We also broke ground
05:55on the Ave affordable housing and commercial development project in Humboldt Park. In
06:02Austin that's the the neighborhood of course that my wife and I were raising our
06:06kids in. We cut the ribbon on a transformative streetscape improvement
06:10project on Chicago's Avenue known as the Soul City West. Humboldt Park passive
06:16living is another mixed income mixed use housing development in Humboldt Park and
06:20in South Chicago. We just broke ground on the sacred apartments affordable housing
06:26project. Very excited about that particularly for that community which is in
06:29proximity to the the Psi Quantum campus. So there's an entire apparatus that's
06:34being established in a region of the city that has been neglected for decades. So
06:39when we take a look at May overall we became the largest city in the United
06:45States to create a social housing fund. We broke ground on 335 units of housing and
06:50over 6,000 square feet of commercial and retail space representing more than 267
06:57million dollars of investment to our people and our neighborhoods. This is the
07:03growth that speaks to equity across the city from the north to the south and of
07:08course to the west side of Chicago. And so as we are now in the month of June we
07:12are celebrating Pride Month so happy Pride to the entire city of Chicago and I
07:18want to reiterate our commitment to creating safe thriving inclusive
07:22communities for all of Chicagoans no matter who you love or how you wish to
07:27identify. We are interviewing we will begin our interviewing process for the city's
07:33first director of LGBTQ plus affairs. This position will ensure that the city is
07:40connected with and serving the LGBTQ plus community. Per the executive order that I
07:45signed last year the transfemicide working group is convening as well
07:49community meetings over the next couple of months and of course we are
07:52continuing to celebrate Pride in a safe way all month long. June is also National
07:58Immigrant Heritage Month and we will continue to express our deep appreciation for our
08:02immigrant communities for their contributions that they make to our great
08:07and global city through the You Belong campaign. We joined 30 cities including New
08:14York, Boston, New Orleans among others to ensure that Chicago remains a
08:18welcoming city for people from all over the world. With that I'm happy of course to
08:25answer any of your questions. Okay so we'll do. And we are joined by Deputy Mayors
08:31Beatrice Ponce de Leon, Gary and Gatewood and then our Chief Operations
08:36Officer John Robinson and Chief of Staff Christina Pacion Zeis. All right we're
08:40gonna do one question one follow-up Heather we'll start here and we'll snake
08:43around. Hi Mayor how are you? I'm doing wonderful thank you. I want to ask you
08:47about the failure of the transit bill this weekend in Springfield. Are you
08:53concerned that this could lead to widespread shutdowns of the CTA's bus
08:59and rail lines and are you concerned about what this will mean to Chicagoans
09:03who rely on the CTA to get to work in school? Well as you know this has been
09:08you know you know an effort that has been going on for some time and our
09:14position in Chicago the position that I've stated is very clear with ridership
09:18continuing to go up. 300 million riders just last year alone between our buses
09:23and trains. To your question there is absolute need for reliable affordable
09:29expansive services through our public transportation system here. The the red
09:35line expansion is something that we've been working to secure for for decades
09:39now we have that extending well out to 130th. So you know look I know that this
09:45is a complex issue. I have expressed with a tremendous amount of urgency that we have
09:52to continue to make sure that all of our stakeholders are at the table. This is
09:56obviously a statewide effort and initiative to make sure that public
10:00transportation works for the entire state. Our region of course comprises of 87% of
10:05the overall economic infusion for the state. So what happens in this next phase
10:12and I'm encouraged by the some of the work that has gone forward but what
10:17happens in this next phase we have to ensure you know that the resources are
10:22there to to to give more confidence that as we continue to build a safe
10:28affordable city that the public way can be moved with expediency with a properly
10:35funded transportation system. So again I know it got through the Senate there's
10:40been some hang-ups in some particular areas but you know I'm gonna always
10:46remain hopeful and confident that we can get a deal done that works for the
10:49people of Chicago. Do you favor that deal including a surcharge on uber rides or
10:55deliveries? That seemed to be sort of where things fell apart this weekend. Look I
11:00think the conversation around revenue and how we pay for it is something that has to be a
11:04broader conversation outside of the one that's being discussed. You know the
11:08the real big issue that we have in this country and it's happening right here in
11:12the city of Illinois as well is that you all know my position the ultra rich
11:16continue to get away with not having to put more skin in the game. So we do have to
11:21have substantive conversations around revenue streams that challenges the rich in
11:26this state to to to step up in a way that does not continue to place the
11:31burden on working people. Good morning Mayor. What urgency would you like
11:37to send to CTA riders and lawmakers alike about the transit cliff? Like do you
11:41want to reassure people the sky isn't falling just yet or turn up the heat and
11:45say you know people need to take this more seriously? Look first of all let me
11:49just say that there are a number of legislators that we've been in
11:52conversations with for several months. I do know that they take this seriously. What
11:57what has happened is that you just have had a long-standing system that took too
12:09long quite frankly to put a more sustainable funding source in place to
12:17secure all of our public accommodations right. This is not something that's
12:20exclusive to CTA. This is a conversation we can have about our Chicago public
12:26schools about our public health. It's all of the public accommodations that quite
12:32frankly have been coming has been coming increasingly more relied upon across the
12:37board and these services are critical. So obviously urgency is it's it's still the
12:45position that I have you know and this budget was austere there are budgetary
12:51challenges all over the country and we're faced with that because we do have a great
12:56deal of uncertainty and quite frankly animosity that's coming from the federal
13:01government. Those are all complicated matters that have made this effort a bit
13:09more challenging and yes we have to get this right and we have to do it with some
13:13expediency. And the mantra that dominated a certain faction of Springfield on this
13:18was no funding without reform which in turn became a referendum of sorts on
13:22Dorval Carter and some of your transit appointments. What do you think about the
13:26argument that frustration over some of these decisions might have hampered the
13:29CTA's argument that it should get more funding? Yeah it's a poor analysis.
13:36Good morning Mayor. Good morning. Getting back to funding for the priorities
13:45that you like to see coming from the federal government we had a big influx at
13:49the end of the Obama administration into Chicago that's that kick-started the
13:53redline expansion and and the improvements that we're seeing up north. When it
13:58comes to what we're seeing now do you think that the federal government's
14:02targeting specifically blue areas of the country or do you see what's happening in
14:09Kentucky and Tennessee with FEMA as a widespread the government's not going to
14:13be here for you like we have been in the past? Thank you for that question it's
14:19impacting all of our cities blue or red purple it's it's this this it is clear that
14:27the president is his behavior is inimical to the interest of working people and you
14:39know I've hosted the US Conference of Mayors just a month or so ago along with
14:45police chiefs and superintendents they're feeling the impact of the Trump's
14:52administration's tactics and you know whether it's cutting off food or you
15:01know taking away access to medicine you mentioned FEMA I mean the Trump Trump's
15:09administration is mad at the weather I mean I I do believe though that there is a
15:21rising resistance to to the failures of this administration you know but what I
15:28can say emphatically is that as a as a city we're going to continue to stand up
15:33and fight for working people and that's why we're making the investments that I've
15:37spoken of to housing to more green sustainable housing to investing in a
15:44workforce and you know I know that there has been some reporting this morning
15:50around the Chicago fire and and mr Mansueto and his belief in in my
15:57administration and in this city so we're we're doing it in spite of but I I
16:04actually believe that more and more people are going to begin to experience
16:08the failures of this administration at the federal level but it's going to take a
16:11collective response of working people across this country to stand up to this
16:15tyrannical administration given the structural deficit that the city has
16:20with pensions and whatnot when you look at your priorities how do you make those
16:24sustainable for a budget going forward when you're making that much investment
16:29and trying to keep trying to keep revenue high but not taxing people right yeah I
16:37mean you look it's a it's a fair question that's why we put together this
16:40working group the working group is you know they're already rolling up their
16:44sleeves they're digging into this process there are a number of ideas that
16:48are being floated around progressive revenue there are other ways in which
16:52we're finding finding ways to to make sure that government is more productive so
16:57that we can have cost savings so look I'm always going to remain optimistic
17:03because I just think that there's a lot to be optimistic about as a crime
17:07continues to go down the city of Chicago and investments continue to go up that I
17:11know that the people of Chicago want us to be able to maintain and grow you know our
17:16city so that's going to be a collective response from everyone and you know feel
17:20pretty confident about this overall process that we'll be able to work
17:23together and come up with something reasonable where we deal with the legacy
17:27debt while also making the investments to build the safest most affordable big
17:31city in America mayor Johnson how many people did you talk to this week yeah
17:37there's a lot of millions though right I well hundreds of thousands of not okay so
17:43it went down this week questions comments likes and shares every time okay
17:47guaranteed it's a goldmine here's the question that they want to know the
17:52answer to thousands of people the Department of Justice investigation into
17:57your racist hiring practices can very likely result in millions of dollars in
18:04damages and that you and your administration will be personally liable
18:10for yet you your legal response to the Department of Justice is to attack them
18:17it's unhinged it legal experts that I have talked to say that it's unhinged okay
18:25we're gonna get to the question and regular Chicago we're gonna keep moving
18:29sir regular Chicagoans are saying to me that they're concerned about you that
18:33they are why the question now we need the question right widespread rumors of your
18:38panic attacks that all right we're gonna keep them they're concerned Charlie
18:42they're concerned about your mental health mr. mayor mr. mayor the people of
18:49Chicago want to know are you okay I I asked that same question about you last
19:01week if you're okay because it it's it's not clear to me that you are and I mean
19:06this with all sincerity I want you to get the help that you need I do seek it
19:13seek it let's move on to the yes we go to Charlie we're gonna keep moving thank
19:20you now seven children seven children were shot yeah he addressed that he
19:25addressed that sir yep
19:27I want you to get the help that you need sir next good morning there good
19:44morning oh you mentioned mr. Mansueto and his plans for a brand new Chicago fire
19:49stadium on track number 78 give me your thoughts about that project and the
19:55impact that could have on the Bears project the Sox project going for well
20:01let me just say first of all we my administration has engaged with the
20:06Chicago fire and you know mr. Mansueto is the type of leadership that I've
20:11expressed that we need particularly from the business community it's willing to
20:15put real skin in the game and I've made it very clear that any type of
20:19development in the city of Chicago has to have a public benefit in public use and
20:24you know we need more projects you know like this you know we're going to
20:30continue to engage with the Chicago fire but again as more and more people
20:36continue to come to the city of Chicago we saw just again 20 billion dollars of
20:41infusion into our economy around tourism our population growth is up as crime
20:47goes down and as we continue to make investments to create an affordable city as
20:51well you know this is this is more evidence that the city of Chicago is
20:59poised for big projects like this now in terms of how other sports teams in
21:06Chicago find motivation through this effort I will say this I know that the the
21:14Bears really want to figure out how to remain in Chicago I believe that and what's
21:21required though is that everybody has to participate so I know that for some of
21:26these sports teams they have specific asks of Springfield they have to continue
21:31to make that case but there's clearly an appetite for major development and
21:36growth and expansion for our sports teams and as we continue to demonstrate
21:40that we are the global epicenter of the world it's only fitting I frankly for an
21:46international sport like soccer or as is described in other parts of the world
21:51football has a stronger footprint in the city of Chicago and and it continued to
21:57grow our our capital globally now he says this will be a privately funded
22:01stadium have you had any discussions with him or his team about what role the
22:06city might play with regard to infrastructure and developing that track as an
22:10entertainment district well it's it's too early quite frankly at this point to
22:16get into any of those specifics but what I will say is our chief operations
22:20officer is here John Robertson and one of the things that has been a solid I
22:27guess selling point for Chicago is that we're moving business a lot faster with
22:34our cut the tape initiative we're already seeing the returns of those
22:37investments in places like the southeast side of Chicago with sci-quantum where
22:41we're moving things faster that in and of itself is worthwhile because it saves you
22:49know time is money right so there they the Chicago fire has expressed a great deal
22:54of interest much like the 1901 project to make these investments because they
22:59have absolute faith and confidence in my administration to be able to move the
23:03bureaucracy out of the way so that we can actually get cranes in the sky and and
23:07move on these big developments I mean I think that's a little too early to
23:15speculate in that regard what I will say is though there's a lot of room for
23:18stadiums all over the city of Chicago and you know and there's a lot of room
23:22within my administration to do everything in our power to ensure that
23:25there is a public benefit and public use for those stadiums you talked a little
23:30bit about the asks for Springfield your administration had been asking
23:34Springfield for some assistance did you get what you wanted during the spring
23:38session in terms of funding in terms of policy or is that something you'll be
23:42lobbying for throughout the summer we're going to keep first of all I will say
23:46this I mean this was a very difficult budget for Springfield I mean you all saw
23:49the way that played out I believe that the final product was was delivered about
23:56six hours out before the actual deadline my administration has been in constant
24:03communication with leaders in Springfield one of the things that we are
24:06very pleased with though is that the one system initiative there's some
24:10commitment there to continue to fund that effort as you know it's a big
24:15priority of mine to deal with the unhoused and the individuals who are you know a
24:22bad situation away from losing housing so that's a that's a good thing right I
24:27believe there's some other technical things that we're still going to you
24:30know work out but one of the things that we were I'm happy with there was a an
24:34increase I think we've doubled the amount of resources for after-school
24:38matters and some of the other categoricals where we're able to provide
24:41some additional support for our our public school students and yes to the
24:49beginning part of your question there are still efforts that we have to
24:52continue to do over the summer into the fall and quite frankly into the next
24:56session to ensure that the city of Chicago receives the necessary
25:00investments to continue to build a safe affordable city but you didn't receive
25:04any additional aid or any funding in this particular budget so how is that going
25:09to play out in terms of how you craft your next budget with this working group
25:14given that you don't have additional funding is that going to mean that the
25:17city is going to need to look at cuts furloughs layoffs or any other
25:20operational changes given this working group is looking at that right now well
25:25as you know the working group is looking at everything anyways right you know our
25:29our budget is not solely contingent upon what happens at the federal level or in
25:33Springfield but what I can say is I mean clearly this was a difficult budget for the
25:38General Assembly an austere budget they did the best that they could to try to
25:43maintain services that that the entire state relies on and you know the the
25:49the challenge that we have is that the hostility is coming from the federal
25:53government and so we're all going to be impacted by that as one of your
25:57colleagues asked this is not necessarily exclusive to the city of Chicago the
26:02state of Illinois these are budgets budgetary challenges all over the country I spoke with
26:07mayor Johnston of Denver challenges mayor bass Los Angeles challenges right
26:13significant ones the working group is going to help provide some guidance and
26:18make some recommendations but it's ultimately going to come down to our
26:22commitment to working people and building the safest most affordable big city
26:27in America but we're going to look at many different revenue options that we
26:30have some control over locally in fact if you look at some of the trends for our
26:35revenue growth the the areas of revenue that the city of Chicago controls those
26:41are the revenues that are showing the strongest promise it's the local taxes
26:45because we have direct oversight over again I don't rest my budget on the
26:50federal or the state level we have to do what is necessary to ensure that
26:54we're protecting working people and this working group is comprised of
26:57individuals from all sectors and we're going to continue to collaborate with
27:00everyone to ensure a budget reflects the values that we have thank you
27:04I mean the the two transit bills they both would weaken or water down your I
27:11guess control or direct influence of the CTA especially appointing leadership you
27:16know the new need to board would have to have oversight of that you held off on
27:22on making your appointment I believe mr. Robertson or Roberson until after
27:27Springfield had settled this that's been delayed until later in the year do you
27:32plan to make an appointment in the interim I have not made a decision on who are
27:38our appointment is going to be so anything you know outside of what I've
27:43actually said which is obviously just spears speculation but but the bills
27:50would oh was there a question related to that I thought you were just kind of
27:54comment I mean do you plan to make the appointment whoever it is before Oh
27:59Springfield actually said again I have not made a decision yet I mean I think
28:03what's most important here is the head we have a we have to make sure that it's
28:11affordable it's consistent reliable is safe that that's the focus for our
28:17transportation system people clearly are believing more in our transportation
28:20system an 11% increase in ridership that's only going to increase as we
28:25continue to activate more opportunities around the city as more and more people
28:29come to Chicago as more and more people move into the city of Chicago and with
28:34good reason they're moving into our city and I'm going to encourage people from
28:37all over the country continue to look at the city of Chicago to raise a family you
28:44know as far as the timing is concerned or the power of the structure there has to be a
28:50shared sacrifice and accountability for our public transit system that's what the
28:54focus has been and that's what the focus will remain and then on the side on the
28:59revenue side you know that's kind of how this fell apart is there was
29:02disagreements over the revenue do you think now in the coming months do you
29:06need to take a greater role in that and kind of advocating for specific revenue on
29:11if you don't think it's a good question I don't think anybody is is will
29:15speculate over my belief of where the revenue should come from right and
29:19and I know that there are some hard-working members of the General
29:25Assembly representative Delgado Senator Villavillam I mean these these are some
29:34people who have been active and on the front line of this issue and I appreciate
29:38their leadership it's going to take all of us to come together to to come up with a
29:43revenue package that protects a public accommodation but quite frankly it's not
29:47just a conversation about workers right it's also about civil rights particularly
29:53in areas of this state where access to public transit is not as available that's
30:00why the red line extension is so paramount but there's other systems of of public
30:05transportation that have to reach more areas particularly as more and more
30:10development and business come to Chicago you know yesterday we made an agreement
30:15with some suburban communities for them to be able to access you know water from
30:23Lake Michigan there's going to continue to become a stronger reliance upon the city of
30:27Chicago for the overall for the success of the region people know that and
30:33that's why we're working hard to ensure that there's a collective collaborative
30:36approach so that not only will we you know ask people to share in the the
30:42sacrifice in terms of how we fund these systems but that we also demonstrate a
30:46commitment to the rest of the region that the city of Chicago is open for
30:51business not for sale but we see ourselves as a global partner not just here
30:55locally but again around the world I'm here hi I'm gonna keep my question short so
31:00maybe I can get a question one part a and B and then I'll follow up what do you
31:07stand on Chicago enacting its own grocery tax when it goes away from the state
31:13well the city of Chicago will not enact its own grocery tax the grocery tax already
31:23exists there is a process in which the collection of the grocery tax is now
31:31being placed in the responsibility of municipalities right so it was a function
31:36that the state of Illinois decided to relinquish and leave it to the cities to
31:41collect the tax so we're not creating a grocery tax we're just creating a process
31:45by which we can collect it there's like two hundred and two municipalities that are
31:50already doing it and on the budget where do you stand on some of the ideas that
31:57were proposed but kind of failed to fund mass transit being you know the surcharge
32:03on tolls coming in the delivery tax the ride share tax are you in support of all
32:09those well here's what I'm most supportive of I'll say is that I know that
32:16there are more people in the in the state of Illinois that can do more to
32:21contribute to the overall economic growth of our of our state and and and these
32:26are you know individuals that have done exceptionally well and I know there's
32:31been some conversations about a millionaire's tax and other forms of
32:36progressive taxation that challenges the ultra-rich to pay their fair share as far
32:42some of these other I know ideas that that that don't get at what I want us to
32:50get at which is to challenge the ultra wealthy in this state to pay more you
32:57know I have not taken a firm position and I just think that it's important that you
33:02know we come up with solutions that are sustainable and that they don't overwhelm you
33:08know the pocketbooks of working people so my follow-up question is actually
33:11about the ice raids you may have heard yesterday ice agents working with the
33:16FBI over in Pilsen made two arrests can you tell us what you know about that and
33:21give us your reaction to you know ice coming in and doing this if things have
33:25kind of been quiet for a while yeah you know I will say that there that these
33:32incidents that are happening around the country there they're disturbing because
33:38you know I still believe in due process and you know the fifth and 14th
33:44amendments have have laid out at due process that I believe that it's
33:52important that we hold to you know the constitutionality of our of our of our
34:00nation's laws you know our local police department has worked hard to build rebuild
34:13trust within communities across the city and that's important to me and that's
34:18why you know we don't we don't engage our local law enforcement as as federal ice
34:25agents but I will say you know it is troubling that it's being reported that
34:32these interactions or encounters or raids are not holding to the rule of law and
34:39I'm not even sure if there were warrants that were were issued that's that's not
34:44the type of nation that that we've worked hard to secure you know through through
34:53significant resistance to push back against tyranny you know so I you know I
35:00don't know Beatrice if you wanted to add anything else what we have heard from
35:06community partners is what we discussed last time this is having you know bringing
35:12instability bringing fear uncertainty into communities and people are starting
35:19to to react and to perhaps go back into the shadows and and not be able to go
35:25freely to work or send their children to school you know we've seen some of a
35:29little bit of a dip in some of the business quarters where in our immigrant
35:34communities where folks are just not going out and and doing their regular
35:38business and I just echo what the mayor said due process is a right that we all
35:43have and we should hopefully be able to maintain that in this country we we know
35:50that the the impact will be on families the trauma that it brings it'll be on
35:56destabilizing their ability to support themselves and that can have a ripple
36:01effect in our communities so we will be keeping an eye on how how communities are
36:07being impacted and in connecting with community resources so that families
36:11where there has been a detention are able to find their loved ones where they're
36:16able to get the legal support that they that they need to to see that case
36:20through and I wanted to share again the new website that was a joint effort it's
36:26Illinois immigration info org where people can find very useful information to
36:32help them in this situation and good morning mayor um how is are you here all
36:41month right almost almost a month so we got it got a couple more yeah a couple
36:45more weeks okay so hang in then you'll be down to only one Craig and that will make
36:49things a lot simpler first how should how should the public view the the credit
37:03downgrades that are obviously sparking comments even as we speak down in the in
37:09the council chamber but and how confident are you that this isn't a trend
37:16that the ratings agencies will be seen well you know look you know our economy as a
37:26whole here in Chicago as diverse as it is is threatened by the federal
37:33government's economic plan right the level of uncertainty that is coming from the
37:42White House has caused some level of pause for some people or entities or
37:49corporations that want to invest now this is obviously not detracting or steering you
37:58know Joe Mansueto away or the Reinsdorf's Reinsdorf's and the Rickett I'm sorry and the
38:07works with the 1901 project on the west side side quantum right I can go on and
38:12on I mean there's development that's still happening but one of the one of the
38:17challenges that we have is that that even at the federal level you know the
38:23speculation and the uncertainty has caused credit raging ratings to hit our
38:32federal standing as well so this is not something that is exclusive to Chicago
38:37you know as far as how we build and what we do in this upcoming budget you know
38:44could have some impact on assuring you know the credit ratings that the growth
38:50that we are experiencing in Chicago is not a coincidence and it's not happenstance
38:55and it's not temporary right population growth ridership visitors occupancy at our hotels right
39:04so all the the the tenants are in place in order for our economy to really expand and explode in a
39:11way that benefits so many people you know I you know in terms of my confidence you know
39:16level I mean I think just like everything else I I live in optimism I mean and there are things to
39:23be encouraged by right you know the the strategic work that corporations and
39:31business leaders wanted me to do around public safety I did it you know between
39:37my deputy mayor the superintendent the leadership team of of the Chicago Police
39:44Department four or five conversations a week in person not to mention the
39:49multiple phone calls that were in you know bringing people in the room so that
39:53they understand the strategic nature around my vision of how we show up block
39:58by block because remember for the business community that was their biggest concern
40:03and as we continue to drive violence down in the city of Chicago as I give
40:08direction of how we need to show up in our communities the strategy plans
40:12around robberies and bringing shootings down and making sure the deployment of our
40:16law enforcement and CVI community-based organizations are working in tandem I
40:20mean rolling up my sleeves every single day looking at the data looking at the
40:23blocks looking at the numbers analyzing the numbers I'm lifting that up because
40:28that's the assurance that I said that I would provide to the people of Chicago and
40:32especially our corporations just to give them confidence that you can invest in
40:37Chicago and we're seeing that right and so I think as the credit ratings begin to
40:42pay closer attention to the strategic work that I've engaged in since I've been in
40:46office I'm hopeful that that work will will will be recognized and then we'll be
40:53able to you know issue more investments with with what they stronger credit
40:58trajectory and my other question may involved to be mayor Gatewood he's been
41:03quiet today as yeah well we're trying to get into talking some long nights though yeah for
41:07the deputy tell me about it but what happened in Boulder Colorado obviously is
41:14where everybody's looking now but what kind of changes in thinking might have to
41:22occur here when this kind of thing happens and people see it and some other
41:28people may get some ideas does that force a rethinking of how we're keeping people
41:36safe when they're out in public and public demonstration well let me just first of
41:41all start off by saying you know here in Chicago and and I'm gonna say it again
41:47and I'm gonna say it over and over again and we're gonna do everything in our
41:50power to make sure that you know our actions are louder than our words the the acts of
41:58terror against the Jewish community have been downright brutal egregious and the
42:06the the outgrowth of anti-semitism in this country is one that we have to
42:13affirmatively speak against and as as much as I think it's important that we
42:22offer up prayers and our thoughts to the Jewish community the city of Chicago will
42:30always be a city where we rebuke and reject anti-semitism and all acts of hate
42:40and you know as we show up for the Jewish community and as we show for the
42:48community at large there is a strategy where we are making sure that places
42:53where the Jewish community reside primarily that they have the support that
42:59they need from our law enforcement but they need us to show up as well as
43:03residents of the city and I'm calling on the entire city of Chicago to
43:08physically put our arms around the Jewish community to show up in their
43:13communities and offer up support and to rebuke all acts of anti-semitism as far
43:19as additional work I mean we're constantly re-evaluating our efforts to
43:27keep people safe we're constantly doing that you know it my deputy mayor would
43:32tell you there are times when he calls me and you know I'm not quite sure if he's
43:36gonna call me to offer up you know more strategy or bad news he'll tell you when
43:40the phone rings I just look for a second like oh lord what happened and I'm just
43:43I'm being honest with there's a there's a degree of of angst that an anxiety that
43:48takes place because keeping people safe is my top priority and that's why I'm
43:53rolling up my sleeves every single day to ensure that we're driving violence
43:56down in the city of Chicago I wake up thinking about it throughout the day I'm
44:00thinking about it before I go to bed I'm thinking about it what else can we do and
44:03so that's why we're working hard to ensure that we have the strategic
44:09placement of law enforcement around the city but that we're also using our other
44:14assets when we put forth these take back the block initiatives it's it's to give
44:19confidence to the people of Chicago that the full force of government has to
44:24show up because I've said this from the very beginning and everybody knows this
44:27that we have asked police officers to do too much it's just that's not
44:33sustainable think about it we have 4,000 less police officers right now than we
44:38had a decade ago and crime was higher so these are strategic initiatives that
44:45we're putting in place to maximize the the the law enforcement but it's because
44:50we're doing more than just policing and that's why again you know whether it's
44:55condemning acts of anti-semitism and or pushing back against policies that have
45:06been anti-black and anti-immigrant that have caused consternation and division
45:10within our communities I'm showing up with everything that I have to break down
45:14these barriers this city called for peace and the releasing of hostages this city is
45:20investing it to protect immigrants this city is calling for a strategic effort
45:25around reparations we are doing so much in this city to break down the dividing
45:30lines and the barriers that have plagued us for generations and that takes a full
45:37force approach with everything to defend the rights and the honor of everyday
45:42working people whether you're black brown white Asian young old an immigrant a
45:48descendant of us of slaves whomever you are you deserve to live in the safest
45:53most affordable big city in America and I'm gonna do everything in my power to
45:56ensure that that happens all right thank you for that mayor good morning good
45:59morning I'm wondering putting to the side sort of the faith that you were
46:04talking about that mr. Ben Suedo must have in the city of Chicago in your
46:08leadership to put his marker down in the way that he did today putting that to the
46:12side just for a moment how if at all does today's news change the landscape of the
46:18Bears and Sox discussions did you text him I mean so this would just just off the record
46:31no I'm teasing this is why we asked I know I know so I'm just gonna give my
46:38straight opinion here there's no reason to leave Chicago if you're a sports team
46:46there isn't there's just too much soul in this city to to leave it now you know but
46:56I can lift only so much right I mean if it were up to me we would have figured out a
47:06deal so that we wouldn't even be talking about any team considering somewhere else
47:11what what mr. Mansueto is demonstrating is something that I've asked not just Joe
47:21Mansueto to do but millionaires and billionaires around the state of Illinois and around the
47:26country the confidence that people have placed in public accommodations is at an all-time high
47:36there are more people relying upon public health public education public transportation good public
47:44sector jobs environmental justice this is why the attacks that are coming from Trump are so
47:51intentional because there's a it's a proven commodity if you will that when government
47:59and private partnerships exists it creates opportunities for everyone and so there are
48:06some things that you know John Robertson is gonna have to do to make sure that you know
48:11much like we had a point person for the site quantum project that we're gonna have to do that to make
48:18sure that we streamline a process to continue to grow the confidence in in corporations but you
48:25know if you're asking my personal opinion around the impact that this could have on all the sports
48:30teams I'm going to remain hopeful and optimistic that what the Chicago fire is doing and even what the
48:37Bears attempted to do because let's keep in mind I believe they put put up 2.2 billion dollars right I mean
48:45it's not like they showed up empty-handed right the question is how much can you do to maximize the
48:53benefit of a public-private partnership perhaps this is a model that other sports teams can look to as
49:03means to benefit from what clearly is going to be the greatest comeback story and I believe in our nation's history
49:11as our population continues to grow as immigrants from around the world find refuge here in the city
49:18of Chicago clearly there are direct investments that we're making into the black community so much
49:25so that it has caused a level of animus against my administration the most diverse administration in
49:35the history of Chicago so you know I just think simply put there are so many good reasons to build
49:44off of what's being proposed at the 1901 project and what is being proposed at 78 to ensure that all of
49:51our sports teams can benefit from the growth of our city bottom line is the messaging or the intended
49:57messaging that you hope that they get the mccaskey's and the ryan stores get today is more skin in the game
50:02please well let me just say first of all the 1901 project is more skin in the game right so this you
50:09know I just want to make sure that what Joe Mansueto was doing the 1901 project came out you know six
50:16months or so ago that's a seven billion dollar investment that's skin in the game is there room
50:23to do more I believe so are there ways in which government can actually help support these efforts
50:29through infrastructure and other investments that we're ultimately going to benefit from I do believe
50:35that so this is why our cut the tape initiative was so critical there are public investments that help
50:45create these type of developments right it's not like someone just shows up with a billion dollars and
50:51they can just plop on some land right there are things that we have to do John if you want to go into
50:56some of those things by all means but you know the signal is yes and right there's more for all of us
51:03to do for the sake of working people in this country in this city there's more for all of us to do but
51:07John you want to give some context around some of that other stuff that government does to help speed
51:11these processes up um you know I think the thing that I would amplify is that people don't make billion
51:18dollar bets in cities that are dying we're talking over 20 billion dollars of investment and it's being
51:26enabled because we as an administration have listened to what the development community the construction
51:33community have said is needed in order to enable and to facilitate development in the creation of jobs
51:39jobs and so whether it is um psi quantum whether it's a 60 unit affordable housing development that's going on
51:50in the west side it is for us as government to figure out the most effective and the most efficient way to
51:57enable economic development for the purpose of creating jobs jobs for chicagoans and so when the mayor gave me the
52:03directive and our staff the directive to come up with a better faster way to move development along
52:11we got the bureaucrats in the room and we sat down and we look we worked through it and we're still
52:16working through it it is it is not we have not reached a finish line there's still work to do but i am
52:22exceptionally proud of the work that all the departments have done across collaborative approach
52:29that has resulted in people looking at the city of chicago and saying i'm willing to make a bet on
52:35that city i'm willing to do what is necessary to create jobs and that public private partnership
52:40that the mayor is talking about i think is evident in what we are seeing um today as a result of the
52:46chicago fire opportunity if i can just a quick follow-up on that is it critical at this moment in time
52:51that the city showcase that we can get tiff dollars cleared to do the infrastructure work around the fire
52:57project i think it's too early to discuss you know any specific dollars in particular but the point
53:03being is that the city of chicago we are open for business we're just no longer for sale so here's to
53:09one less craig in two weeks you're here all right thank you