Follow along for the latest on today's meeting of the Chicago City Council. Here is the expected big vote of the day:
Sixteen members of the Chicago City Council, including two-thirds of the Progressive Caucus and several of Lightfoot’s closest allies, have said they plan to vote against the proposal, according to an analysis by WTTW News.
But despite the buzzsaw of opposition, Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference that the City Council should vote to give the city the power to seize the assets of gangs and adult gang leaders. The measure calls for each offense to be punished with fines ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 for first offenses and $20,000 to $30,000 for second offenses. Lightfoot has promised that at least half of the fines collected by the city would have to be earmarked to help the victims of gang crimes.
Opponents of the measure should listen to “what I hear almost every time I’m out in the community: `Save us from these gangs. Do something to stop this violence that is terrorizing our neighborhoods,” Lightfoot said. Instead, Hatch said he was certain that it would only serve to further “destabilize” neighborhoods wracked by violence and poverty.
O’Malley and Cato were repeatedly pressed by members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus to share evidence backed up by data that similar laws had been effective in reducing gang violence. Both acknowledged that they have no evidence to show that the proposal has worked in other cities and states.
After the resignation of former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson after he was convicted on federal criminal charges, Lightfoot needs 25 votes to pass the measure.
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