Politics
Chicago Voters Will Be Asked to Condemn Aggressive Immigration Raids on November Ballot
(WTTW News)
Chicago voters in the November election will get a chance to condemn the aggressive immigration raids sweeping Chicago — and demand that the Trump administration compensate the city after terrorizing and traumatizing its residents.
That question — posed by Mayor Brandon Johnson — will fill the final spot on the November ballot, ending a proxy fight between the mayor and his increasingly emboldened opponents on the Chicago City Council, even though the results will only carry symbolic weight.
Voters will be asked “whether the city shall pursue all lawful means to recover financial compensation from the federal government for the costs and economic harm caused by the Donald Trump administration’s ICE operations to recover lost tax revenue, public safety response costs and services provided to residents and families affected” by President Trump’s effort to implement the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
“Chicagoans do not want to be terrorized, and Chicagoans do not want to have to pay for these terroristic actions,” Ald. William Hall (4th Ward) said, adding that many residents remain traumatized by the raids.
Only Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward) voted against putting the nonbinding question to voters. Alds. Greg Mitchell (7th Ward), Peter Chico (10th Ward) and Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward) were absent from the meeting or did not vote.
Napolitano has frequently opposed the city’s efforts to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Each ballot can include no more than three nonbinding questions about citywide issues or policies during each election, giving officials a chance to drum up support — or opposition — from voters.
Voters will also get a chance to tell Johnson whether he should replace the city’s controversial gunshot detection system and an opportunity to urge city officials to create a permanent home for festivals and other large events.
However, Chicago voters will not get to weigh in on whether the Illinois General Assembly should impose a 3% surtax on those earning $1 million or more annually, either in November or in February, when all 50 alderpeople and the mayor face reelection.
Critics of the mayor filled all three spots for citywide ballot questions on the Feb. 27, 2027, ballot with inquires about whether Chicago should “create a permanent monument celebrating Chicago’s global contribution to music and arts;” whether the City Council should have its own lawyer, separate from the city’s corporation counsel; and whether the city should withhold funding from sister agencies that do not force their employees to pay their city debts.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
