Chicago City Council to vote on speed limit, sanctuary and hemp
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Chicago's City Council is expected to vote today on reducing the speed limit, tweaking the city's sanctuary law, and banning the sale of hemp in two Southwest Side wards.
Why it matters: All the proposals are stirring up backlash, and a couple reflect the council's increasing appetite for challenging Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Speed limit
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) has proposed lowering the city's default speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph based on safety studies and data from other cities showing it would decrease traffic accidents and fatalities.
The pushback: Critics suggest that it's a money grab and that fines and enforcement would fall hardest on Black, Latino and low-income people.
- Johnson says he'll support it if it's crafted in an "equitable way."
The defense: "We don't want your money; we just want to change the way you drive," La Spata tells Axios, adding that he hopes the law makes no extra revenue.
- He's also calling for a working group to craft more equitable enforcement systems.
Poll results: About 60% of Axios readers told us they oppose reducing the speed limit.
Sanctuary exemptions
Alds. Ray Lopez (15th) and Silvana Tabares (23rd) want to let Chicago police assist federal immigration agents in the apprehension of undocumented people who have been "arrested for or convicted of" certain crimes related to gangs, drugs, prostitution and sex with minors.
The pushback: Critics say this would violate the state's TRUST Act and the arrestees' due process rights, while opening police up to lawsuits for illegally holding arrestees longer than they have a right to.
The defense: Lopez says the assistance could help curb wider raids and deportations under the next president.
- "By turning [arrestees] over, we are keeping ICE from going into neighborhoods looking for people," he told WBEZ.
SW Side hemp ban
Alds. Marty Quinn (13th) and Tabares seek to ban the sale of delta-8 and other unregulated hemp products in their Southwest Side wards.
The pushback: Johnson opposes hemp sale bans and said in a statement that killing the state ban this month helped "avoid unintended consequences and arrive at an agreement on safety goals that preserve local flexibility."
- Johnson supports a proposal to tax, rather than ban, the sales.
The defense: Supporters of a ban cite studies showing wildly different dosages of psychoactive ingredients in the unregulated products and marketing that appears aimed at minors.
- "I don't believe we should be balancing the city budget on the backs of our kids," Quinn tells Axios.