The City Council meeting of Wednesday, June 23, was embarrassing and contentious. The Mayor acted like a gang member rather than Mayor of America’s second-largest city. The Mayor has become combative with disagreements. Some of us remember the “Council Wars” from the administration of Mayor Harold Washington. These robust council meetings were racially motivated between the Mayor and the majority of white alderman, namely, Edward “Fast Eddie” Vrdolyak and Eddie Burke, who were the ringleaders of the councilmen who were focused on halting city business. They were successful. Mayor Washington was pushed to the brink, and he challenged Vrdolyak, particularly, to a step outside from council chambers on occasion. But he never left the podium.
Mayor Lightfoot, with the pandemic, has been pressured with public safety and crime issues like no other. But losing your cool is not the thing to do. Women are judged by a different standard and viewed with a jaundiced eye. A public woman is considered from appearance to decision-making to tone of voice.
The battle between Mayor Lightfoot and Alderman Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward) was a strike against the Mayor. She left the Mayor’s power podium to confront Taylor on not voting for Ms. Celia Meza, the first Latina for Corporate Counsel. Taylor held her vote and challenged the Mayor on the ample compensation to Ms. Anjanette Young. Ms. Young was publicly humiliated by the Chicago Police Department, and her naked body appeared on TV as though she was on a slave auction block. Hopefully, she will be handsomely awarded for the insult and misconduct of Chicago’s police. Instead, she has been insulted with a mere million from city funds for her agony and disgrace.
Taylor stood her ground to the Mayor and checked the Mayor’s bully behavior by giving her a dose of truth on her behavior as the meeting was adjourned. Taylor pointed out that when Black issues are before the Mayor, she backs up. The issues affecting the Black community at large are noticeable across the city as she plays what Rev. Al Sharpton has labeled “latte politics.” The council and the Mayor face complex problems and tough decisions in this day of racial reckoning. Yes, the Mayor is correct with her observations on racism in the media and acknowledging race as a public health “disease.” Some of us are fully aware and agree with the statements as we fight daily for correction and inclusion. I have been a member of the civil rights team for a while fighting America’s race disease.
The Mayor was not mannerable. Her attack on Taylor is unacceptable behavior.
Lightfoot crossed party lines and stood tall on being a tough reformer when she campaigned for office and won every single city ward. As a result, the city gave her a mandate. And today, the parlor talk questions the Mayor’s actions and wonder if she will run a second time, and people are beginning to ask who can run against her to win. This is a real political buzz, as alienation of supporters is widespread. In the name of full disclosure, I campaigned for the Mayor and was lampooned for doing so. Yet, I consider her a friend.
My Father’s Lesson
When I was a student at Roosevelt University, the Black Student Association lead by Black Panther, the late Fred Hampton, gathered about 100 students to protest. We aggressively went to the office of President Rolf Weil with demands for Black studies. However, when the students entered his office , he was on the phone, and the phone was snatched from his hands and from the wall to disconnect.
President Weil was stunned and had a personal flashback. He was a Jewish holocaust survivor. The incident reminded him of Nazi Germany storm troopers. He reacted with a fierce stand-up position and called the police to arrest students.
The incident made national news. At the dinner table that evening, my parents asked was I involved after watching the newscast. My answer was sort of, which meant I was among the hundred or so students participating, but I did not snatch the phone and was not directly in the President’s office. My parents were upset with me, telling me that this was not what they were looking for from me as a college student.
The following day my father, said, I am going to school with you today. I was shocked because my father never went to school with me. That’s was my mother’s job. My dad explained, I am paying tuition now, and I write the tuition check. You are my investment, and I see a problem.
We went to the President’s office without an appointment. My father apologized for the overall student behavior and wanted President Weil’s view of what happened. Weil, Roosevelt’s longest ever President, talked about being a lad on the cattle car headed to the gas chamber with his family. His mother threw him off the cattle car and told him to run, keep running, don’t stop running. She saved him.
My dad turned to me and said, stand up and apologize for your behavior. He insisted that I apologize to President Weil. I said we were protesting, and we have the right to do so. My dad said you were rude and crude, and you were not ladylike at all. Apologize. I did. He said to do it again. I did. I apologized five times, repeatedly standing in front of President Weil’s desk and looking him in the eye.
When we got in the car, my dad said, you can protest. You can even fuss or cuss, you can argue your point, you can state your case, you can debate the issue, but you, Ms. Hartman, will always at all times be a lady. Ultimately, my father explained, you want to negotiate your point. You want to state your position clearly and see where you can meet the opposition. He also said Weil told you his story in private, not public. Oftentimes, you need a private meeting to get things accomplished. It was a life lesson. Weil was running, and he saved his life. You never know, what another person’s experience might be, or what a person might be going through. If you are smart, you will consider the other person’s point of view before a confrontation. The attack is out, Ms. Hartman, my father told me. Although, my dad said, your protest is not questionable, your tactics are. He further explained, the young men leading the charge will get hurt with their attack tactics. Watch who you follow, he advised. President Weil and I became friends. I would visit him regularly to discuss issues. I apologized again, on my own terms, and told him I was glad he ran.
I learned a lesson on manners, behavior, leadership, and negotiation that day. My dad’s practical view and concern were that the protest students would all be dismissed from college. He was protecting the wildness of youth to make sure we all remained in school after the incident.
The Mayor’s Alienation…
Madame Lightfoot is alienating too many. Politics is a game of addition, not subtraction. She is a prosecuting attorney, acting like she is in the courtroom as judge and jury. So many of the people who helped Lori get to office have been ousted and ignored by her administration, except when trouble brews. The staff is inadequate, and we wonder who knows the city as academic trending politics are played mixed with poor administration practices.
The city has problems requiring all hands on deck and all minds at the table too. If Chicago is ever to be world-class, we have to respect each other and work together. The city, at this time, cannot afford another round of council wars to block city business.
City problems need addressing. Crime is out of hand, and the solution is not just with the police. It is a gang problem, and it’s a parent problem. We can rename streets and roads to the cows come home. Aldermen Moore and King are applauded for their insistence on the name change to recognize the city founder. We can take down old statues and put up new ones until every community remembers their historical appropriate namesakes. But does it change the racial tension in the city? Does it stop the shootings on the expressways bearing the name of John Pointe Baptiste Lake Shore Drive? Do you drive safer on the Bishop Ford Expressway? And what does it mean when we talk about an elected school board? Are we adding a new layer of politics to the city with big shoulders? And what is the real reason behind the scenes that the top executives at CPS have departed? And what is the status and percentage of city contracts going to minority enterprises? And as the south and west side are targeted with financing, with boutique and specialty stores, where is the big box grocery store for the West Side? And what is the spend on the $1.8 billion post covid federal dollars to improve the city? And are small businesses, no matter the zip code getting funding to sustain their businesses? And is anybody paying attention to Chicago’s changing press? Finally, what real changes will come to the city with the idea of a casino? These are real concerns being discussed at kitchen tables in 77 different communities.
Do we need a referee in City Council, or do we need the Mayor to mind her manners? The Mayor would send a strong message with a public apology to Alderman Jeanette Taylor.
