Interview with Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa

Time to Change the Culture of the City Council

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th Ward, explained to League interviewer Esta Kallen that there has been a bargain between the mayor and the City Council: members vote for what the mayor wants in return for having complete control within their wards. Ald. Rosa says this is not a good bargain. It is time for the City Council to become a truly independent legislative body. Ald. Rosa would like the Council to do the following:

• Pick its own president to run the meetings, as is done in New York City, rather than having the mayor preside

• Pick its own committee chairs

• Add more committees, such as a committee for veterans’ issues and one for senior issues

Watch the full interview, which premiered on Thursday, March 10.

Some other highlights from the interview include the following:

• During the remainder of this term, Ald. Rosa seeks to increase protection against evictions. He is working to keep people in their homes by dealing with rising costs and possibly passing a “just cause for eviction” ordinance. He also wants to see the implementation of a new civilian oversight of police ordinance.

• Regarding gun violence, Ald. Rosa said that, in the past, the city concentrated on restricting access to guns, but the courts have limited that ability. Now the city is looking at how to prevent young people from turning to violence. He wants to ensure that the city supports proven programs, not the failed programs of the past.

• Ald. Rosa thanked the League for looking at ways to improve transparency in the workings of the City Council, such as requiring prior public notice of the text of items submitted directly to committees for consideration by the mayor and city departments.

• Ald. Rosa thinks Ranked Choice Voting is a common-sense democratic reform. The voting method allows voters to have a say in who wins, even if the voter’s first choice does not receive sufficient support.