ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6(a); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago seeks to address hate crimes which occur over the internet or through electronic communications; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago and other local units of government have been compelled to action, where the federal government has sought to diminish individual liberties and the laws that would protect them; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is cognizant that in a digital era, faster communication and ease of access have had the dual effect of allowing hate to spread more easily through electronic communications; and
WHEREAS, for example, this past year an image of a swastika was electronically sent to students attending an assembly at Oak Park and River Forest High School; and
WHEREAS, it is relatively easy to share hate filled images or speech to vast numbers of people from a single phone, computer or other electronic device; and
WHEREAS, the ability of few individuals to harass and intimidate whole communities is a reality which the law must now address; and
WHEREAS, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, hate crimes are on the rise across the United States, including Chicago; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reported in the Bureau's annual "Hate Crime Statistics" that hate crimes have risen 17% in the United States in the last year, and have been reported more frequently for a third consecutive year in row; and
WHEREAS, there were 7,175 hate crimes reported by law enforcement agencies in 2017, up from 6,121 reported incidents in 2016; and
WHEREAS, of the 7,106 s...
Click here for full text