RESOLUTION
A resolution to reduce the size of the City Council by discharging from office any alderman who rides a motorized e-scooter, and subsequent elimination of his/her ward, as proposed by pontificators at the annual "Bughouse Square Debates."
WHEREAS, on July 27lh, 2019, Washington Square Park, located in the Second Ward near the Newberry Library, was again utilized for its historic debates amongst those exercising First Amendment rights in the historically-named Bughouse Square; and
WHEREAS, This airing of grievances, spreading of good news, and the playful heckling of all orators is an established tradition over the past 120 years in Washington Square Park, which was named Bughouse Square by the slang ofthe day for its proximity to mental health facilities and its many inhabitants occupying time in the park; and
WHEREAS, Bughouse Square established itself in Chicago as at the center of topics such as education, safety, sports, religion, and civics. The park is credited as the location where labor discussions that ultimately led to the Haymarket Affair took place; and
WHEREAS, Washington Square Park is Chicago's oldest existing small park, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 1991; and
WHEREAS, In 1964, the news magazine Life featured an article on the park as a meeting place for the LGBT community, and that notoriety led to the park hosting Chicago's first Gay Pride March, and
WHEREAS, On July 27lh, 2019, Master of Ceremonies Rick Kogan discussed the importance of Washington Square Park, and did present the John Peter Altgeld Award to CBS news anchor Derek Blakley for his dedication to journalism in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, the Bughouse Square Debates, hosted by the Newberry Library, is a continuation ofthe park's historic tradition as a place for free-speech and public discussions set forth by previous generations of Chicago's citizens; and
WHEREAS, this year, Alderman Hopkins hosted a competition among all participants of the Bughouse Square debates, whereby the winning idea would be introduced in legislative format to City Council; and
WHEREAS, the competition was fierce and resulted in a tie for First Place, between infamous agitator Scott Prinz, who seeks to eliminate the Chicago City Council, and ubiquitous pontificator Alan Sydel, who seeks to eliminate e-scooters, thus resulting in a combined legislative initiative as described herein, now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Committee on Rules be duly authorized to promulgate regulations that will result
in the immediate discharge from office of any alderman who is observed to ride a personal micro mobility
device commonly known as an "E-Scooter," and to further amend the Official Ward Map of the Chicago City
Council to reflect permanent elimination of the discharged alderman's ward, and thus affect a corresponding
numeric reduction in the current number of authorized 50 wards. t a
BRIAN HOPKINS Alderman, 2nd Ward