For introduction to: Committee on Budget and Government Operations
Chicago City Council Meeting April 21, 2021
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR ALL FUNDS FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN TO BE ALLOCATED TOWARDS HEALING AND RECOVERY
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago will receive approximately $1.9 billion in unrestricted federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act;
WHEREAS, budgets are moral documents, and as elected leaders of the City of Chicago, we have a historic opportunity and moral responsibility to use all available resources to invest in a robust and equitable recovery that meets the needs of our residents;
WHEREAS, the disparate health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are layered on top of inequitable conditions in our communities, resulting in devastating levels of unemployment, food and housing insecurity; and
WHEREAS, Chicagoans are reeling with grief and outrage at the killing of a 13-year old child by the Chicago Police Department; and
WHEREAS, Chicagoans are already grieving the thousands more who have been killed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of whom are Black and Latinx; and
WHEREAS, Chicago spent $281 million of discretionary CARES Act funding on the Chicago Police Department despite horrific cases of police violence, including the killings of Adam Toledo, Rekia Boyd, Anthony Alvarez, LaQuan McDonald, Pierre Loury, Bettie Jones, Quintonio LeGrier, Marc Nevarez, Dominique "Damo" Franklin Jr., Ronald "RonnieMan" Johnson, Miguel Vega and Roshad Mcintosh; and
WHEREAS, an additional $68 million in discretionary CARES Act funding was unspent at the end of 2020 even as Black, Latinx, and working-class Chicagoans are in desperate need of financial assistance with housing, utility, and medical costs; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has repeatedly used regressive taxes, fines, fees, and bad deals with Wall Street banks to finance police brutality bonds while making cuts to schools, services, and clinics; and
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, members...
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