Chicago, IL – The following is a statement from Emma Tai, United Working Families Executive Director on Mayor Lightfoot’s budget address.
“The Mayor said today that making the budget requires hard choices. But there is nothing hard about unleashing a host of regressive taxation on working people, spinning previously-allocated funds as ‘new initiatives,’ or privatizing vital mental healthcare services.
“These aren’t hard choices. They’re just more of the same.
“Chicagoans voted for a Mayor who promised to re-open the mental health clinics, solve our city’s affordable housing crisis, support our public schools, and finally make the rich--who profited astronomically from Emanuel, Trump, and Rauner’s pro-corporate policies--pay their fair share.
“Tragically, we didn’t hear that today. The fight continues to win a city and a budget for the many, where Black, brown, and working-class communities get the city services that we are owed.”
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United Working Families is an independent political organization for the many, not the few. Sixteen UWF members have been elected to the Chicago City Council, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and the Illinois General Assembly since 2018. www.unitedworkingfamilies.org
