A group of black residents tore into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday over his plans to spend an additional $70 million to feed and house illegal aliens, and to drive their point home, they wore former President Donald Trump’s signature MAGA hats during a meeting at city hall.
Johnson has been continually ramping up spending on migrants, but his attention to Biden’s border crisis has sent many of Chicago’s black residents to despair as their communities lose resources so Johnson can redirect city finances and services to migrants.
The self-professed “progressive” mayor has already thrown $300 million at migrants, but he is demanding far more. And the demand is not sitting well with many of the Windy City’s residents, the Daily Mail reported.
Black activists in the city have been threatening to vote for Republicans and independents since the migrant crisis started, and on Wednesday, several residents came garbed in MAGA hats and “Make Chicago Red” T-shirts:
“We need that money in my neighborhood, we need that money on my block,” said a black woman wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cowboy hat. “So I’m asking ya’ll to use our tax money for our people, we need it.”
Another woman wearing a “No More Blue: Go Red” shirt stood to deliver a warning to the city council and the mayor.
“Vote for the money for these immigrants today, and we coming for those seats; you can believe that,” the woman said. “You better be worrying about your job. You better be worrying about your longevity because we’re gonna vote, and we’re gonna get you out ’cause you ain’t doing right by us. That’s what time it is”:
For his part, Johnson struck back at those who criticized him.
“We’ve had mayors close schools, we’ve had mayors who have shut down public housing,” Johnson said after the meeting, according to the Daily Mail.
He went on to suggest that his doubters are attacking him just because he is instituting a progressive agenda in city hall.
“So any individual who is somehow insulted by this progressive agenda that is being led by one of the most diverse cabinets in the history of Chicago — I just call into question anyone who would be motivated to see this type of transformation disrupted,” he exclaimed.
Residents have little recourse, though, as Chicago does not have recall rules to oust an elected official, something that activist Dan Boland is trying to change by working to organize a ballot initiative to add a recall to city rules. He would need to collect 56,464 signatures by August 5 to add the question to the November ballot.
“We can’t let Chicago circle the rim for another three years,” Boland said. “We need to get out of this cycle and fix things… if [Johnson] can’t fix it, we need to get someone in there who can.”
“People can’t go out and even go to the grocery store without getting mugged. People can’t sell their tamales out on the street without getting accosted by people who are armed,” Boland added.
Boland, however, said this is a rare opportunity.
“We’ve never had this opportunity to recall before and its very apparent based on the mayor’s abilities right now, or lack of accountability, that this needs to be addressed,” he said, according to Fox News. He added that he is getting a lot of support from all across the political spectrum.
Even as far back as January, black residents had begun organizing “Turn Chicago Red” rallies.
Windy City residents Cata Truss and Mark Carter appeared on Fox & Friends First on January 5 with the vow to vote for Republicans in 2024 after Johnson’s massive failure to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants.
“The Democratic Party has always neglected to pay attention to the Black community,” Truss told Fox News host Todd Piro. “That is traditional, and because we have been so committed to supporting that party, they feel that they can continue to disrespect us, to marginalize us, to not hear our voices.”
“If the Democratic Party is not going to listen to us, if the Democratic Party is not going to stand up for the people that have supported this party, then it’s time for us to make a change,” Truss added. “Now, let me just say this as well. The Republican Party is not spotless, but we do need to say at this point it’s time to do something different”:
Johnson is blaming the Biden administration for not coming through with work permits quickly enough and for a lack of federal funding. He is also blaming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for busing more than 25,300 illegals to Chicago since 2022. Im total, more than 40,000 illegals have arrived in Chicago over the past year.
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