Yesterday, Mayor Brandon Johnson testified before a congressional committee on Chicago's status as a sanctuary city. Here's what happened and more from WTTW News.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson responds to questions during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
|
Mayor Brandon Johnson fiercely defended Chicago’s protections for undocumented immigrants, telling Republicans on the U.S. House Oversight Committee that the city’s Welcoming City ordinance makes all Chicagoans safer.
“Every violent crime is devastating, but scapegoating entire communities is not only misleading, it is unjust, and it is beneath us,” Johnson said during his opening statement. “Any action that amplify fears of deportations makes Chicago more dangerous.”
Why was Johnson in Washington?
Johnson testified alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. All four are Democrats, but the Justice Department moved to dismiss Adams’ corruption case in an apparent exchange for his help with Trump’s efforts to conduct the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in U.S. history.
U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), the committee’s chair, has accused all four mayors of prioritizing “criminal illegal aliens over the American people.”
Here's what happened:
Comer used his opening statement to take direct aim at Chicago, accusing police of refusing to turn over an undocumented man arrested for attempting to lure a child to federal immigration agents. Comer did not identify the man.
Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance is designed to ensure that all Chicago residents, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, can obtain city services, including police protection and medical care, Johnson said.
Johnson faced much friendlier questioning from U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a fellow Chicago Democrat, who noted that Conde Nast has called Chicago the best big city in America for eight years in a row.
Johnson faced much less friendly questioning from key allies of President Donald Trump, like U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), who insulted Johnson after demanding yes or no answers to a series of questions. Johnson asked Mace, best known for attacking transgender people, to clarify her question.
“This is why you have a 6% approval rating, because you suck at answering questions,” Mace said, before scoffing at Johnson’s statement that the city of Chicago follows all state and federal laws. “I highly doubt that.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates speaks outside CPS headquarters on March 5, 2025. (WTTW News)
|
After nearly a year of bargaining, Chicago Teachers Union officials believe a contract agreement is close and submitted on Wednesday a list of their five “absolute must haves” to push a new contract over the goal line.
CTU leaders met outside Chicago Public Schools’ Loop headquarters ahead of Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting where they expressed hope that a new contract could be finalized soon if district leaders agree to their final demands.
“We’re close, that’s what our CEO says,” union president Stacy Davis Gates said. “So if we’re close, we want our CEO to say yes.”
The union on Wednesday said it has been petitioning its members in recent days and has learned they have significant support for five final items to be settled at the negotiating table.
What are their demands?
Fair pay for educators
An improved elementary school day that includes additional prep time
Enforceable class sizes
Revisions to what the union feels are “racially discriminatory practices” in the district’s teacher evaluation system
An increase in the number of librarians, counselors, nurses, clinicians and teacher assistants.
What's next?
While a teachers strike remains a possibility, the union has not yet set a date for a strike authorization vote by its members. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said last month he sees “no reason” for a work stoppage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
|
Chicago saw significant declines in both the number of shootings and homicides in February, which both reached their lowest points in any such month since at least 2019. Twenty people were killed in the city last month, according to new preliminary figures released Wednesday by the Chicago Police Department. That marks a decline of 35% compared to February 2024 and a 49% drop compared to February 2023.
Police records show there have not been fewer than 20 homicides recorded in any February since 2013, though that mark was tied twice in 2014 and 2015. The 75 shootings recorded through last month also marks a 42% decline over the same month last year and is the fewest recorded in any February since 2019. Overall, homicides in 2025 (60) are down 9% year-to-date, while the number of shootings (188) and shooting victims (216) are down 25% each.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back in the Day: March 6, 1933 - Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak Dies
|
On this date 92 years ago, Anton Cermak, the 44th mayor of Chicago, died in a Miami hospital just weeks after suffering gunshot wounds from an assassin who attempted to kill then-President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Here’s how WTTW explained the event. “On February 15, 1933, a man named Giuseppe Zangara attempted to assassinate FDR [in Miami], but missed and shot Cermak instead," Daniel Hautzinger wrote. "According to FDR’s biographer Jean Edward Smith, a woman standing next to Zangara hit
his arm as he fired, ruining his shot. FDR was unharmed, but Cermak suffered in a hospital for several weeks before dying on March 6, 1933, two days after FDR’s inauguration. Zangara was executed two weeks later." Born in Austria-Hungary (now part of Czechia), Cermak was a skilled politician who, as head of the Cook County Democratic Party, brought in a coalition of immigrants to defeat Mayor William “Big Bill” Thompson in 1932. Cermak is buried in Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
|
Every Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the must-see cultural events in Chicago.
Marc Vitali: Tariffs won’t affect the price of theater, concerts or museums, and that’s a good thing. From a new exhibition at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture to Elvis and more, here are arts and culture picks for your weekend.
“Archivos Vivos” – National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
A new exhibition explores the historical and cultural layers of Puerto Rican identity. This living archive features artwork by Adrián Viajero Román filled with photos, documents and found objects that link to the island’s past. Bonus: checking out the historic 1895 building that houses the museum. Opens March 8
Panafrica Days – Various locations
This four-day series of events was organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions as an extension of the exhibition “Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica.” Music, tours and artist talks address the wide breadth of world culture that has emerged from the continent. March 5-8
“Elvis Presley was a Black Man Named Joe” – Black Ensemble Theater
Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor writes and directs a true story about her and her younger brother’s fascination with Elvis Presley from their home in Cabrini-Green. Live music and life lessons highlight the latest production from this mainstay Chicago theater on the verge of its 50th anniversary season. Through April 20
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday was Paczki Day. What's your favorite sweet treat that you can find in Chicago?
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 10:00 PM
|
|
|
|
Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more.
|
Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
|
|
|
|
|
