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Chicago Tribune
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Alderman pledges to fight Mayor Brandon Johnson's curfew veto, won't ‘twist arms'
As Mayor Brandon Johnson promises to veto the teen curfew ordinance passed by aldermen, the measure's lead sponsor says he will keep fighting to make it law. Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, won out over Johnson in the City Council Wednesday when his plan to give Chicago's police superintendent power to declare teen curfews anytime, anywhere passed in a 27-to-22 vote. But his victory could be fleeting. Johnson quickly pledged to cast a rare mayoral veto, the city's first since 2006. The planned move means Hopkins must garner votes from 34 aldermen to overrule the mayor, a high bar that would require him to flip as many as seven council members. Still, Hopkins said Thursday morning he will move ahead in July with a City Council vote on Johnson's anticipated veto. He plans to keep making the case for his ordinance, but added that he will not be heavy handed. 'I'm going to keep pushing back on the deceptive spin, but I'm not going to call my colleagues and twist arms. Everyone is going to vote their conscience on this,' the downtown alderman said. The Wednesday vote and veto pledge marked decisive steps in Hopkins' two-year push to give police more power to curb the so-called 'teen takeover' youth gatherings that have sometimes ended in high-profile violence, including two Streeterville shootings in Hopkins' ward in recent months. Youth activists and civil rights groups have criticized the curfew measure as an unfair and unconstitutional crackdown that especially harms Black and Latino teens from poor neighborhoods that offer little safe fun. They also argue that those same teens have been left out of the debate and that aldermen should instead invest money in youth jobs, violence prevention and safe activities. 'Our children are gathering to escape the violence in their neighborhoods, the trouble at home and other conditions that they have no control over,' said Abierre Minor, a 25-year-old appointed by Johnson last year to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. Minor recalled speaking after the vote with her 15-year-old sister, who argued media coverage of 'teen takeovers' has been sensationalized and that all people should have the right to gather as they see fit. The police oversight commissioner said she was 'disheartened' by the City Council majority's decision, but praised Johnson's 'swift and strong' response. 'Every year, our decision-makers propose repressive, ineffective policies to address community violence that does nothing but cause confusion and community harm,' Minor said. 'This year, something different happened. We had a leader who decided to break the cycle.' The Cook County Public Defender's Office and progressive groups have also backed Johnson's stance. Just after the measure passed, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates urged the mayor, formerly a CTU organizer, to veto it, likening the curfew ordinance to Jim Crow segregation laws. 'The people of Streeterville don't need the police to keep Black youth out of their neighborhood. The people of Chicago need policies and programs that serve and center Black youth,' Davis Gates wrote. Johnson's administration is currently drafting veto language and plans to officially veto the measure soon. The mayor had long shared tentative criticism of the potential curfew, but ramped up his opposition to the proposal this week. He argued after pledging a veto that the curfew ordinance would harm 'trust within communities' as the city's violent crime rates sharply drop, and compared the measure to crime laws 'that have overwhelmingly led to the criminalization and the incarceration of poor people and particularly people of color.' 'Offering up extended police power, without any check or balance, has not boded well for Black people and Brown people in this country,' he said. Hopkins argued Thursday the 'snap curfew' label Johnson and others have used to describe the measure is a misnomer. The measure requires police to give 30 minutes notice onsite before a curfew is implemented. It also requires the superintendent to consult others to declare a curfew, but gives the top cop final say. Superintendent Larry Snelling said in court last week he would not use any power allowing him to declare sudden curfews, but suggested he could use the ordinance to declare preemptive curfews days in advance when police learn of planned, potentially chaotic gatherings. He has carefully distanced himself from the political debate in statements. Johnson has argued he and Snelling are aligned on the matter, but said future superintendents should not have the technical ability to quickly declare curfews with little or no oversight. A final vote ought to move forward in July, without legislative trickery from either side, Hopkins said. 'That'll put the matter to bed, and I'd rather do that briefly than have it degrade into a parliamentary mud fight,' he said. 'I think at this point I am done having persuasive conversations with my colleagues.' Much could happen before a mid-July vote that might pressure aldermen to change sides, he added. He cited, as he did during City Council floor debate Wednesday, reports of a large and chaotic teen gathering at North Avenue Beach earlier this week. Police said they arrested five teens at the beach Tuesday, including three minors, for misdemeanors and citations including battery, resisting arrest and possessing alcohol.
Miami Herald
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Trump bans ‘negative' signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text
In his ongoing war on "woke," President Donald Trump has instructed the National Park Service to scrub any language he would deem negative, unpatriotic or smacking of "improper partisan ideology" from signs and presentations visitors encounter at national parks and historic sites. Instead, his administration has ordered the national parks and hundreds of other monuments and museums supervised by the Department of the Interior to ensure that all of their signage reminds Americans of our "extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity and human flourishing." Those marching orders, which went into effect late last week, have left Trump opponents and free speech advocates gasping in disbelief, wondering how park employees are supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery and Jim Crow laws. And how they'll square the story of Japanese Americans shipped off to incarceration camps during World War II with an "unmatched record of advancing liberty." At Manzanar National Historic Site, a dusty encampment in the high desert of eastern California, one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese American civilians were imprisoned during the early 1940s, employees put up a required notice describing the changes last week. Like all such notices across the country, it includes a QR code visitors can use to report any signs they see that are "negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes". An identical sign is up at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, a tribute to the struggle to ensure better wages and safer working conditions for immigrant farm laborers. Such signs are going up across the sprawling system, which includes Fort Sumter National Monument, where Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War; Ford's Theater National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park. So, nothing negative about John Wilkes Booth or James Earl Ray? In response to an email requesting comment, a National Park Service spokesperson did not address questions about specific parks or monuments, saying only that changes would be made "where appropriate." The whole thing is "flabbergasting," said Dennis Arguelles, Southern California director for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. "These stories may not be flattering to American heritage, but they're an integral part of our history. "If we lose these stories, then we're in danger of repeating some of these mistakes," Arguelles said. Trump titled his March 27 executive order requiring federal sign writers to look on the bright side "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." He specifically instructed the Interior Department to scrutinize any signs put up since January 2020 - the beginning of the Biden administration - for language that perpetuates "a false reconstruction" of American history. Trump called out signs that "undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light." He specifically cited the National Historical Park in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., as bowing to what he described as the previous administration's zeal to cast "our Nation's unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness" as "inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed." His solution? Order federal employees and historians to rewrite the "revisionist" history with language that exudes patriotism. "It all seems pretty Orwellian," said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author. After news of the impending changes began circulating in park circles, he posted on Instagram a sign he saw in the toilet at the Porcupine Flat campground in the middle of the park. Across from the ubiquitous sign in all park bathrooms that says, "Please DO NOT put trash in toilets, it is extremely difficult to remove," someone added a placard that reads, "Please DO NOT put trash in the White House. It is extremely difficult to remove." Predictably, the post went viral, proving what would-be censors have known for centuries: Policing language is a messy business and can be hard to control in a free society. "Even the pooper can be a venue for resistance," Moore wrote. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Trump bans ‘negative' signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text
In his ongoing war on 'woke,' President Trump has instructed the National Park Service to scrub any language he would deem negative, unpatriotic or smacking of 'improper partisan ideology' from signs and presentations visitors encounter at national parks and historic sites. Instead, his administration has ordered the national parks and hundreds of other monuments and museums supervised by the Department of the Interior to ensure that all of their signage reminds Americans of our 'extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity and human flourishing.' Those marching orders, which went into effect late last week, have left Trump opponents and free speech advocates gasping in disbelief, wondering how park employees are supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery and Jim Crow laws. And how they'll square the story of Japanese Americans shipped off to incarceration camps during World War II with an 'unmatched record of advancing liberty.' At Manzanar National Historic Site, a dusty encampment in the high desert of eastern California, one of 10 camps where more than 120,000 Japanese American civilians were imprisoned during the early 1940s, employees put up a required notice describing the changes last week. Like all such notices across the country, it includes a QR code visitors can use to report any signs they see that are 'negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes'. An identical sign is up at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Kern County, a tribute to the struggle to ensure better wages and safer working conditions for immigrant farm laborers. Such signs are going up across the sprawling system, which includes Fort Sumter National Monument, where Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War; Ford's Theater National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park. So, nothing negative about John Wilkes Booth or James Earl Ray? In response to an email requesting comment, a National Park Service spokesperson did not address questions about specific parks or monuments, saying only that changes would be made 'where appropriate.' The whole thing is 'flabbergasting,' said Dennis Arguelles, Southern California director for the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. 'These stories may not be flattering to American heritage, but they're an integral part of our history. 'If we lose these stories, then we're in danger of repeating some of these mistakes,' Arguelles said. Trump titled his March 27 executive order requiring federal sign writers to look on the bright side 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.' He specifically instructed the Interior Department to scrutinize any signs put up since January 2020 — the beginning of the Biden administration — for language that perpetuates 'a false reconstruction' of American history. Trump called out signs that 'undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.' He specifically cited the National Historical Park in Philadelphia and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., as bowing to what he described as the previous administration's zeal to cast 'our Nation's unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness' as 'inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.' His solution? Order federal employees and historians to rewrite the 'revisionist' history with language that exudes patriotism. 'It all seems pretty Orwellian,' said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author. After news of the impending changes began circulating in park circles, he posted on Instagram a sign he saw in the toilet at the Porcupine Flat campground in the middle of the park. Across from the ubiquitous sign in all park bathrooms that says, 'Please DO NOT put trash in toilets, it is extremely difficult to remove,' someone added a placard that reads, 'Please DO NOT put trash in the White House. It is extremely difficult to remove.' Predictably, the post went viral, proving what would-be censors have known for centuries: Policing language is a messy business and can be hard to control in a free society. 'Even the pooper can be a venue for resistance,' Moore wrote.
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Willie Wilson: The unfinished business of Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a reminder of progress made and an uncomfortable recognition of the distance still to be traveled toward attaining equality. On June 19, 1865, Army Gen. Gordon Granger and Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans living there that the Civil War had ended and that they were free. Approximately 250,000 enslaved people in Texas celebrated — but with uncertainty regarding their future. While Juneteenth represents a second Independence Day, there remains unfinished business on the journey to healing, reconciliation and racial economic justice. A Pew Research Center survey from February noted that 82% of Black Americans believe the nation has not gone far enough in achieving equal rights with white people. After the cookouts, cultural celebrations, dancing and educational seminars, the question must be asked — what is the unfinished business on the road to equality for Black Americans? In 1995, then-South African President Nelson Mandela's Government of National Unity created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to help South Africans come to terms with their troubled past. The commission sought to reveal human rights violations that happened between March 1960 and May 1994, provide support such as reparation to victims and their families and to compile a full and objective record of the effects of apartheid on South African society. Mandela appointed Desmond Tutu to chair the TRC. Unlike South Africa, the United States has yet to establish a commission to address the effects of slavery down through generations or the healing that must take place. Many falsely believe because we are generations removed from slavery that the harm has been repaired. However, the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws continues to have a lasting impact on racial inequality today. That impact can be seen through laws and policies that sought to maintain the status quo of white supremacy. The following are a few examples: There is nothing that compares to the horrific atrocities of slavery and Jim Crow. Families were ripped apart, thousands were lynched, women were raped and children were taught they were inferior. White people benefited economically from the institution of slavery. Generational wealth was passed down to their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Until there is an acknowledgment by those who benefited through inherited wealth from the institution of slavery or Jim Crow laws — it is hard to achieve healing and forgiveness. Tutu said, 'If you can find it in yourself to forgive, then you are no longer chained to the perpetrator.' In 2008, the nation formally apologized for slavery. House Resolution 194 acknowledged the fundamental injustice of slavery and Jim Crow laws and expressed commitment to rectifying their lingering consequences. That commitment has not materialized. Several states and cities have established reparations commissions to study and recommend ways to address the legacy of slavery and its continuing impact on Black communities. Black Americans must forgive this nation for the pain and trauma of slavery and Jim Crow laws if we are to move forward in unity. I know it is difficult to do. Although, the physical chains have gone away, the manifestations of slavery remain. Just as Jesus Christ forgave those who nailed him to the cross, we must also forgive. Forgiving does not mean we forget. Maya Angelou was right when she said, 'History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.' Just as Jewish people will never forget the Holocaust, Black people and America must never forget the dark stain of slavery. True reconciliation will help bring our nation together and free people of pain and guilt. In order to move forward, we all should seek to repent, repair and ask for forgiveness while there is still time. How can we move toward economic and racial justice when laws and other impediments are being enacted to undercut Black progress? As President Abraham Lincoln observed, a house divided against itself cannot stand. We cannot continue to be separated by racial discord and injustice. We truly are stronger together. The following are suggestions to help complete the work of Juneteenth: This country has come a long way since 1865. If we are to become that 'more perfect union,' much work remains to achieve equality for all Americans. I believe forgiveness opens the door for reconciliation. I wish everyone a happy Juneteenth! I write this commentary to make those comfortable with ignoring the unfinished business of Juneteenth uncomfortable. Willie Wilson is a business owner, philanthropist and former mayoral candidate.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Send in the Marines and prepare to throw the book at every LA rioter
A mob of leftist activists surround federal agents, throwing rocks, insults and more. The tension is heightened as politicians do … well, nothing. Yes, police are dispatched as crowd control, but they don't do all that much to control the crowd until at last the tear gas and flashbangs are finally deployed. This is Los Angeles in 2025. This is also exactly what Democrats want and who they are. Democrats have made emotional appeals to their activists — appeals based on decades of identity politics and fomenting racial tensions and hatreds. The party of slavery, Jim Crow and segregation never changed its objective, only its tactics. Segregation now is declared 'tolerance' and 'cultural respect' at race-based graduation ceremonies and dances and in segregated dormitories. When ICE conducts raids and arrests illegal aliens for deportation, local politicians embrace the illegal aliens at the expense of the rule of law out of obedience to the principles of identity politics. No matter how passionately one argues that illegal immigrants are 'a part of our community,' they cannot be because they are not in the country legally. You can't talk the sun out of rising in the east, and you can't talk an illegal immigrant into legal status. The emotional and violent mob assembled — likely many of them white kids with trust funds and no jobs to keep them busy — and the inevitable soon followed. Cars and stores are now burning because … well, I'm sure this all helps the immigrants somehow. People in an emotional frenzy are not known for being rational, much less the ones who show up to 'progressive actions.' But once the bricks fly, there must be consequences, and serious ones. If you are trying to injure or kill police officers or National Guard soldiers, whatever 'cause' you may have started off with is no longer relevant. At a minimum, all of these people should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I am glad someone stepped up to deploy the Guard to restore order, since Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) would not. I'm glad Trump sent in Marines to protect the federal buildings these hooligans are attacking. I have seen the videos, and in many cases officers would be justified even in using deadly force against those trying to do them harm. A badge does not eliminate one's right to self-defense. These riots occur in cities that are Democratic and have been for generation. The local politicians are therefore willing to say and do exactly nothing. And these actions are always called 'protests,' no matter how violent they become — the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021 might be the only riot Democrats have ever properly called out. In general, they side with the violent agitators, not with residents or local business owners. You'd think this would occur to the voters there, but not yet — at least not in large enough numbers to make a difference. The getaway driver in a liquor store robbery is just as guilty of murder as the masked man who actually kills the clerk. Likewise, if you are attending a protest and someone near you pulls a rock to throw or a glass bottle filled with gasoline and a sock, that's when anyone with a conscience must leave. I don't care if you were personally being violent or not — if you stay, you are now a member of a violent mob, and you deserve to be judged through that lens. The rioters must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. And it has to be federal law, because local Democrats won't prosecute their own brownshirts. If you get injured participating in such an action, then you got what was coming to you — your choices have consequences. As for the voters, they will never fix what's ailing Los Angeles right now if they keep electing the same kind of liberal, Democratic politician, generation after generation. Please stop hitting yourself in the head with a frying pan, and maybe, just maybe, some electoral accountability will follow. Derek Hunter is host of the Derek Hunter Show, daily from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern on WMAL in Washington, DC. He is a former staffer for the late Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
