“The government is actually passing ordinances. We’ve had a variety of topics from addressing the migrant housing and homelessness, address city cleanliness that we all know metropolitan areas desperately needs, we’ve also addressed municipal marketing and even something about the Chicago Bears. We are now addressing topics about health care, guns and public safety.”

“All of these issues, which have been on topic vote for so long have been brought towards with collaboration between myself and other Ald. Additionally, we have made progress on other pressing national issues that have a relationship with the community. We have put old geriences aside and put needs to our constitutions first as our governments should.”

Today, there was a bill passed that Dowell was included in that will allow Chicago to bring some of the historical sites back to life. It was mentioned how there was some concern in structural changes, but, it was reassured that no exterior structural changes would be made to any historical structures, and that the interior would be dealt with by the private investors. The main structural changes that would be made would be if there is serious damage to the site.

More recently, there is a bill in the works that relates to mental health awareness in students and teachers. As well as awareness to any issues in relation to bus drivers, which not detail was given on. Other important issues that Dowell is currently looking into and discussing is the issue of environmental education.

After working with Alderperson Nicole Lee from the eleventh ward, the pair were able to pass a bill relating to the migrant situation. This bill aims to reuse old buildings that can be quickly fixed up into housing. This would be a short term solution that would be implemented until a longer term solution is found for this crisis.

Previously, there have been debates on what topic should be discussed during committee and after consideration and voting, topic 3 municipal marketing has been chosen. In the passed ordinance, they deeply described how pushing for migrant work visas in sanctuary cities, citizen involvement, federal intervention and access to safe temporary housing is important.

“The FAM plan is mainly for pushing the youth to have a more supporting environment in Chicago and especially making sure the next generation doesn’t have the same struggles as the ones that just migrated. We’re putting a heavy focus on real estate and abandoned buildings,” Ald. Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, stated in an interview regarding the FAM paper.

The passed paper included detailed topics on convention establishment, speakers, environmentally beneficial inventions, pollution’s effect on Chicagoans, funding, revenue, pest control, cleaning patrol and pricing.

Alds. Ramirez-Rosa, Cardona, Taylor and Sposato started the green convention and were supported by every delegate besides one. “We are establishing a green convention that will take place at McCormick Place where issues such as environment and city cleanliness will be discussed,” Ramirez-Rosa stated in an interview.

On the historical sites aspect of the conversation, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33rd, brought up how she wants to see how they can attempt to bring back the old tourism-based economy. On a similar note to that, Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, mentioned everything in historical sites should stay the same unless there is severe damage to a site, and at that point in time they will help to reconstruct it to make it almost, if not, the same. Revenue has also been mentioned by Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, and the Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, mentioning that roughly $550 million worth of revenue can be generated from historical sites.

Ald. Dowell also noted that there should be more healthcare for migrants. In relation to that, Ald. Reilly mentioned how healthcare is a complex topic, but there is an ordinance that will soon be ready to be passed that can tie into such things like healthcare.

Yet another issue, which relates to migrants, is the issue of housing. It was brought up that drug use and addiction was one of the issues that related to homelessness in Chicago. Something that was brought up to help this issue of drug addiction is better healthcare options for people who are struggling with drug addiction. It has been agreed upon that getting help for this addiction can decrease the issue relating to homelessness, not only for migrants, but for others living in Chicago.

Sponsor Ald. Anthony Napolitano, 41st, commented, “I am very proud to see my fellow aldermen recognizing and addressing the issue of public relations with the police department, and I am hopeful that this will not just improve relations with the police in Chicago but that this will inspire other cities to follow suit.”

Chicagoans should be proud to see their alderpersons proving their strong dedication to their beloved city, trying their best to improve standards of life and safety across the city. All alderpersons have been working on providing the most productive solutions possible and are acting as efficiently as they can. Some of the more specific parts of the resolutions that had been passed were creating programs for the spread of mental health awareness among both parents and children, adding lighting along alleys and streets to make people feel safer, recruiting more people of color into the police and fire departments to better reflect the demographics of the community as a whole.

Several more actions will be initiated based on the BULLS ordinance that will enhance the perceptions and interactions of not just Chicagoans but citizens across the U.S., and there is a lot of anticipation for seeing how efficiently this will play out.

The ordinance is known as BULLS, which stands for bonding us locals like superglue. This ordinance first mentions funding for municipal marketing, wanting to bring together more community events, allowing and wanting more small business owners to partake in events, as well as some government profit from some public events, so that money can go back towards the city. To stay on the topic of government, that section also mentions that government figures should also be allowed to have 50 percent off of event tickets.

The following section mentions better, and more training of police officers so Chicago can have officers that represent their city well. The following section has talked about better safety techniques for the public, which can follow along with the previously mentioned section.

Section five of this ordinance mentions how treatment should better be implemented for mental health matters within the city. Section six is looking for infrastructure improvement, and can be related back to section five in a subsection that mentions the distribution of security cameras.

The following section is looking to implement a better relationship with the youth and police force within society, including more programs for the youth audience. The final section of this ordinance wants public and social transparency.

This paper wanted to further implement public safety and good relations within the communities, and after being passed, it can now do so.

During the past committee session, the council, specifically Ald. Dowell, 3rd, Ald. Lee, 11th, Ald. Reilly, 42nd, and Ald. Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, passed a Short-term Migrant Solution (SMS) paper recognizing that there are many abandoned buildings that should be able to be used for the sake of housing migrants. The passed paper also recognizes workers that are needed to support the migrant shelters and acknowledges the necessity of providing proper funding.

“There are many school buildings that are abandoned which are in perfectly working condition but haven’t been used,” Ald. Lee, one of the ordinance sponsors, said. “We need to clean up, turn on the heating and air, etc. We hope to turn them into temporary shelters for migrants and homeless people in our city.”

“Similarly there are other people in working on public safety and municipal marketing,” Ald. Lee said. “Essentially, our council is able to do as many topics as we wish. I believe multitasking and combining the paper is working well for our committee.”

Even though this paper has passed, the council is now working on another paper similar to the first but mainly focused on topic 3, municipal marketing.

Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, has a proposed solution to “reshift the 0.75 percent tax on real estate transactions in the city of Chicago and lower it for transactions under $1 million dollars and raise it for transactions over $1 million dollars.”

This would allow regular people to have less issues when attempting to buy a house, and tax larger businesses more. Along the lines of selling a house, this would not affect how a seller would be able to sell with less stress, further being able to take weight off the sellers’ and possible buyers’ shoulders. This would allow for more mixed density within housing for Chicagoans, which will help combat homelessness.

Mayor Johnson has agreed with this proposed solution, which also allowed more help with the proposed tax shift. The proposed solution would benefit the tax shift, which would allow for more people throughout Chicago to having proper housing, which would benefit the public safety of everyone through many aspects.