February was a busy month in City Council! At the City Council meeting on February 20th, members of City Council discussed the Mayor’s proposed capital bond (though ultimately, the vote was postponed until the following Wednesday), as well as several key legislative items that Ald. Vasquez lead or sponsored, including:
Curbstoning Ordinance
Last week, the Committee on Transportation held a hearing on Ald. Vasquez’s ordinance to put a stop to curbstoning. This week, it was passed by the full City Council! You can see the press release below for the full story:
CHICAGO, IL – This month, Alderperson Andre Vasquez, Alderwoman Jeylú Gutiérrez, Alderwoman Ruth Cruz, and Alderman Ronnie Mosley introduced an ordinance, O2024-0010137, to end the practice known as curbstoning. Curbstoning is the practice of illegally selling cars without a dealer’s license on the street, which takes up parking spots that would ordinarily be used for residents.
“Across the city, there are neighborhoods with a multitude of unregistered vehicles parked along their streets,” said Ald. Vasquez, who authored the ordinance. “Efforts to ticket these vehicles don’t work, because they have no plates. Reporting them as abandoned vehicles has no effect, because they are either sold or moved before 7 days have elapsed, which is what’s required under the current municipal code before the City can tow. What this has created is a situation where residents can’t access parking on their own streets, because those spots are taken up by cars that are being sold illegally.”
Through this ordinance, the Chicago Police will be able to fine and refer for immediate towing any vehicle left on the public way without a current, bonafide permanent or temporary license plate matching that vehicle. The ordinance also strengthens the prohibition on parking vehicles on the public roadway for the sole purpose of displaying it for sale, by clarifying that any vehicle without plates whose make, model, and color matches that of a car advertised for sale by owner, will be in violation of the law.
“The current ordinance creates a cycle that is exhausting, ineffective, and allows unregistered vehicles to continue taking up residential parking spots,” Ald. Gutiérrez said. “Our constituents deserve to feel safe when they park near their homes, yet many are forced to walk long distances—sometimes late at night, sometimes with their children—because their block is filled with unregistered vehicles. By strengthening this ordinance, we are not only improving parking availability, but also ensuring safer, cleaner, and more livable neighborhoods for all residents.”
“We’ve heard loud and clear from our residents, who have been dealing with this issue for far too long. This ordinance will enhance public safety, increase parking spaces for authorized vehicles, expedite the tracking of stolen and abandoned cars, and close loopholes that delay progress,” said Ald. Cruz. “This is about getting things done faster and making our streets safer and more accessible for everyone.”
Speed Limit
In less good news, a legislative effort to reduce the City’s speed limit to 25MPH failed to pass City Council this week. We’re disappointed by this outcome. There is a world of evidence that shows that when speed limits are lower, crashes and injuries decline as well. Traffic fatalities increased significantly in the US over the past decade and a half, and the U.S. has a vehicle death rate that is between 3-5X higher than other comparable countries.
Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., and speeding is a huge part of how those accidents happen. According to CDOT’s most recent Annual Traffic Crash Report, 68% of traffic fatalities in 2023 involved speeding. The speed at which a car hits a pedestrian can make a significant difference in whether that person lives or dies. Between 20mph and 30mph, the risk of severe injury or death increases by 30%.
While we’re disappointed by the failure to get this ordinance passed, the good news is, reducing the speed limit isn’t the only way we’re investing in safety. Chicago’s investment in traffic safety infrastructure has resulted in a 27% decrease in traffic fatalities between 2021 and 2023. Despite this setback, there are many other avenues we can take to improve street safety––we will continue doing everything we can to invest in safe street infrastructure in the 40th Ward, because public safety is our highest priority.
Hemp Ordinance
Ald. Vasquez introduced an ordinance calling for a THC-by-volume taxation structure on safe, commonly sold adult-consumption hemp beverages, as part of an effort to ensure that hemp-derived THC is regulated and taxed in the same way that alcohol is regulated and taxed.
The matter was sent to the Committee on Rules and Committees, so it is unlikely to be heard until it is discharged from Rules and into the appropriate Committee (which in this case would be the Committee on Finance).
Resolutions
City Council also passed several resolutions that Ald. Vasquez signed onto, including:
- A Celebration Black History Month and the Declaration of February 25 as National Reparations Awareness Day in Chicago: at a time when schools are being banned from teaching our country’s racial history, it’s more important than ever that we uplift and celebrate Black history, and continue our education and conversation about reparations as a tool for justice and restoration.
- Transgender Working Group: similarly, in a time when Trans people are increasingly under attack, we must recommit to addressing and preventing violence against the Trans community in Chicago, which this resolution seeks to do through the formation of a working group to address issues impacting BIPOC transgender community in both Chicago and Cook County.
If you have feedback on any of the above, feel free to reach out any time to info@40thward.org!