Wednesday, January 21st marked the first City Council meeting of 2026! Find out the latest legislative updates from this month’s meeting, as well as what’s coming up in City Council below!
Legislative Updates
Curfew
Ald. Brian Hopkins introduced an amended curfew ordinance (O2025-0021898), which replaces the previous snap curfews with time-and-site curfews. Time-and-site curfews would only apply to a specific location, and would require a predetermined expiration time, as well as 12 hours of notice prior to the start time of the curfew.
While this version of the ordinance is certainly an improvement on the last version––which would have given CPD broad discretion to declare curfews at will with only 30 minute notice––civil rights organizations including the ACLU have continued to raise concerns about the unilateral control it would give to the Chicago Police Department to determine if and when a curfew should be implemented. For this reason, Ald. Vasquez opposes the ordinance.
Ultimately, the ordinance was held, so there was no vote.
Hemp Ban
Ald. Marty Quinn called for a vote on a substitute version of the Hemp Ban Ordinance (O2025-0021018), which would ban the sale of hemp-derived products outside of licensed dispensaries. After concerns were raised from community members about the impact it would have on small businesses who are operating in good faith, the latest version includes a carve-out for both beverages and topical products, as well as products intended for pets.
Ald. Vasquez supports robust regulation and taxation of the hemp industry. The cannabis industry is well-regulated for quality control, but the same unfortunately cannot be said for hemp, and we have a responsibility to consumers to ensure that they are not being misled into purchasing or ingesting something that may be harmful. Ultimately, we felt that this compromise struck a balance between preventing the sale of THC edibles that were being marketed and sold as candy, while still allowing state-regulated businesses (such as alcohol distributors, who sell hemp-derived beverages) to continue selling and allowing for lower-risk products like topical ointments to be sold.
Ald. Vasquez voted yes on the ordinance, which passed the full City Council.
Calls to Action
January 27th Hearing on Welcoming City Ordinance Investigation Process
The Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights is hosting a joint meeting on Tuesday, January 27th, 1pm at City Hall (121 N LaSalle, City Council Chambers) to discuss legislation (O2025-0020004) to clarify and strengthen the investigation process for violations of the Welcoming City Ordinance.
- When: January 27th, 2026, 1:00pm
- Where: City Hall (121 N LaSalle St), 2nd Floor, Council Chambers
We invite members of the public to attend and give public comment in support of this legislation, and on other gaps in the Welcoming City Ordinance that need to be addressed! For suggested talking points and instructions on how to give public comment, please check out our public comment toolkit!