Find out the latest legislative updates from this month’s meeting, as well as what’s coming up in City Council below!
Legislative Updates
Welcoming City Ordinance Investigations
On January 27th, we hosted a Joint Meeting of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Committee on Police and Fire to discuss legislation to strengthen and clarify the investigation process for Welcoming City Ordinance violations. If you missed the meeting, you can watch the video on the City Clerk website.
Thank you to the over 300 people who submitted public comment, and the many people who showed up in person to show their support at the committee meeting! The ordinance (O2025-0020004)—which codifies the responsibility of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) to investigate reports of Welcoming City Ordinance violations by members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD)—was passed out of Committee.
Unfortunately, Alderwoman Silvia Tabares—who voted in favor of the measure during the Committee hearing—voted along with several of her colleagues to defer and publish the ordinance, preventing it from being voted upon by the full City Council. It will be back in front of the full City Council for a vote next month, and we will continue to work toward its passage.
Hemp Ban Veto
Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the Hemp Ban Ordinance (O2025-0021018), which was passed last month to ban the sale of hemp-derived products outside of licensed dispensaries, with the exception of beverages, topical products, and pet products.
Ald. Vasquez supports robust regulation and taxation of the hemp industry, and voted yes on the initial ordinance. Ultimately, the ordinance did not have enough support to override the Mayoral veto, and thus it will not go into effect.
Residential Parking Enforcement
Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the Hemp Ban Ordinance (O2025-0021018), which was passed last month to ban the sale of hemp-derived products outside of licensed dispensaries, with the exception of beverages, topical products, and pet products.
Ald. Vasquez supports robust regulation and taxation of the hemp industry, and voted yes on the initial ordinance. Ultimately, the ordinance did not have enough support to override the Mayoral veto, and thus it will not go into effect.
Introductions
Alderperson Vasquez introduced a number of ordinances aimed at shoring up our status as a Welcoming City, including:
- An order (Or2026-0023367) calling for comprehensive data on any and all interactions between city employees and federal agents regarding immigration enforcement from January 20th, 2025 to 30 days after the order’s passage. This order builds on our work from last year to give the public transparent information on how the city is interacting with federal immigration enforcement agents.
- An order (Or2026-0023360) calling for an analysis on which city contractors profit from federal immigration enforcement, so we can consider how to use city funds in a way that does not promote the cruel and unlawful activities of DHS.
- An ordinance (O2026-0023359) that would amend the responsibilities of the powers and duties of the Executive Director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) to include reviewing the city’s systems for communicating emergency information to the public related to hazardous conditions created by federal immigration enforcement activities.
- An ordinance (O2026-0023361) that would provide towing relief for vehicles that were impacted by immigration enforcement. During Operation Midway Blitz, we heard from a number of neighbors who noted that the vehicles of those abducted were abandoned and subject to towing. This ordinance would ensure that no one is unnecessarily penalized from aggressive towing for having been detained.
- A resolution calling for the prohibition on hiring any federal immigration agent or contractor that violated the law in the dispatch of their duties for city jobs, so we can ensure that those who violated our laws and the rights of our neighbors aren’t paid from Chicago taxpayer money.
All of the above legislation was referred to the appropriate committee, with the exception of the first ordinance, which was sent to the Committee on Rules.
We hope to schedule hearings for many of these in the coming months, so stay tuned for more information!