- 1 year ago
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson held a press briefing on Tuesday, speaking on recent flooding that hit the city's Southwest Side and the city's response.
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00:00Good morning. Good morning. I'm Alderman Raymond Lopez. It's my pleasure to welcome all of you to the City of Chicago's Southwest Side Gage Park community. Joining us today are my colleagues Alderman Mike Rodriguez, Alia Julia Ramirez, and of course the Distinguished Mayor of the City of Chicago, Brandon Johnson.
00:19You know, we're here because of the unprecedented flooding and damages that have struck the Southwest Side of Chicago. Many residents, thousands of families have been impacted. And today, earlier, Mayor Johnson and I walked and talked with residents impacted by what we've seen, by what we've heard, and finding out how we can work together, work together for the residents of Chicago.
00:49who've been negatively impacted in the past, and how we can help them prevent this in the future. And with that, I gladly turn the podium over to the Mayor of Chicago to express what he learned today. Mayor Brendan Johnson.
01:05Thank you, Alderman Lopez. Good morning, everyone. We're joined by, again, Alderman Lopez and Julia Ramirez from the 12th Ward,
01:19and the 22nd Ward, Alder Mike Rodriguez, and the full force of government.
01:23The 14th is now here, so, um, Helu Gutierrez, where is she? Oh, she is here. So how about we do this? Is it okay if we just give her a minute to say a few words?
01:34So before I, before I give my remarks, we have the 14th Ward, Alder, um, Helu Gutierrez.
01:41Thank you, ma'am. You're welcome.
01:45Good morning. Good morning.
01:47Alder, um, Alder, um, Helu Gutierrez in the 14th Ward, uh, proudly serving the communities of Gage Park, Chicago Lone, Archer Heights, Brighton Park,
01:55that they were also impacted with this flooding in the recent days.
01:59Our neighbors are hurting.
02:02I've been in basements with families this week, and the damage is heartbreaking.
02:07Every level of government needs to be involved, not just to observe, but to take action.
02:14We can just tell constituents that this is all due to decades of disinvestment.
02:19Our community doesn't need more political theater or petty actions.
02:24We need resources, accountability, and long-term infrastructure solutions.
02:29I thank you, Mayor, for being here with us today.
02:32Thank you for taking all those goals, as well as the Department of Water Management and our OEMC director.
02:38We've been in constant communication with them since July 25th.
02:43And that commitment needs to continue, and we really need real action.
02:48We'll keep to continue working alongside the mayor, my colleagues, and the city council, and in other levels of government,
02:57and our residents to make sure our families of the southwest side get the protection and support they deserve.
03:03Good morning, I'm the Vice President of the District 14th, representing some of the communities that have also suffered damage
03:12after these inundations in recent days, both in July 25th and this weekend, the 17th of August.
03:21Our neighbors are suffering.
03:24We've been in the mountains with the families this week, and the damage is really part of our heart.
03:29All the levels of government must be present, not only looking at, but acting.
03:36We can't keep saying to the people that all this is just for decades of abandonment,
03:42or that the system simply doesn't have the capacity to receive the water that falls.
03:47Our community doesn't need more political plates or theater, we need more resources,
03:54we need clear resources, clear solutions and real solutions of infrastructure.
03:57Once again, we need resources, clear accounts and solutions.
04:03That's why I'm welcome to the Mayor and I thank you for that here in our community today,
04:08as well as the Department of Water and also the Department of Emergency Services,
04:12with whom we've been collaborating since it was the first inundation.
04:16Our commitment is to continue to seek solutions.
04:20We'll continue to work with the Mayor, my colleagues from the Council and other levels of government,
04:26and with our neighbors, so that the families of the Suroeste receive the protection and the support that they deserve.
04:33We need the declaration of emergency of the State and the Federal Government,
04:38so that the families can recover what they lost, and also make remodelations in their sótanos.
04:45Muchos de ellos perdieron todo, seguiremos tocando puertas, seguiremos instruyendo los siguientes pasos.
04:51Hay una nueva encuesta que OEMC ha puesto, necesitamos pedirle a los residentes que hagan uso de esa encuesta,
04:58llenen su información, pongan sus fotos para nosotros poder hacer el caso grande y fuerte,
05:04para poder pedir ese estado de emergencia en el Estado y el Gobierno Federal.
05:08Just to close up, there's a new survey that I'm not sure if it was mentioned before,
05:12where we need our residents to fill it out.
05:15Put in your information, upload your pictures, so that way we can strengthen our case
05:19and ask for relief with the State and the Federal Government.
05:23So please, constituents, use the QR code.
05:26If you have any questions, reach out to our office.
05:28We'll continue to help you out.
05:30We're going to go canvassing again, door-to-door, giving that information to our constituents.
05:34If they need help filling out the survey, more than welcome to help you out in the office,
05:38and we'll continue fighting for this issue.
05:42Thank you, Alden.
05:44Thank you very much.
05:45Thank you again to all of our Alders that are here.
05:49Over the past few weeks, we have seen historic levels of rainfall
05:53repeatedly hitting the southwest side of Chicago in particular.
05:59City workers across multiple departments have been working tirelessly to help residents recover
06:04and begin the process to rebuild.
06:07On behalf of the entire city of Chicago, let me first also extend a heartfelt thank you
06:14to all of our city workers who have been on the front lines of this crisis, especially
06:20our OEMC, DWM, DOB, and Streets of Sanitation workers.
06:26After significant rains during the first week of August, we acted swiftly to bring city workers
06:34together.
06:35We met with the county and we issued a disaster proclamation after the first round of flooding.
06:44Unfortunately, since then, we have been hit again with multiple flooding incidents which have
06:53continued to affect our communities.
06:56Since August 16th, just three days ago, we have had over 5,612 3-1-1 calls.
07:08All of those calls reported damage to basements.
07:14Chicagoans recovering from one flooding incident have found themselves having to start all over again.
07:21We will continue to direct city resources to the affected areas to ensure that Chicagoans
07:28are not facing this crisis alone.
07:32Multiple city departments are engaged in this effort.
07:35The effort to clean up debris, clear away sewer backups, and then, of course, address safety hazards.
07:44Affected residents are encouraged to pick up free supply kits to assist with the flood recovery
07:50from their local alder person's office.
07:53The flooding is the result of two factors.
07:58The water management system was never properly built on the west and southwest sides of our city.
08:05These are working-class communities, and frankly, the city failed to plan properly in the past.
08:12We will continue to see damaging flood incidents until there are some real structural changes
08:19and improvements to our infrastructure as a whole.
08:23The second reason is climate change.
08:27It means that Chicago's working-class communities are experiencing more and more frequent
08:33hundred-year storms and extreme weather.
08:36We need to build more climate-resilient infrastructure, plant more trees to absorb water, and modernize
08:44our infrastructure to account for this new reality.
08:48But today, we are calling for one thing in response to these flooding incidents.
08:55We need the state as well as the federal government to provide emergency relief for homeowners as well
09:02as our businesses.
09:03We will not allow this disaster to turn into a tragedy.
09:09We need state and federal dollars so that we can help residents repair their homes and ensure
09:15small businesses can fully recover.
09:18What we are asking is that residents also fill out their damage assessment surveys so that
09:24we can accurately report the extent of the damage.
09:27The more information we have, the better prepared we will be to fight for the relief of our communities
09:35that desperately need them at this time.
09:39In addition to filling out assessment surveys, residents can and should continue to call 311 to
09:45report water in your basement and make service requests.
09:49The deadline to fill out the damage assessment is this Friday, August 22nd.
09:54Finally, Chicago, I am asking that we all come together in this moment.
10:00In this moment, it is going to take all of us to build stronger and more resilient communities.
10:06With that, I will turn it over to our Executive Director of OEMC, Mr. Frank Velez.
10:18Good morning, everyone.
10:19Thank you, Mayor.
10:20Good morning.
10:21I am Frank Velez, the Executive Director for the Office of Emergency Management Communications.
10:25In the last month, the City of Chicago has been hit with torrential rain, which has caused major
10:31flood incidences.
10:33Our first incident was July 25th through July 28th.
10:37As you are aware, we just got second phased.
10:40We got hit August 16th through the 19th.
10:43From Saturday, August 16th to the morning of Tuesday, August 19th, there have been well
10:48over 5,612 calls that have been reported through 311 for water in the basement.
10:54Some of the areas affected this weekend and overnight also experienced flash floods in
11:00July.
11:01There are wards like 6th Ward, 12th Ward, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and the 23rd Ward.
11:07The City of Chicago and the Office of Emergency Management Communications will continue to work
11:12with our partners at Cook County Management and the Illinois Emergency Management Agencies
11:18at the same to focus on the July floods and the August floods.
11:23Once again, we ask affected residents to complete the survey and self-report the damage assessments
11:29to help determine the eligibility and potential assistance for the flash floods that occurred
11:34in August and in July.
11:36The survey is a tool used to collect additional information and to determine whether the City,
11:43along with our partners at Cook County, IEMA, pursue options for assistance for our residents.
11:50Completing the survey does not guarantee eligibility for financial assistance aid or funding of
11:55any kind.
11:56The information collected will be used strictly for assessment and planning purposes as the
12:01City pursues all avenues for resources for our residents.
12:06The IEMA survey is the first step in the process.
12:10The survey is also available online through our QR code.
12:14A Spanish version is available as well.
12:17Residents can visit our Chicago.gov forward slash OMC to access the survey.
12:25The deadline as the Mayor stated for the survey is this Friday, August 22nd at midnight.
12:32We ask that all residents continue to report the services and requests related to water basements
12:37through 3-1-1.
12:39By calling 3-1-1, use the Chi 3-1-1 app or online 3-1-1.chicago.gov.
12:49I also want to remind residents about the threat of fraud.
12:53The Flood and Damage Assessment Survey and calling 3-1-1 reporting in the water basements
12:58are the only information tools that residents are being asked to provide in order to pursue
13:04possible assistance.
13:06Do not provide personal information or payment to any third party.
13:11Again, completion of the survey does not guarantee or imply eligibility or financial assistance
13:17for the funding.
13:18The information is to collect to be used strictly for assessment and planning services.
13:23Thank you and very much.
13:30Thank you, Executive Director Velez.
13:31We also have our Deputy Mayor for Infrastructure, Lori Lipson, is here.
13:36Commissioners Connor and Stallard are both here from the Water Department as well as streets
13:40and sanitation.
13:41We also have our Community Engagement Chief here as well because we want to ensure that the
13:47residents of the communities that have been hit the hardest know that the full force of
13:51government will remain constant until families get full restoration.
13:57We also want to make sure that when you are filling out the survey, your documentation status
14:02is not necessary to disclose.
14:08So this is for individuals who are residents or citizens as well as undocumented individuals.
14:16That information will not be disclosed.
14:18So your status will be protected as the Welcoming City Ordinance permits.
14:24Casio.
14:25Okay.
14:26So we're going to take some questions.
14:27If you have a question, can you just come forward so I can see who you are?
14:29Leah.
14:30All right.
14:31We'll start with Sean over here and then come around.
14:32Good morning, Mayor.
14:33Good morning, everyone.
14:34Good morning.
14:35Mayor, a couple of questions for you.
14:36One of them is the very residents you talked with today said this has never happened before.
14:41It's now happened twice in a matter of weeks.
14:43What does that say and also could you address what Frank was talking about, which is the
14:48potential for scam artists to come in and try to take advantage of these residents?
14:51Yeah, you know, look, as I said before, the first thing is, you know, we are our hearts
14:59are with all of the families that are experiencing the damage.
15:03You know, I've spoken personally to residents on the southwest side.
15:10This is very reminiscent to what families experience on the west side of Chicago as well and other
15:16areas that have been impacted.
15:19What it means is that the infrastructure that was never properly structured, that we have
15:28now reached a point where it's going to require us to make those investments so that this
15:33doesn't become, you know, the norm.
15:36So we're going to do everything in our power to ensure that the initial cleanup is taken
15:42care of and all of our city workers are prepared to work around the clock in order
15:48to expedite the cleanup.
15:51But it really means that the declaration is just a response to this particular moment.
15:59The real declaration has to be a commitment to ensure that the infrastructure that was
16:04not properly planned out, that we repair that and the members that you're seeing here that
16:11are representing their respective wards, some ideas have already come forward and I know
16:16they're very much committed to making those necessary investments so that this doesn't become
16:20the norm.
16:21As far as, you know, potential to scam, Director Velez, you want to expound more on that, please?
16:31Thank you, Mayor.
16:32Importantly, as we all know that we have several organizations out there that may come to you
16:37and we're asking residents to understand that the survey is the only assessment that needs
16:41to be filled up.
16:42We want to make sure that our residents feel comfortable, that there are no third parties coming
16:47in there guaranteeing any type of assistance for them.
16:51This is the process that needs to be taken and this is the only way that we're going to
16:55be able to get, as the Mayor said, the Governor's Office to do this proclamation.
17:01So we want to make sure that residents do not provide any personal information at all or use
17:06any third party for recovery purposes.
17:10We're working with SBA, HUD, and the Governor's Office at this moment to try to find some relief.
17:18Good morning, Mayor.
17:19Good morning.
17:20Michael Lipchop with Block Club Chicago.
17:22Earlier this year in January, HUD awarded Chicago and Cook County a total of $670 million for relief
17:29for the 2023 and 2024 flooding, and in Chicago specifically $426 million.
17:35That funding came over a year after the flooding.
17:39And so looking at that as a precedent for now asking the federal government and state for
17:46relief, the reality that this may not come for a year or so.
17:50In the meantime, beyond the assessment, what can people expect as far as what the city can
17:58do while we wait for that funding when it comes to addressing some of the water management
18:02issues and those infrastructure issues?
18:04Thank you for that question and that observation.
18:08So, you know, again, it's incumbent upon all of our residents to fill out the survey to
18:13report the damage to 311.
18:15I believe the damage that we experienced just this year is already double the amount of what
18:20was experienced in 2023.
18:23So these communities were hit especially hard.
18:26We're going to continue to work with all of our city departments to make sure that we're
18:29clearing out and cleaning out the spaces so that these families can begin to work towards recovery.
18:36In the meantime, our administration is committed to ensuring that the water mains as well as
18:43the catch basins that we are paying closer attention to those, clearing them out, making sure that there's
18:49a clear pathway for water to be able to move so it doesn't get trapped and eventually cause blockage and
18:57cause flooding.
18:58And so that work will will continue.
19:01We have incredible city workers that are committed to not just assessing the damage, but looking at ways in
19:07which we can mitigate it in the short term, I'm going to have our Deputy Mayor Lipson add to that.
19:18Thank you, Mayor.
19:19There are a few things that I think residents would like to know.
19:22Once they clean their basement up, they can take their bulk garbage and put it in an alley.
19:28Streets and Santa's picking them up.
19:30We also had tree emergencies that occurred over the last few days.
19:34Make sure you call 3-1-1. Streets and Santa's working on that as well.
19:39The Department of Water Management is also going to start cleaning the sewers in the area to make sure
19:46that we have a clear path as well.
19:49And CDOT is also working on some of the traffic and street lights.
19:53So again, make sure you call 3-1-1.
19:56Any resource that you need is imperative to please call 3-1-1.
20:04Mayor Johnson, good morning.
20:05Good morning.
20:06Jeff Buckles, WBBM Newsradio.
20:07Yeah, you're doing a fine job.
20:09You are kind to say that, sir.
20:11I appreciate it.
20:12You've said that the southwest side and other parts of the city, under-invested parts of the
20:16city, need investment right now, particularly with sewers and other infrastructure to correct
20:21decades of disinvestment.
20:22Based on what we see as the trend here with flooding, does this increase the urgency to
20:29ask state lawmakers to make changes allowing you to seek more as you put up progressive
20:34revenue options?
20:35And have you spoken with the governor today about relief?
20:38I have not spoken to the governor today about relief.
20:41Those conversations, of course, are still ongoing with our, you know, respective teams.
20:46He will hear from me directly.
20:48You know, one thing that I, you know, that we know that this was a joint effort from me
20:54and the county board of President Tony Parkwinkle, you know, and we fully anticipate that the governor
20:59will be responsive as he has historically been.
21:03And to the first part of your question, I literally had this conversation with residents along the path
21:10where I had a chance to engage with, look, I know that there is a desire and a need for immediate relief
21:17and we're going to do everything in our power to secure that.
21:19The ultimate goal is to make sure that this doesn't become the norm.
21:23And it really requires us to invest in people and that will require progressive revenue.
21:28And look, I'm going to make the case.
21:30We'll bring it to the to the residents and people can decide if, you know, if we want to remain stagnant
21:36and continue to get what we have received or do we want to press forward to make those necessary investments
21:44so that families who are hurting from this from these floods don't have to worry every time it rains.
21:54I was talking to Alderman Lopez yesterday.
21:57And of all the things that that can be triggering as elected officials, you never thought that rain would be one of those triggers.
22:04Right. And, you know, Alderman Lopez has been doing this for some time.
22:08Same thing with Alderman Rodriguez.
22:10So, you know, we don't want people to panic every time it rains, but you're absolutely on the right path.
22:17We're having conversations with city council members.
22:20They're going to bring ideas to the table as well.
22:22And we're going to put forth the budget that ultimately provides us with a pathway to have a safe and affordable city.
22:29It takes a lot of time to get money for more infrastructure spending.
22:35It takes time to do that infrastructure work.
22:38Are there any other smaller measures that you're considering?
22:41Alderman Lopez floated the idea of a rebate for devices that people can install in their home to prevent flow into their basements.
22:48Is there anything smaller that you're considering?
22:50Yeah, there are ideas that are coming in as, you know, our deputy mayor has indicated.
22:54There are some measures that between our transportation department as well as water management, streets of sanitation.
23:01We're looking at ways in which we can, you know, help assist when rain comes at that level to be able to move water through.
23:09But the reality is this.
23:11I mean, I look, I'm going to always tell people the truth.
23:14The harsh reality is that there was poor planning in the infrastructure that left Southwest and West Side families, working people vulnerable.
23:23And, you know, as difficult as this is, and as much as we're going to work hard to provide support on the front end, there aren't just simple quick fixes to this.
23:32Many of the things that this is not like hyperbolic, this is just the reality.
23:37And so, you know, I think there's no secret here.
23:40We have worked hard to, you know, save taxpayer dollars to ensure that, you know, we are cutting expenses where we can.
23:49But it's really going to require us to make investments in every aspect of our city in order to ensure that working families can live comfortably.
23:58I think this is probably a question for some of the commissioners here.
24:01Why this area?
24:03Why this block?
24:04Why did the flooding concentrate here?
24:06Is there a construction project or something happening in the sewers that could have contributed?
24:11Or is it, what is it?
24:13Commissioner Conner, you want to speak to that?
24:16Yeah.
24:17Good morning.
24:18My name is Randy Conner, Commissioner of the Department of Water Management.
24:22To be able to address that question, one of the issues is that, again, the system is over 100 years old.
24:27And it's the amount of water that fell during that period of time that it fell.
24:32Somewhere around five, between five and six inches of rain fell during that time.
24:35The system itself just became overwhelmed.
24:38And the time that the system was built, it was built and designed for a five-year rain when it was designed.
24:43Now we're getting more 100-year rains.
24:46So that's one of the reasons why the system itself became overwhelmed.
24:51It's like trying to put 10 gallons of water into a five-gallon bucket at a rate of a gallon per 30 seconds.
25:00And just to put a finer note on that, I believe that amount of rain fell within 90 minutes.
25:10Correct.
25:11So it wasn't just the amount, it was how fast and the time frame in which it came.
25:16Commissioner Stoller.
25:17Oh, Commissioner Stoller, please.
25:23Good afternoon.
25:24Thank you, Mayor.
25:25Good morning, still.
25:26We're okay.
25:27Still morning.
25:28Hang in there.
25:29Good morning.
25:30We've been up all night.
25:31Another thing I'd like to take advantage of this time to mention of the importance of taking care of the tree canopy at this point,
25:38of trimming these trees and planting these trees.
25:40There are studies that have done and shown the amount of water that one tree can collect.
25:46The mayor has supported us in our goal in getting to 75,000 by the end of next year.
25:51That's really important.
25:52Those trees do serve a purpose in these weather-related instances.
25:55That's why you see us out there trimming them.
25:57We've trimmed over 200,000.
25:58We're on track to trim 200,000 probably within the next couple of weeks over the last two years.
26:03Again, the importance of trimming those trees and keeping those trees maintained will help in this effort as well.
26:08That's just another small effort we take.
26:12Check, check, check.
26:14Hi, there we go.
26:15Good morning.
26:16Good morning.
26:17Good morning, Mayor.
26:18Good morning, everyone.
26:19What is it that you're talking about?
26:21Improving infrastructure.
26:23It's all connected to the county, to the state.
26:26What is it that the city can do if somebody maybe could drill down a little bit?
26:31You're talking about clearing sewers, but then it's connected to McCook, and that's what, at 90% right now?
26:36So what is it that the city can do, these investments that you're talking about, that would make, I guess, the impact of these heavy rains easier?
26:46Sure, Commissioner Connor, and there's a project that we just broke ground on with the suburbs, providing water supply for the suburbs.
26:55So there is a relationship that we have, but Commissioner Connor, do you want to speak to that?
27:02Just to address your question, so a couple of things that, so we work very closely with the county as well as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District on a bunch of projects.
27:11We have some projects that will be coming out really soon where we are going to be looking at building what we're calling wing storage, which will alleviate a lot of the flooding that you're going to see.
27:21And basically what that is, is it's a huge pipe about 60 inches in diameter.
27:26We have to fit it in space.
27:28It's probably about two blocks long, where the main sewer itself will overflow into that and will use it as a holding tank to be able to hold more water.
27:36Then that will eventually fill up and it will flow into the MWRD system.
27:41But we're also looking at piloting some sensors in the sewer system as well to try to give us a clearer idea of where the flooding will happen so we can do more preventive maintenance.
27:52But we're also looking at the area that has flooded over the past few days to look at what we need to do to clean the system itself.
27:58Just to try to make sure that the water is flowing through.
28:07Sorry, and if I could just follow up too, because certainly flooding isn't new to some parts of Chicago.
28:13And your honor, I'm sure you've heard from some of your neighbors in Austin who are still dealing with flood damage from the storms two years ago.
28:24What can be done to try and help help folks that are dealing with issues now so that they aren't dealing with these things for years?
28:35Yeah, again, as I said earlier, I mean, there's no easy quick fix to this, right?
28:40I mean, this is why we've worked hard to make sure that damage and debris was cleared out.
28:47All of our city departments are working to make sure that we do everything in our power to allow for water to move through quicker, particularly when we're receiving that type of downfall of rain in that short period of time.
29:01The ultimate goal, of course, is to make sure that this doesn't become a repeated dynamic, and that is going to require us to make investments.
29:11So in the short term, of course, we have worked with community organizations to provide support.
29:17Some of that support has reached some of the homes on the west side.
29:21The city did put forth some resources to do that.
29:26We've worked with local contractors to be able to provide the repair in some basements.
29:34We did finally receive the full amount from the federal government just a little while ago.
29:40So we're going to find creative efforts to the best of our ability, as we've done on the west side, to help some families recover in the immediate.
29:48But again, the ultimate goal is to ensure that the poor planning that was done, and now here it is 100 years later, we're dealing with this challenge.
30:00But it's one that we're going to meet head on.
30:03You see the full force of government in my administration here today.
30:07You also have commitment from the alders here to put forth ideas so that, you know, we're not seeing ourselves in the same predicament time in and time again.
30:18Hi, Mayor.
30:19Hi.
30:20I've heard lots of complaints about the skyrocketing costs of home insurance, flood insurance included.
30:25I know that's a national trend, but is there anything that can be done at the city level?
30:29I wish.
30:30You know, I mean, look, the federal government at this time has obviously shown a great deal of animus towards working families.
30:37And whether it's cuts to Medicaid, cuts to SNAP and food, cut to veteran services, cuts to our education system, you know, this administration has been quite inimical to the interest of working people.
30:53But this is why the full force of government, county, the state, we're all on the same page here.
30:59You can see the unity on this this platform today.
31:02And we're committed to making sure that working families get some relief in the immediate but also build towards the future.
31:10All right. Last question.
31:12Mayor, on another matter, the CPS budget, are you not for it as it stands?
31:18And could a stalemate shut down schools?
31:21We're not going to have a stalemate and we're not going to shut down our schools.
31:24I'm very grateful that the first and second day of our school year has gotten off to a very strong start.
31:33Here's what I've said and I'll continue to say it.
31:36We have to invest in our public education system.
31:38The city of Chicago, we put forth over a billion dollars into our public schools.
31:44I'm the first mayor to release the largest TIF surplus in the history of Chicago because I'm just that committed to our public schools.
31:52I'm going to fight every day to make sure that families in this city have a world class education that requires us to fund the district.
31:59And look, I dropped my kids off to our public schools, you know, an eighth grader, sixth grader.
32:04And of course, you know, I have a graduating senior this year.
32:07I'm going through changes right now, by the way, as my oldest is preparing to leave me for college in another year.
32:14But what I can say is, is that with all that we're doing at the local level, the people of Chicago are owed one point six billion dollars from the state of Illinois.
32:25That's their calculation.
32:27And so I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that we don't have cuts to the classroom, because that is really the alternative that people are presenting.
32:34That if we don't take forth the vision that I was elected to carry out, the only other option that they're providing is the cut.
32:39You know, we already know that there are a number of workers that were cut as a result of the previous CEO's budget that I inherited.
32:48We told people two years ago that it was a problem.
32:50We told people last year was a problem.
32:52And then he skirts out of here, leaves us with this seven hundred thirty four million dollar deficit that we ultimately will fix.
32:59But we're not going to do it if we don't have a shared interest of making sure that we're investing in our young people, protecting our immigrant community, protecting the LGBTQ plus community, protecting black history, protecting veteran educators.
33:14We have moved away from the privatization and the dismantling of our workforce.
33:18We have seen already we have less vacancies to start of this school year than we've seen in a generation because we're actually hiring people to show up for our young people.
33:26You know, but families are united.
33:28I believe as a group of leaders, we're united.
33:31One point six billion dollars from the state of Illinois.
33:34That's ultimately what we have to continue to fight towards.
33:37But there will be no stalemate.
33:38There's no shutdown.
33:39We're committed to making sure that our children, no matter where they live, have a world class education, a school that they can walk to that's fully funded.
33:46Thank you all very much.
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