Chicago City Wire

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday spared his former City Council floor leader from being the first alderman to be censured in Chicago history. Johnson cast the tie-breaking vote to block the censure of Democratic Socialist Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Roza, the mayor's handpicked floor leader.

Ramirez-Rosa resigned as mayor's floor leader and zoning committee chairman after being accused of bullying, threatening, and extorting City Council colleagues during a special meeting called to consider a controversial proposal for a referendum question on whether Chicago should be a sanctuary city.

On Tuesday, Johnson initially tried blocking a vote on Ramirez-Rosa's censure claiming it was out of order according to City Council's rules. Ald. Ray Lopez appealed this ruling. A 25-24 vote overruled the mayor which opened up space for a vote on censure motion. The initial vote failed as Ramirez-Rosa voted against it himself but an argument by Ald. Brendan Reilly stated that Ramirez-Rosa was ineligible for voting on this matter, resulting in a 24-24 tie that Mayor Johnson broke with his "no" vote.

Several City Council colleagues including Alds. Nicole Lee, Emma Mitts, Chris Taliaferro, Felix Cardona Jr., and Anthony Napolitano accused Ramirez-Rosa of bullying and threats. Lee disclosed that Ramirez-Rosa threatened her with blocking zoning changes in her ward if she supported the proposed sanctuary city referendum.

"I sat in this seat and was threatened. Nobody should be able to abuse their position to gain what they want," Lee said.

Mitts detailed her interactions with Ramirez-Rosa during Thursday's special meeting stating that he physically prevented her from entering the council chamber to hinder the meeting from reaching a quorum. According to Mitts, Ramirez-Rosa insulted her colleagues by calling them "idiots" and used it as a reason to block her participation in the meeting.

“I prayed to the Lord to give me the strength to come here and tell you exactly what happened. … It was unbecoming of anyone elected to represent people. If it happened to me, who else could it happen to?” Mitts said.

"I have been in this Council 24 years. I am 68 years old. I have seen a lot in my lifetime of struggle. … To have me be put up under that strain, I felt like I was back in the South. … I didn't know if I could do my job again. If this is what … women have to put up with. Somebody got to stand up for not only me but for any young women who get abused. That’s the problem with Black women today. And I’m a strong Black woman who believes in fairness. To have faith. To work out your differences. Agree and disagree. But have respect."

Despite everything, Mitts voted against censuring Ramirez-Rosa who apologized during the meeting.

Ramirez-Rosa admitted his mistakes and apologized during the meeting. 

"I cannot take away the mistakes I made last week, but I hope to be able to build the trust that we have in each other as we move forward,” he said.