[remote or in person] Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety

Chicago City Council

Transportation

Politics

Thursday, April 11, 2024
12:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m. CDT

View meeting details

Add to iCal

Add to Google Calendar

121 N LaSalle St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)

City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers

You have the option of documenting this meeting in person or remotely.

If you choose to attend in person, an additional hour will be added to your total assignment hours. You may be asked to provide government-issued photo ID and to go through a metal detector.

If you choose to document remotely, the meeting will be live-streamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page.

If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

The end time listed on this assignment is an estimation based on the duration of past meetings of this type.

Other notes and pre-research resources

Meeting details page: https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Meeting/?meetingId=E25FB94F-60E8-EE11-904C-001DD806E542
This meeting will include a no-vote subject matter hearing on a proposal to lower the citywide default speed limit from 30 to 25 mph. Read about it here.
Be sure to check the “attachments” tab for the meeting agenda and other documents. You can access more information about items on the agenda at https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/. You can search keywords or click the “Show more filters” button and enter the legislation number (i.e. [O as in Ordinance][year introduced]-####, [R as in Resolution][year introduced]-####).
Chicago Councilmatic: This civic data org’s website has a lot of the information that can be found on the city’s database in a more user-friendly format, with info on this committee, plus headshots of members

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Eliot Wyeth

View notes

Live reporting by Sonal Soni

Discussion of lower speed limit postponed

Sonal Soni (They/Them)

Happy Thursday Chicago! I’ll be livetweeting today’s Chicago City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety’s meeting today at noon for @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters. Follow along to this thread⬇️

11:49 AM Apr 11, 2024 CDT

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 2/18

@CHIdocumenters Today's meeting was rescheduled from 1 pm to noon and has yet to start. The in person meeting at City Hall is also being livestreamed, which you can access at the Chi City Clerk website.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 3/18

@CHIdocumenters Still waiting for the livestream to start. The first agenda item includes lowering the citywide default speed limit from 30 mph to 25 Martin (47) mph. You can also find today's meeting agenda and other meeting materials on the City Clerk site.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 4/18

@CHIdocumenters Still waiting for the meeting to start.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 5/18

@CHIdocumenters The meeting is underway and starts off with public comments. Each speaker has a three minute limit to speak.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 6/18

@CHIdocumenters Jessica Jackson speaks first. "I'm here because I have concerns about the fact that Cook County Public Administration officials are stealing Black people's property... they have tried to take my mother's property. They have no legal right to do so."

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 7/18

@CHIdocumenters Jackson asks why city officials prioritize issues regarding immigrants in Chicago over Black communities.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 8/18

@CHIdocumenters Another public speaker comments on today's agenda item regarding the city's speed limit. "In 2012. A strategic plan was published titled Chicago forward... the first policy was to set a goal of zero annual traffic fatalities within 10 years..."

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 9/18

@CHIdocumenters "...It has now been 10 years and then some later and traffic fatalities have increased our speed limit has not budged... we can see that not only are traffic fatalities more likely to occur in the south and west sides," the speaker adds.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 10/18

@CHIdocumenters "...a disproportionate share of Black residents and those with high economic burden are victims of traffic fatalities," the speaker said.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 11/18

@CHIdocumenters George Blakemore is another public speaker. Blakemore talks about the city's investment into Black residents, something he says pales in comparison to other issues like incoming migrants. "I'm outraged. I hate all of y'all," Blakemore said before the time limit.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 12/18

@CHIdocumenters Kyle Lucas from Better Streets Chicago speaks next. "I came here today to talk about speed limits, and I know that we're not going to be having that conversation in the committee today."

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 13/18

@CHIdocumenters "We know that speed does kill. We have the data that proves that... [the committee's] priority there is to prioritize the movement of vehicles, not the safety of the people," Lucas said.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 14/18

@CHIdocumenters "...traffic stops are incredibly dangerous, and unfortunately, we have lost the life of Dexter Reed very tragically and very alarmingly," Lucas added. Read more about Dexter Reed and what Chicago organizers are rallying for: thetriibe.com/2024/04/amid-l…

thetriibe.com/2024/04/amid-l…

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 15/18

@CHIdocumenters The public comment public period comes to a close. The committee moves on to routine ordinances before the committee and skips over the agenda item regarding lowering the citywide default speed limit from 30 mph to 25 which has been postponed.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 16/18

@CHIdocumenters The meeting adjourned around 2:15 PM.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 17/18

@CHIdocumenters The meeting concluded with a motion to recommend approval of all ordinances on pages eight through 12 of the agenda to be passed without a departmental recommendation, and was approved. Those items will be reported out.

Sonal Soni (They/Them) @sonal_soni_ 18/18

@CHIdocumenters That concludes this thread. Thanks for following along and respond here with any comments or questions. Follow @CHIdocumenters #CHIdocumenters for more coverage like this. Keep an eye out for notes on this meeting by Eliot Wyeth.

View thread

Attachments

3 attachments

Resolution calling for hearing on lowering citywide default speed limit from 30 to 25 mph

By India Daniels ⋅ April 11th, 2024

Meeting details

By India Daniels ⋅ April 11th, 2024

Notice

April 11th, 2024

Agency Information

Chicago City Council

chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov

(312) 744-3166

@ChiCouncil

See Documenters reporting

The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago and consists of the Mayor and Aldermen elected from each of the City’s fifty wards. Source

If you attend a meeting in person, be prepared to go through a security checkpoint and show photo ID.

Meetings are also livestreamed at https://www.chicityclerk.com/.

At this link, scroll down to “Meeting Notices.” Look for “Watch now” and click on the link with the meeting title to go to a livestream page. If you don’t see a link for the meeting, you may be early or the meeting may be starting late. Wait a few moments and try refreshing your Internet tab.

Recordings of past City Council meetings may be found here: https://vimeo.com/user100351763/videos/sort:date.

See also: “What to Expect at a Meeting of Chicago’s City Council” via the Better Government Association.