CAN-TV Political Forum: Ald. Raymond Lopez (Ward 15)

 

[VIDEO] Ald. Lopez is a vocal critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and here he is on a recent edition of Political Forum on CAN-TV talking about what's going on in his ward and certainly what's going on in the city of Chicago right now. If you want to hear from your Alderman (or is it Alderperson which just doesn't sound right) especially if you live in Ward 15 here you go!

If nothing else, Ald. Lopez seems to genuinely care about a ward that seemingly has often been neglected over the years. And it has been devastated in the past year not only by the pandemic or civil unrest but by the high incidents of violent crime in the city.

Dreadhead Cowboy's horse is fine

I just wanted to share this update with you all, if you're at all concerned about the condition of his horse who authorities suggested could be euthanized due to her grave condition. Here's what Sun-Times' Michael Sneed states in her column

Where is NuNu?

Sneed has learned the injured horse nearly ridden to death by the “Dread Head Cowboy” in an anti-violence protest on the Dan Ryan Expressway, is safely on the mend and on her way to recovery since being moved to a horse farm in the south suburbs.

“She’s rallied,” said Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), a strong advocate of humane animal care who works closely with the city’s Animal Care and Control Department.

“But I’m told it should never be ridden again,” he said.

Also and this is more shocking:

But Sneed also hears Hollingsworth — who has been seen at protests riding horses around the city this summer — was “already on the city’s Animal Care radar months ago for riding a horse near the expressway,” Lopez said.

“This is not the first time,” Lopez said, even before Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office tapped the cowboy to do outreach for the U.S. Census. “We had videos and pictures of him multiple times before the mayor hired him to be her census outreach person/cowboy.

“We were trying to find out where he lived before the mayor hired him,” said Lopez, who has frequently sparred with Lightfoot during her administration. “We were actually on the hunt for him due to concern about how his horse was being kept.”

The city might send an invoice for the cost of NuNu’s care to Hollingsworth. A GoFundMe Hollingsworth launched earlier this year — with the goal of opening a horse barn in the city — has raised more than $88,000 as of Friday, with many donations pouring in since his highway ride.

I wanted to share this with you from 2nd City Cop. They were on the case of a horse being kept in an Englewood backyard. I wonder if Ald. Lopez had this on his radar.

Sneed notes that Hollingsworth keeps his other horses at a farm in Dyer, Indiana

Is it grandstanding to call for the Nat'l Guard?

I don't know if it's grandstanding if a group of Alderman want more action on the current issues affecting our city right now. Four Alderman which includes two Mayor Lightfoot foes Ald. Anthony Beale (Ward 9) and very vocal critic of the mayor Ald. Raymond Lopez (Ward 15) in addition to Ald. Leslie Hairston (Ward 5) and Ald. Anthony Napolitan (Ward 41).

BTW, I found an article from the Hyde Park Herald that stated that Ald. Hairston had removed her name from this letter calling for a special city council to discuss the proposals by Ald. Beale and Lopez to not only call for a special city council meeting on public safety and calling on the state to declare a state of emergency due to the increasing violence and threat of civil unrest to call for a four-month deployment of the Illinois Nat'l Guard.

I will share a tweet from Ald. Lopez sharing his proposals.

The two resolutions associated w/ the Special Meeting. One requires monthly hearings to ensure police funds match the will of our residents. The other asks Illinois to declare a state of emergency to deal with the uptick in violence, rioting. How is action on either a bad thing? pic.twitter.com/Ymoy1mvwAO

— Ald. Raymond Lopez (@RLopez15thWard) August 19, 2020

With this said this was covered at CapFax on Wednesday. Probably the first time I saw grandstanding in regards to this proposal.

Simple solutions are usually neither https://t.co/kDWrwUEPKn

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) August 19, 2020

What is reasonable is what our state's Adjutant General Richard Neely - overseeing both the Army and Air Nat'l Guards - stated as far as using the Nat'l Guard in something of a law enforcement role:

“We’re not law enforcement officers,” Neely told the Tribune after the Guard’s mission ended earlier this summer without incident. “As guardsmen, we’re military. We go to war and we do not need to go to war in our cities. ... It was important to me (troops) were not putting their hands on civilians. So we didn’t do riot control and some of those other missions. We focused on supporting law enforcement, allowing them to do the things they’re best trained to do.”

Using the Nat'l Guard to help support the Chicago Police is nothing new. It's been proposed often over the years and the suggestion of martial law seems very defeatist in solving the issues that really require a law enforcement response with a respect to an individual's rights. I've said we should have more state police assistance in the city.

I've even seen Cook County Sheriff help out with some of this civil unrest, especially a Sheriff Deputy was blocking traffic from getting off the Dan Ryan when 87th Street was beset with looting.

However, as Rich Miller state's simple solutions are usually neither, but to keep the peace in the city in this uncertain time we need to get to work.

Ward 15 Alderman reports another incident of vandalism

[VIDEO] This incident happened on Sunday Alderman Raymond Lopez's (Ward 15) offices were hit with bricks by vandals: