CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Chicago City Council is continuing hearings into how the city might go about providing reparations for the descendants of slaves.
The City Council Health and Human Relations Committee is considering an ordinance setting up a Reparations Commission that would study the issue and make recommendations. The measure was in the works before the recent unrest over the racially charged death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Author Cecile Johnson, a human-rights professor, stressed that the inequities and mistreatment of African Americans didn’t end with slavery.
“We need more than a conversation,” she said. “We need an investment in the black community because as you see from so many things that have happened in recent days, there’s such a despair. People are so uncertain about their life.”
Mayor Lightfoot encourages the discussion, saying it's good to have serious talks about racism and the history of race in this country.
Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th Ward, says it needs to be more than just talk. The measure, too, should be discussed outside the confines of the committee, he said. He would like to see hearings held in white neighborhoods to try to build broader support for the initiative.