CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson has officially backtracked on his proposal to bar federal immigration agents from areas around polling places in the city, less than two weeks after first advocating for the idea.
The mayor scheduled, and then canceled, a special City Council meeting for March 11 to take up his plan to set up 100-foot buffer areas called "democracy zones" around polling places in Chicago.
The measure was the centerpiece of a package named for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, to honor his commitment to voter registration.
But aldermen raised concerns that other agencies had not vetted the proposal, and that it wasn't clear that the city has the authority to bar federal agents from carrying out their legal duties.
The mayor's team on Wednesday formally introduced the "Rev. Jesse Jackson Fair Access to Democracy Ordinance," which does not include those buffer zones. Instead, it sets up a working group to examine issues around voter access and participation, including the activities of federal agents.
It also bans the doxing of poll workers, and requires landlords to provide secure mailboxes to tenants.
It's now headed to committee.