South Side alderperson accuses Ald. Greg Mitchell of attacking him

Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th) on Tuesday accused Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th) of attacking him after last week’s City Council meeting and demanded that Mitchell resign from his three City Council leadership jobs.

In a letter to Black Caucus Chair Stephanie Coleman (16th), Yancy alleged he was the “victim of an unprovoked assault” by Mitchell in what was “part of a pattern ... since last fall.”

“This behavior is not only unacceptable, it is an indication that he is unfit for leadership,” Yancy wrote in the letter, which was distributed to all council members.

“In today’s current climate, political differences have devolved into name calling and violence toward elected officials. It is equally out of order that an elected official would resort to violence during a disagreement with a colleague.”

In a statement issued later Tuesday evening, Mitchell denied the attack.

“I did not assault him, and I have never assaulted anyone in my life,” he said.

Police confirmed they had responded to a “disturbance” at City Hall last Thursday but said no arrests were made.

“Upon arrival, officers did not observe any criminal conduct, and a noncriminal report was filed,” police said in an email.

In an interview, Yancy told the Sun-Times the incident stemmed from a running disagreement he’s had with Mitchell over Yancy’s South Shore Housing Preservation Ordinance, which aims to protect residents worried about being priced out of their neighborhoods by gentrification as the Obama Presidential Center nears completion in Jackson Park.

When Yancy introduced the ordinance last fall, Mitchell walked up to the freshman alderperson on the council floor and promised to “teach me a lesson by killing my ordinance,” Yancy claimed.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The ongoing debate allegedly turned heated after last Thursday’s special council meeting. Yancy says he approached Mitchell in the hallway behind the council chambers when, Yancy claims, Mitchell suddenly “got aggressive. Said the phrase, ‘Do you want to do something?’ And then grabbed me around my head and shoulders and it felt like an attempt to wrestle me to the ground.

“At which point, we had to be separated by upwards of 10 people that included members of the sergeant-at-arms team and members of the Chicago Police Department. This was witnessed by Chairman Coleman and Chairman [Jason] Ervin.”

After the two men were separated, Yancy said Mitchell “came at me a couple more times as if he was hell-bent on continuing” the alleged attack but was unable to get close enough. The freshman alderman said he was surrounded and protected by police officers.

After the incident, Coleman and Ervin “attempted to broker a peaceful conversation between the four of us,” including Mitchell, Yancy said.

“We eventually got to what I thought was a resolution. But he’s not really contrite for what he did, and there has to be some consequences for his actions,” Yancy said.

Mitchell, however, said Yancy “is a colleague I respect and admire tremendously. Especially since we share the South Shore neighborhood.”

He said what Yancy is alleging is “simply not my style, which is why we met for more than two hours to work through our recent disagreement. I look forward to continuing to work with Alderman Yancy and the entire council to serve the city I love.”

Nevertheless, Yancy said he plans to file a police report, and he said he has been told there is bodycam video of the entire confrontation.

Ervin confirmed he saw the incident but downplayed the seriousness of it. Coleman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Yancy said he believes what happened makes the bullying incident that forced Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) to resign as Zoning chair and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s floor leader look like child’s play.

He demanded that Mitchell step down as chair of the Transportation Committee and vice chair of the Housing Committee and the Council’s Black Caucus.

“He can’t lead if he can’t control himself,” Yancy said. “He’s vice chair of the Housing Committee, which is where my ordinance is. I don’t know what sort of effect he could have on my ordinance passing through committee and through the council. That’s a big deal.”

Yancy said he also made the demand that Mitchell resign from leadership in a brief conversation with the mayor, but Johnson was noncommittal. Johnson’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yancy’s claims mark the third accusation in recent months against Mitchell.

Last month, Mitchell was accused of threatening one of his constituents, Christopher Amatore, who was housing 448 migrants in local buildings he owns at his own expense.

And last fall, Mitchell got into a physical altercation in the City Hall lobby with a man who was attempting to record a TikTok video of Mitchell talking to a woman complaining that the migrant crisis was siphoning city funding that could be going to Black veterans.

Contributing: Emmanuel Camarillo