Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday he has not “made any commitment to anyone” about committee chairmanships, but laid the groundwork to restore his former floor leader and Zoning Chair Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) to his City Council leadership team.
Ramirez-Rosa resigned as Johnson’s floor leader and Zoning Committee chair after he was accused of “manhandling” Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) while trying to keep her out of the Council chambers.
He later apologized for stepping over the line in trying to prevent the Council from approving a non-binding referendum that would have allowed voters to weigh in on whether Chicago should remain a sanctuary city.
Mitts told the Sun-Times earlier this week that she had accepted Johnson’s offer to chair the Housing Committee, only to be told by senior mayoral adviser Jason Lee on Tuesday that the job has been promised to Ramirez-Rosa. Mitts was a no-show at Wednesday’s Council meeting.
During a post-Council news conference, Johnson flatly denied Mitts’ claims that the administration was planning a political version of musical chairs that would have Housing Chair Byron Sigcho-Lopez take over the Zoning Committee and Ramirez-Rosa become Housing Chair to satisfy a Latino Caucus that “didn’t want to lose what they already had.”
But Johnson left little doubt that, whenever the new line-up is finalized, Ramirez-Rosa is likely to be in it.
“Ald. Ramirez-Rosa is a leader. He’s one of my strongest allies. What he has done in City Council over the course of his time is remarkable,” Johnson said.
“We have to create restorative practices to ensure that we are modeling what’s best. If we’re committed to restorative justice and restorative practices, then we need to make that commitment.”
During a cathartic November meeting where he narrowly escaped censure over his conduct, Ramirez-Rosa apologized on the Council floor and hugged Mitts.
Mitts admonished him, but accepted the apology and hug, then voted against censure. She has since had several private meetings with him at Johnson’s request.
On Wednesday, Johnson made veiled reference to those peace-making gestures.
“His strength and his dedication has been just remarkable. His maturation continues to be on display. I find him to be incredibly valuable,” the mayor said.
“The body made a commitment to his restoration. … There’s only one way to define restoration. You restore people back to a place after having some time to reflect.”
Ramirez-Rosa could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Neither could Mitts.
Earlier this week, she made it clear she would oppose any attempt to restore him to any position in Council leadership.
“If there was someone on my team who caused an embarrassment to me, I certainly wouldn’t try to reward them for it,” Mitts told the Sun-Times.
