Community leaders gathered at North Waller Ave. and West Superior St. in Austin May 27 to call for the resignation of Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, alderman of Chicago’s 35th Ward, which covers parts of the Avondale, Hermosa and Logan Square neighborhoods.
They also called for the Office of Inspector General to investigate Ramirez-Rosa and his staff.
The press conference came after an online post from Raymond Lopez, alderman of the 15th Ward. Lopez said that Charles Sirridge, one of Ramirez-Rosa’s staff members, was charged with aggravated assault in November for cursing at Lopez outside of the City Hall Chambers, according to Politico. In May, Ramirez-Rosa was seen in court in support of Sirridge.
This charge follows reports in November of Ramirez-Rosa assaulting Ald. Emma Mitts of the 37th Ward, which serves Austin and Humboldt Park.
Officials calling for Ald. Ramirez-Rosa to step down said his actions support a culture of violence that they want checked, especially after word that he will likely be appointed as chair of the city’s housing committee, a spot that was promised to Ald. Mitts, the Sun-Times reported.
Aldermen Lopez, Mitts, and Ramirez-Rosa did not respond to requests for comment.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, during a city council meeting in November, Ramirez-Rosa harassed and manhandled Mitts to keep her from voting for a referendum to allow voters to have a say on Chicago’s sanctuary city status.
After Ramierez-Rosa physically restricted Mitts from voting, she left the meeting and the vote was tabled for a later date, said attendee P. Rae Easley, founder of Chicago Red, the organization that hosted the May 27 press conference and aims to engage and empower conservative voters.
Following her assault, Mitts addressed the city council during another meeting attended by Easley.
“What she said is that it made her feel like she was back in the South. It made her feel like she could not do her job properly. It made her feel physically sick,” said Easley, a lifelong resident of Chicago’s West Side.
Mitts later said in a statement that she forgave him, although some say she wasn’t the only one wronged.
“Emma Mitts is not the only victim. The main victims are the people that Carlos wanted to disenfranchise by stopping her from going to council,” Easley added. “To make sure that the Black vote and voice is not properly counted in government.”
‘A bet between colleagues, rather than the disrespect of the voters’
Mitts told the Sun-Times that Mayor Brandon Johnson asked her in April to chair the housing committee. She said she would replace Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez of the 25th Ward, who would move to the city’s zoning committee. In March, Sigcho-Lopez faced backlash from other aldermen, including Ald. Chris Taliaferro of the 29th Ward, when he spoke at a rally where a United States flag was burned.
But in May, Mitts said a mayoral advisor called to tell her that the Latino Caucus wanted to replace Sigcho-Lopez with another Latino — Ramirez-Rosa.
While the council has yet to vote on mayoral appointees for a new chair, Ramirez-Rosa could be chosen, considering he resigned as the city council’s floor leader and chair of the zoning committee days after the November council meeting where he assaulted Mitts.
“Alderman Ramirez-Rosa has acknowledged his transgressions, apologized to his colleagues and committed himself to rebuilding trust,” Johnson said in a statement announcing Ramirez-Rosa’s resignation.
Yet some aren’t sure the alderman really did throw in the towel for his leadership positions.
“We have no evidence that he ever resigned,” Easley said, adding that an attempt to file a public records request for Ramirez-Rosa’s resignation letter came back saying there was no resignation letter. “Carlos still carries himself as if he’s the floor leader.” Johnson has not named a new floor leader.
“We want Brandon Johnson to directly address this culture of violence,” Easley said. “We’re making this about a bet between colleagues, rather than the disrespect of the voters in my ward.”
