The Chicago City Council reportedly voted Tuesday to remove a street sign honoring Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s downtown skyscraper as a response to the divisive billionaire's incendiary rhetoric and comments about the city's violence.
Last week, a City Council committee unanimously approved the measure. There was no debate on the ordinance during Tuesday's vote by the full council, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Additionally, a seperate Trump sign mysteriously went missing last month.
Last month, Ald. Brendan Reilly proposed the measure to remove the honorary Trump Plaza signs after the Republican presidential made inflammatory comments about Chicago violence on the national debate stage. Trump has made an example of Chicago’s violence at each of the presidential debates.
After Tuesday's session, Reilly admonished Trump for comparing Chicago to war-torn cities like Aleppo and Baghdad, the Sun-Times reports.
"Yes, Chicago is struggling with some big issues right now like most major cities are, but that doesn't mean you paint this city with such a broad brush." the alderman said.
Reilly went on call the city's police statistics "absolutely unacceptable," claiming the City Council is primed to approve a budget that would add more cops. The alderman ultimately said Trump's rhetoric is adding to the problem.
"When he gets up there on the national stage and trashes Chicago basically telling folks not to visit this great city, he's actually making it harder for us to solve our public safety problems by investing in more cops because we need more revenue," Reilly said. "That's why he's losing his honorary street sign."
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Both Reilly and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have received campaign contributions from Trump in the past. Reilly received $500 from Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts Holdings in 2008 and $5,000 from Trump in 2010. Additionally, Emanuel received $50,000 from the real estate magnate in 2010. Trump Tower was completed in 2009.
Nevertheless, Reilly has promised to return any campaign contributions he received from Trump. However, he said he wouldn’t return the money until after the November election, so Trump can’t use it for his own campaign.
“Based on what Mr. Trump now represents, I don’t want his money,” Reilly said last week.
