After Democratic candidate Chris Kennedy accused him of having a “strategic gentrification plan” to make Chicago “whiter,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired back with a few questions of his own.
“It is easy to cast blame and point fingers,” Emanuel said. “Where are the ideas? Where are the solutions, real solutions to real challenges that make those challenges opportunities?”
Emanuel, speaking at an event at a South Austin factory, admitted that he was “troubled” by data that shows the city’s black population is declining, but said that his administration is working to reverse that trend.
“(That) is why we’re making an investment in the neighborhoods across the city of Chicago,” he said.
Earlier this week, Kennedy had accused Emanuel of leading a “strategic gentrification plan,” with the goal of making the city “whiter” and wealthier.
“I believe that black people are being pushed out of Chicago intentionally by a strategy that involves disinvestment in communities being implemented by the city administration, and I believe Rahm Emanuel is the head of the city administration and therefore needs to be held responsible for those outcomes,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy also fired back at Emanuel’s criticisms, saying that he does have solutions for what he believes are the structural problems plaguing Chicago.
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“He has said from the start of this campaign that he wants to dismantle the structural inequities that exist in our government,” the campaign said. “He has put forward real solutions and plans on how we can do it.”
