On Wednesday, 35th Ward Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa voted no on the ordinance allowing an additional $1.1 billion in borrowing, which was presented at Wednesday’s Chicago City Council meeting. Alderman Ramirez-Rosa said: “I could not in good conscience vote for this bond without more information. I urge the administration to make public a comprehensive revenue plan to repay this new debt.”

During Monday’s Finance Committee hearing, Alderman Ramirez-Rosa posed questions to Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown that remains unanswered. When asked, CFO Brown stated that while she had discussed a revenue plan with the banks, she was not prepared to provide details of same to the Council. “It appears that the administration has a closer relationship to the banks than to the taxpayers of Chicago and the Aldermen who represent them,” said Alderman Ramirez-Rosa. “Deals such as the privatization of parking meters have shown us in the past that a mayoral administration’s lack of disclosure often comes at a cost to the hard working families of Chicago.”

“We can no longer allow the working families of Chicago to shoulder the cost of new borrowing with no plan to repay the debt. We were promised a responsible financial plan, instead we have been asked to blindly supply private banks and a limited number of connected individuals with the power to determine the future of Chicago’s financial health,” said Alderman Ramirez-Rosa.