Next mayor of Chicago addresses Illinois House and Senate

Posted on April 20, 2023
Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson was invited Wednesday to speak to a joint session of the General Assembly. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House and Senate Wednesday welcomed the next mayor of Chicago to a rare joint session.

Brandon Johnson called Chicago a union town and Illinois a union state.

“Just look at our state constitution, where we grant workers the fundamental right to organize and to collectively bargain. Right there in our bill of rights. That’s a remarkable testament to what a dreamer once said: ‘The enemy of labor is the enemy of the Negro.’ Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

To that, State Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) gave a “black pride and solidarity” salute.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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