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Chicago’s political challenges are too often reduced to the actions of a single mayor. That framing is convenient, but it is also incomplete.

The Chicago City Council is not a passive institution. Its 50 members exercise substantial authority over legislation, budgeting, development, oversight, and the allocation of public resources. Yet public accountability remains disproportionately concentrated in the mayor’s office.

This imbalance allows alderpeople to wield power locally while distancing themselves from responsibility citywide. They can oppose, delay, amend, negotiate, and obstruct—then position themselves as observers of the very outcomes they helped shape.

The mayor should be held accountable for executive leadership. But Chicago cannot govern effectively when City Council members treat collective responsibility as optional.

The deeper problem is not simply who occupies the fifth floor. It is a legislative body that too often prioritizes individual positioning and ward-based interests over coherent citywide governance.

Chicago needs a City Council prepared not only to exercise power, but to accept responsibility for its decisions, its inaction, and its consequences.

50 alderpeople. Shared power. No shared accountability.

#Chicago #ChicagoPolitics #CityCouncil #PublicAccountability by @drangelvelez

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3 hours ago

📚🏫 When Schools Close, Communities Suffer 💔

A new study has revealed a heartbreaking reality for Chicago neighborhoods: the 2013 mass closure of 50 public schools didn’t just leave buildings empty—it left communities vulnerable. Researchers found that gun violence increased by 10% in areas surrounding these long-vacant schools compared to similar neighborhoods where schools remained open.

Schools are more than just places of learning—they’re community anchors. When they close and sit empty, they become symbols of neglect, leaving neighborhoods without vital resources and increasing risks of violence.

It’s time for leaders to step up and transform these spaces into hubs of hope and opportunity. Every neighborhood deserves a chance to thrive 🌟.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/07/22/after-cps-closed-schools-buildings-sat-empty-and-gun-violence-rose-study-finds/

#Chicago #GunViolence #CommunityMatters #CPSClosures by @drangelvelez

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4 days ago

The 2026 progressives are not the 2006 progressives.

Different priorities. Different politics. Different movement.

Political movements evolve. Coalitions shift. New voices emerge. New issues take center stage. Sometimes that's progress. Sometimes it raises difficult questions about what has changed and what has been left behind.

I'm interested in an honest conversation about where we are, where we're headed, and how our politics can better serve working families and our communities

#politics #progressives #leadership #publicpolicy #civicengagement by @drangelvelez

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6 days ago

The reason why CPS added thousands of new positions over the past 7 years.

Special education.

"Most of that money pays for teachers, aides, social workers, psychologists and therapists. It’s the primary reason why CPS added 9,000 staffers over the past seven years, even as its enrollment dropped by 45,000 students."

We now require more investments for these students, not less, by law.

https://www.wbez.org/education/2026/07/18/cps-special-education-chicago-public-schools by @drangelvelez

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6 days ago

Underfunding CPS is a political choice by the state government.

They chose not to fund our schools.

They chose to give us 27% less funds required to be adequately funded.

Why?

They can talk about giving tax breaks for the Chicago Bears, but no the funding required for our schools.

Shameful.

#ChicagoPublicSchools #PublicEducation #policy by @drangelvelez

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8 days ago

We’ll be talking about this journey toward Chicago’s first fully elected School Board for quite some time…….
~
#Chicago #Politics #312 #Education #AtWork taken in Chicago, Illinois by @drangelvelez

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10 days ago

Do millionaires really flee when a state taxes them? 🧾

This week the headline was that Chicago aldermen voted down even ASKING voters about a millionaire’s tax. But look closer: that was mostly a City Council vs. mayor power fight over process — not a clean vote on the tax itself. Classic reason to check the receipts.

So, I did. Episode 1 of On the Record looks at what actually happened when Massachusetts and Minnesota taxed high earners:

• The money was real — Massachusetts has pulled in billions MORE than projected, locked to schools + transit.

• The "mass exodus" mostly stayed in the ad campaigns. More millionaires stayed than left.

Illinois voters have backed the idea twice. The real question is whether we get to decide.

Watch the 2-minute breakdown, then judge for yourself.

Sources in the comments 👇

#OnTheRecord #Chicago #Illinois #PublicEducation #Policy Fairness by @drangelvelez

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10 days ago

🚨 The FY27 CPS Budget is here—and it’s devastating. This budget is a direct blow to our students and families, balancing its deficits on their backs. It doesn’t have to be this way.

https://www.cps.edu/about/finance/budget/budget-2027/

💔 Our state is underfunding CPS by 27% this year—leaving us hundreds of millions short, according to their own formula.

📢 I’m calling on Governor @govpritzker and the Illinois State Legislature to take action. We need a special legislative session to fully fund schools across Illinois.

Our students deserve better. Let’s fight for them.

#FundOurSchools #CPSBudget #EducationMatters by @drangelvelez

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10 days ago

Another one.

"Velez said he thinks the law establishing Chicago’s elected school board makes it too difficult to get on the ballot, especially for candidates who aim to represent low-income areas like Englewood and Auburn Gresham in his own district. Those communities often have low voter turnout and it can be harder to collect signatures.

“People move around a lot, people have unstable housing because of the disinvestment,” he said. “That’s the reason why I think it is a structural issue, because if you go to the North Side where a lot of people are registered to vote and come out to vote, it is easier to collect signatures.”

He points out that all of the candidates booted off the ballot so far were running in districts on the South Side."

It is a systemic issue affecting Black and Latino communities, and those in power know how to keep us in line. That won't work!

Political education is essential more now than ever. by @drangelvelez

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11 days ago

My opponents challenged 83% of my 1,500 signatures, leaving me with 459 valid ones. Even if I had managed to secure 30 affidavits to fix some of the issues, bringing the total to 489, I still would have fallen short by 11 signatures.

"Velez, who represents District 9A on the South Side and serves as board vice president, called the objections process “deeply undemocratic.” He said he submitted 1,500 signatures, and after a records review, he was short just 10 valid signatures of the 500 required.

“I was the clear choice. I already served. I already had the leadership and the qualities to serve,” Velez said. “In my mind, I should have been able to showcase why I’m a good candidate.”"

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/14/five-chicago-school-board-races-uncontensted/?utm_medium=NATIVE_IOS_notification&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=164664844 by @drangelvelez

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11 days ago

For Inmmediate Release:

Today, a decision was issued that will prevent my name from appearing on the ballot for the Chicago Board of Education.

I am deeply disappointed—not only for myself, but for every resident who signed my petitions, volunteered their time, supported our campaign, and deserved the opportunity to decide who would represent them.

This experience has exposed a larger challenge in our democracy. Running for public office should not require personal wealth, expensive legal representation, paid political infrastructure, or powerful connections. Community-rooted leaders deserve a fair opportunity to run, and voters should decide who represents them.

Although my name will not appear on the ballot, my commitment to Chicago’s students, families, educators, and communities has not changed.

I will continue serving, organizing, advocating, and fighting for fully funded schools, stronger communities, greater opportunity, and a democracy that is accessible to everyday people.

Please read my full statement.

Our work continues.

—Dr. Angel L. Velez
@drangelvelez
Community for Angel Velez

#CommunityForAngelVelez #OurWorkContinues #BallotAccess #Democracy #ChicagoLeadership #ChicagoPublicSchools #Chicago by @drangelvelez

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11 days ago

Everything is political. Whether we acknowledge it or not, nearly every choice we make, every word we speak, and every action we take exists within a political context.

The products we buy reflect political decisions about labor standards, environmental regulations, and corporate accountability. The news we consume is shaped by editorial choices and funding sources. The language we use carries political weight—how we frame issues determines how others perceive them.

Even seemingly neutral domains are deeply political:

Education involves decisions about curriculum, funding, and whose histories get told

Healthcare reflects choices about access, affordability, and who deserves care

Technology embeds values about privacy, surveillance, and who benefits from innovation

Urban planning determines who has access to resources and opportunity

Art and culture shape what narratives we collectively accept as truth

The idea that something can be "non-political" is itself a political stance—it typically serves those already in power by suggesting the status quo is natural rather than constructed through deliberate choices.

This doesn't mean every conversation needs to become a debate, or that we must be combative about politics. Rather, it's an invitation to recognize that being political is unavoidable. The question isn't whether we're political, but whether we're aware of the political dimensions of our choices and willing to engage thoughtfully with them.

#everythingispolitical #abolishbillionaires #abolishice #eattherich by @drangelvelez

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13 days ago