>> THANKS, AMMAN DAVMENT MAYOR

LORI LIGHTFOOT AND CITY COUNCIL

CONFIRMED THE CITY'S NEWEST

ALDERPERSON TAKING OVER FOR PAT

INDUSTRY DALEY THOMPSON WHO WAS

CONVICTED OF FEDERAL TAX FRAUD.

AND JOINING US IS THE NEW

ALDERWOMAN, NICOLE LEE.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

NOW, YOU'VE BEEN ON THE JOB FOR

THREE WEEKS TAKING OVER IN

DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HARDEST PART

OF THIS TRANSITION?

>> PARIS, THANKS FOR HAVING ME

ON THE SHOW.

THE HARDEST PART OF THE

TRANSITION HAS JUST BEEN TRYING

TO GET MY ARMS AROUND ALL THAT

THE JOB ENTAILS AND I'M LEARNING

SOMETHING NEW SEVEN NEW THINGS A

DAY.

>> THAT IS A BIG LEARNING CURVE.

ARE THERE HUGE BACKLOG OF

REQUESTS FROM 11TH WARD

RESIDENTS?

>> I DON'T HAVE A POINT OF

REFERENCE FOR WHAT HUGE IS.

BUT THERE'S A BACKLOG OF THINGS.

THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT

ONLY THE ALDERPERSON CAN

APPROVE.

SO THE STAFF THAT WE'RE STILL IN

THE OFFICE FOLLOWING MY

PREDECESSOR'S CONVICTION, DID A

GREAT JOB WHAT THEY CAN DO TO

KEEP THINGS MOVING.

BUT THERE WERE THINGS THAT HAVE

BEEN HELD UP.

THAT WE'RE GETTING THROUGH THEM

RIGHT NOW.

>> ALL THE DIRTY WORK OF EVERY

ALDERPERSON, THE PERMITS AND THE

TREE TRIMMING.

ALL THAT FUN STUFF.

ASIAN-AMERICANS ARE THE FASTEST

GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC IN THE CITY

OF CHICAGO.

A WELL DOCUMENTED RISE IN

ANTI-ASIAN HATE CRIME THROUGHOUT

COVID.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ON CITY COUNCIL

TO ADDRESS THAT?

>> I THINK THE RISE IN

ANTI-ASIAN HATE HAS BEEN A

TERRIBLE THING ACROSS THIS

COUNTRY AND OBVIOUSLY IN

PARTICULAR HERE IT HITS HOME FOR

THE CHICAGO RESIDENTS AND I LIVE

IN CHINATOWN AND WE'VE ALSO SEEN

A RISE ON THAT FRONT AS WELL.

I THINK THAT BEING A

REPRESENTATIVE ON THE CHICAGO

CITY COUNCIL IS LIKE THE FIRST

STEP IN REALLY PUTTING A FACE

AND HUMANIZING US IN A WAY THAT

MAYBE RESIDENTS HAVE NOT SEEN US

BEFORE.

AND JUST SEEING US AS REGULAR

PEOPLE JUST LIKE THEM AND NOT

SOME OTHER GROUP.

>> AND YOU ARE THE LONE

ASIAN-AMERICAN ALDERPERSON ON

CITY COUNCIL THERE WAS ONE

RECENTLY WHO IS NO LONGER THERE.

LOTS OF CITY BUSINESS TO GET TO.

MAYOR LIGHTFOOT IS GOING TO MAKE

HER PICK ON A CITY CASINO ONE OF

THE POSSIBLE LOCATIONS IS THE 78

RIGHT NEAR CHINATOWN.

ARE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF A CASINO

PROPOSAL SO CLOSE TO YOUR WARD?

>> YOU KNOW PARIS?

I'M DOING A LOT OF LISTENING

RIGHT NOW.

MY FOCUS IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF

WEEKS HAS BEEN GETTING MY ARMS

AROUND ALL WHAT THE RESIDENTS

NEED AND THE BACKLOG.

I PARTICIPATED IN THE 78

PRESENTATION TOWN HALL LAST

WEEK.

GOING TO BE CO-HOSTING A

COSPONSORING A TOWN HALL WITH

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND ELECTED

OFFICIALS SPECIFICALLY IN

CHINATOWN AND GET FEEDBACK AND

THOUGHTS FROM RESIDENTS ABOUT

THE 78 PROJECT.

I WILL BE DOING A LOT OF

LISTENING.

>> WHAT HAVE YOUR RESIDENTS SAID

SO FAR?

>> WHAT I'VE HEARD, ARGUMENTS ON

BOTH SIDES.

A LOT OF CONCERN FOR WHETHER OR

NOT A NEW CASINO WILL BRING

CRIME, SAFETY AND TRAFFIC

CONCERNS OBVIOUSLY WE WANT TO

GET BACK AND FORTH REASONABLY

WELL.

AND THEN ALSO THE ISSUE OF

GAMBLING ADDICTION IN THE

ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

AND WORRIES AND CONCERNS THAT

OUR COMMUNITY WHRB PREYED UPON.

AND I'VE ALSO HEARD FROM

BUSINESS OWNERS, TOO, ABOUT

LOOKING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR

MORE BUSINESS TO COME TO

CHINATOWN AND THE SOUTH LOOP AND

BRIDGEPORT AS WELL.

I THINK THERE ARE CONCERNS ON

BOTH SIDES.

THE CASINO IS COMING TO CHICAGO.

WE'VE GOT A LOT TO WEIGH AND I

WILL LOOK FORWARD TO LISTENING A

LITTLE BIT MORE AND HEARING FROM

RESIDENTS MORE SPECIFICALLY

ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS AND WHAT WE

CAN DO TO MITIGATE THE BAD

STUFF, IF YOU WILL AND TO MAKE

THE BEST OF ANY NEW DEVELOPMENT

IN THE CITY.

>> THERE MIGHT BE A SPILLOVER I

IMPACT ON THE BUSINESSES IN

CHINATOWN.

FOLKS GOING TO A CASINO.

THE 11TH WARD IS SET TO BE

REDRAWN.

THERE ARE TWO COMPETING MAPS.

ONE BACKED BY THE BRACK CAUCUS

AND ONE BACKED BY THE LATINO

CAUCUS AND BOTH MAPS WOULD

CREATE A ASIAN-AMERICAN MAJORITY

IN THE 11TH WARD.

IS THERE ANY MAP THAT LOOKS

BETTER IN YOUR EYES?

>> I HAVE NOT LOOKED AT EITHER

MAP VERY CLOSELY YET.

RIGHT NOW I'M REPRESENTING THE

RESIDENTS OF TODAY'S 11TH WARD

AND I'M GOING TO REVIEW BOTH

MAPS WITH THOSE RESIDENTS AND

THEIR CONCERNS IN MIND.

>> AND IF THERE IS NOT A DEAL

AMONG ALDERPEOPLE WILL GO TO A

PUBLIC REFERENDUM FOLKS SAID

THEY DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN

IT COULD LEAD TO A RACIAL FIGHT.

DO YOU WORRY ABOUT THIS GOING TO

A REFERENDUM WOULD YOU PREFER IT

GETS SOLVED BY CITY COUNCIL?

>> I THINK IT WOULD ALWAYS BE

BETTER TO BE RESOLVED BY CITY

COUNCIL.

WHAT WHAT I UNDERSTAND FROM PAST

HISTORY WHEN THESE HAVE GONE TO

REFERENDUM IT BECOMES A VERY

EXPENSIVE BILL FOR THE RESIDENTS

OF CHICAGO TO PAY FOR

ULTIMATELY.

WHAT I'M HOPING FOR IS THAT SOME

SORT OF RESOLUTION BE MADE.

ULTIMATELY, IF THAT COMES TO A

REFERENDUM THE PEOPLE WILL

DECIDE.

>> WHAT OTHER TOP OF MIND ISSUES

THAT YOU ARE HEARING FROM YOUR

COMMUNITY MEMBERS?

>> SAFETY.

YOU KNOW.

I'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT

PREVIOUSLY AS I'VE BEEN

INTRODUCED TO THE PUBLIC.

MY TOP PRIORITY AND TOP CONCERN

OF RESIDENTS IS SAFETY.

JUST A COUPLE DAYS AGO, THERE

WAS AN INCIDENT IN THE WARD

WHERE UNFORTUNATELY, VERY

TRAGICLY A YOUNG LADY LOST HER

LIFE.

THERE WAS A SHOOTING THAT

HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF A CAR

CHASE THAT CAME IN FROM OUTSIDE

THE WARD AND ENDED ACROSS THE

STREET FROM A PARK WHERE A LOT

OF CHILDREN WERE PLAYING ON THE

FIRST WARM DAY OF THE SPRING

SEASON.

IT IS AT THE TOP OF MY MIND AND

THE TOP OF EVERYBODY'S MIND IN

THE CITY ESPECIALLY LEADERS

RIGHT NOW.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

IN A YEAR AND ALL OF YOUR

COLLEAGUES AND THE MAYOR WILL BE

UP FOR REELECTION.

YOU'VE SAID YOU HAVE NOT DECIDED

WHETHER YOU WANT TO RUN FOR A

FULL TERM.

HAVE YOU DECIDED YET?

AND IF NOT WHAT IS YOUR

TIME-FRAME?

>> I HAVE NOT DECIDED YET.

I'M INTO THE THIRD WEEK OF THE

JOB AND I WANT TO BE SURE THAT

THIS IS A JOB THAT I CAN DO AND

DO WELL BEFORE I ASK THE

RESIDENTS OF THE 11TH WARD TO

CONSIDER ME SOMEBODY THAT COULD

REPRESENT THEM LONG-TERM.

>> ALL RIGHT.

WE'LL WATCH FOR THAT.