After a groundswell of calls from his council colleagues to step down over a “bullying” incident at a special City Council meeting last week, Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa, 35th, has resigned as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s floor leader and as head of the powerful zoning committee.
Johnson announced the change early Monday, days after a tense special City Council meeting in which the Black Caucus accused Rosa of “physical and verbal harassment.”
As floor leader, Rosa has been the mayor’s eyes and ears, helping pass legislation and halt it at Johnson’s behest. Rosa discouraged allies from attending Thursday’s special council meeting in the hopes that not enough members would be present to proceed.
The meeting was called to consider a ballot referendum question on the city’s sanctuary status. Rosa was accused of “manhandling” Ald. Emma Mitts, 37th, in an attempt to keep her from entering Council chambers.
She eventually did get in. Rosa declined to comment on the incident last week and Mitts could not be reached.
In a censure letter prepared over the weekend, Ald. Scott Waguespack said Rosa “physically blocked” her from entering chambers “by forcibly using his elbow and shoulder.”
In a statement Monday, Johnson said he and Ramirez Rosa agreed the alderman should step down from his leadership positions.
“Over the weekend, I spoke with Alderwoman Emma Mitts and Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa,” Johnson’s statement reads in part. “Yesterday, Alderman Ramirez-Rosa and I agreed he should step down from his positions as Chicago City Council Floor Leader and Chair of the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and Building Standards.
“Tensions were high at a chaotic meeting, and I let that get the best of me, leading me to act in a way unbecoming of a leader,” Rosa said in a statement sent Monday morning. “I sincerely apologize to my colleague, Alderwoman Emma Mitts, for the disrespectful interaction outside of Council Chambers. I also apologize to other colleagues who I have heard also felt disrespected and harmed by my actions — Alderpeople Lee, Cardona, and Taliaferro.”
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“I feel awful about everything that happened. I have reached out to my colleagues to apologize directly and seek to make amends. I made mistakes, and I learned valuable lessons. I take full responsibility for what I’ve done,” Rosa’s statement continued.
His resignation as zoning chair is effective December 1.
“I cannot take away the mistakes I made last week. But I hope to be able to rebuild the trust we have in each other as we move forward as a Council that addresses the important issues impacting Chicago,” it concluded.
Johnson noted Thursday’s incident came at “a time of heightened tension at City Hall” and suggested the council was dysfunctional as a result.
“In recent months, the forces of division have preyed on our city, pitting us against each other in the most destructive ways,” Johnson said in his statement. “I am confident we will find a way to move forward and regain the trust and respect necessary to have a functioning legislative body.”
“Let us all recommit ourselves to the principles of respect and civility upon which our work and our democracy depend. Together, we can and will build a better, stronger, safer Chicago for all.”