Aldermen want Lightfoot to be transparent on spending of federal funds

CHICAGO - Chicago aldermen are demanding Mayor Lori Lightfoot start spending money from the American Rescue Plan to help communities most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

They say Lightfoot wants more than half of the incoming federal relief funds to go to banks to pay off debt and the rest on her 2021 budget, which prioritizes policing over community needs.

They also want the mayor and the city to implement transparency on how public funding is being spent.

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"We need to ensure our communities have the services they need but we can only do that if we stop chasing other investors from taking our money. We need Mayor Lightfoot to put our communities first. Not cops and not banks, said Saqib Bhatti, co-director of ACRE.

They're also asking Chicago to join cities like Philadelphia and Los Angeles in calling on the federal reserve to make zero-cost loans to state and local governments.