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player ready...A South Side alderman is alleging a City Council colleague assaulted him, and calling for that council member to resign his leadership positions in the body.
Ald. Desmon Yancy, 5th, sent a message to Black Caucus Chair Stephanie Coleman, 16th, arguing 7th Ward Ald. Greg Mitchell’s behavior makes him “unfit for leadership,” an email obtained by the Tribune shows. He told his council colleagues Mitchell had made an “unprovoked assault” on him.
“This behavior is not only an escalation of aggression toward me from Mitchell, it is part of a pattern of intimidation and violence that he has become associated with since last fall,” Yancy wrote.
Mitchell allegedly grabbed Yancy during an argument over an ordinance sponsored by Yancy that seeks to require 60% of new development in the South Shore neighborhood be reserved for affordable housing.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he would talk to both men soon to learn “what went down.”
“Obviously, I don’t condone any physical altercation,” Johnson said. “I just hope people can have real substantive dialogue around a host of matters that don’t lead to someone feeling violated.”
“It’s unfortunate, though, that our public debates have spilled out in a way that doesn’t speak to the best of our democracy, even when we do have strong disagreement,” he added.
Yancy declined to comment Wednesday morning. He said he had committed to a process to resolve the controversy and would comment later Wednesday after the Black Caucus met.
Yancy demanded Mitchell resign his posts as chairman of the Transportation and Public Ways Committee, vice chairman of the Housing and Real Estate Committee and vice chairman of the Black Caucus.
“In today’s climate, political differences have devolved into name calling and violence toward elected officials,” Yancy said. “It is equally out of order that an elected official would resort to violence during a disagreement with a colleague.”
Mitchell denied the allegations in a statement Tuesday, adding that he respects and admires Yancy.
“I did not assault him and I have never assaulted anyone in my life. It’s simply not my style, which is why we met for more than two hours to work through our recent disagreement,” he wrote. Mitchell declined to comment further Wednesday.
Last week’s incident was not the only time Mitchell has been involved in a scuffle. Last fall, a man recording a TikTok video was arrested for allegedly shoving the alderman after Mitchell grabbed his phone in protest of being filmed in the lobby of City Hall. But charges were dropped in November, records show.
The assault allegation is also the second claim of physical intimidation in the City Council in recent months.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, narrowly escaped council censure in November, a week after he was accused of threatening and trying to block some fellow aldermen from entering the council chambers to debate a resolution opposed by Johnson. The aftermath saw Ramirez-Rosa resign his posts as Johnson’s floor leader and Zoning chair.
It’s so far unclear whether Mitchell could face consequences. Coleman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
baiduhai’s Alice Yin contributed.
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