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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chicago mayor opens first City Council meeting with a joke that he’s ‘live from Naperville,’ a dig at Fox News

Mayor Brandon Johnson applauds Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, for his service during a City Council meeting Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at City Hall.    (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
By Alice Yin and Gregory Pratt Chicago Tribune

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson kicked off his first City Council meeting Wednesday morning with a dig at Fox News’ recent coverage of his incoming administration’s progressive platform.

After snapping a few selfies with the new body of aldermen behind him, the mayor banged the gavel and solemnly declared that he had “breaking news.”

“This City Council meeting is being recorded live from Naperville,” Johnson said, a jab at a “Fox and Friends” segment in which a correspondent interviewed two men at a diner in the western suburb about crime in Chicago and their purported lack of faith in Johnson.

But the clip that aired the day of Johnson’s inauguration last week was panned for taking place in the west suburb about 30 miles away from the city, and the two Black Chicagoans featured told The TRiiBE their appearance was arranged in advance and they were misled about the purpose of the interview, which they thought was about gun violence only.

Johnson’s joke was an acknowledgement of the negative reputation he holds among conservative media regarding his platform of racial justice and taxing the rich. The remark drew laughs from aldermen present and highlighted the attempts at humor that have been a hallmark of the affable mayor’s political style.

But the meeting quickly turned serious as the public comment period began ahead of an expected vote on designating $51 million in city budget surpluses to fund migrant services as the arrival of asylum seekers in Chicago continues unabated. Black speakers who mainly identified themselves as residents of South Shore, where one of the shelters is slated to open despite community opposition, lambasted the city for neglecting South and West Side residents.