Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to use $12.5 million in city funds to give away 50,000 prepaid cards that will cover $150 worth of gas as well as 100,000 passes that will cover $50 worth of CTA fares hit a pothole Wednesday.
“We are literally burning up $12.5 million,” Ald. Brendan Reilly said, adding that he opposed any plan to subsidize the purchase of oil or gas with taxpayer funds.
The decision by Budget Committee Chair Ald. Pat Dowell not to hold a vote on the measure as planned is an indication that it did not have enough votes to advance to the full Chicago City Council, which is next scheduled to meet April 27. “When you are paying $6 a gallon for gas as many people are across the city, that hits you,” Lightfoot said. “We’re hoping people that are of means and don’t need the relief are not going to be the ones that apply.”
That plan brought sharp questions from one of the mayor’s closest allies, Black Caucus Chair Ald. Jason Ervin who pressed officials on why residents of his West Side ward would not get priority for the gas cards, especially since they have more limited options for public transportation than some North Side wards.
Burnett was one of several alderpeople who asked Huang Bennett whether the plan was developed in response to philanthropist and businessman Willie Wilson, who staged two high-profile events across the city that gave away $1.2 million in gas. Wilson, who has also run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate and president, plans to announce Monday whether he will run again for mayor. In 2019, Wilson finished fifth in the mayoral election with 11% of the vote.
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