Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

We'll Put Back Trump's Street Sign When He Releases His Taxes, Rahm Jokes

By  David Matthews and Ted Cox | October 5, 2016 12:00pm | Updated on October 9, 2016 8:02pm

 The honorary
The honorary "Trump Plaza" near the developer's namesake tower.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/David Matthews

RIVER NORTH — A group of Chicago aldermen want to take down a street sign honoring Donald Trump, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel is getting in on the action.

"We'll put the sign back up when he releases his taxes," Emanuel, a supporter of Democrat Hillary Clinton, told reporters Wednesday.

“I think he’s wrong for America,” Emanuel said, adding that everyone knows which candidate he favors. “Don’t just take the sign down. Let’s make sure we motivate and get out the vote.”

The aldermen introduced an ordinance to strip down the honorary street sign, which sits outside the Trump Tower along the Chicago River. They cited the presidential candidate's "hateful and racist campaign against immigrants and minorities."

The ordinance introduced Wednesday by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) and 46 other aldermen calls for the removal of the brown sign honoring "Trump Plaza."

The honorary sign went up in 2006, while the 92-story high-rise at 401 N. Wabash Ave. was under construction. Now, the aldermen want the sign gone, citing Trump's disparaging comments on the campaign trail about Latinos, African Americans, and Chicago's violence.

"Donald Trump's mean-spirited remarks about Chicago during the first presidential debate misrepresents the city and discredits the positive attributes of the city," the legislation reads. 

Trump likened Chicago to a "war-torn country" during last week's nationally televised debate against Hillary Clinton. The aldermen pushing to take the sign down also cited Trump's insults toward a Hispanic federal judge, a Muslim couple whose son died in combat during the Iraq War, and "complete disregard for civil liberties" going back to the 1970s.

The move is a reversal for Reilly, who told DNAinfo in August that removing the sign was not even a "top 100" priority for him. Reilly did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday. Taking the sign down requires a simple ordinance repealing the honorary designation, Reilly previously told DNAinfo. 

Other sponsors of the bill include aldermen Joe Moreno (1st), Raymond Lopez (15th), Ricardo Munoz (22nd) Danny Solis (25th), Brian Hopkins (2nd), Leslie Hairston (5th), Michael Scott Jr. (24th), Walter Burnett (27th), Scott Waguespack (32nd), and Gilbert Villegas (36th).

RELATED: Why Does Donald Trump Have A Chicago Street Named After Him?

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.