Photo: Thomas Nelson (left) talks during a town hall meeting at Malcom X College at 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. on Wednesday.Mayor Rahm Emanuel tried to set the tone tonight for his second budget town hall meeting at the outset, saying he wanted to hear “ideas, not insults.”
“I want people to be constructive, not just complain. I am looking for solutions,” Emanuel told the audience during a five-minute opening before he took any questions. “I understand people are upset. Change is upsetting."
Emanuel promised change during his campaign, especially on a city budget he estimates is nearly $636 million short for next year.
The crowd at Malcolm X College was less raucous than the one that greeted the mayor at Kennedy-King College on the South Side on Monday night. More than 700 people gathered tonight in the sports complex, an audience that featured union members, including traffic aides who were recently laid off.
Emanuel responded to a range of questions on potholes, a longer school day, take home cars and CTA fare hikes.
“Budgets in the past have not been honest,” Emanuel said. “I can’t reverse the past, I have to shape the future.”
Emanuel’s children accompanied him to tonight's meeting because he was hoping citizens would be hesitant to ask any serious questions with Rahm's kids present.
Each question asked at both town hall meetings will be posted online and receive a response by the end of the week, the administration said.
