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Alderman Solomon Kelly accuses mayor and colleagues of differential treatment; council members apologize and pledge review
Summary
Alderman Solomon Kelly told the committee she has been repeatedly interrupted and treated differently in council meetings and called for a public apology and action. Several council members apologized for not speaking up; the mayor had privately apologized, and councilors said the matter will be discussed further.
Alderman Solomon Kelly used the council’s management-update time on July 16 to allege a pattern of unequal treatment of Black elected officials and Black staff at City Hall and to demand more than a private apology after an interruption at the prior meeting.
"It's dehumanizing," Alderman Solomon Kelly said, describing repeated interruptions, being denied the same opportunities to speak and the way Black staffers are assigned different duties and spaces. "I'm not angry. I'm tired. I'm not imagining these things. I'm reacting to our real experiences."
Several council members apologized on the record. Alderman Rick Dunn said he regretted not speaking up at the prior meeting and apologized to Kelly and to Director Lacey, who had been prevented from speaking. Alderman Booker also apologized for not speaking up. Alderman Lynch, who said she was not at the prior meeting, expressed sympathy and hopes the council will do better.
Mayor (name not specified in the transcript) had called Alderman Kelly privately after the interruption; Kelly said that private apology felt inadequate and asked for a public apology and concrete action. "I'm asking also for my white colleagues to stand up and demand that this blatant racism stop and the public apology be made, not just to me, but to the staff and to the director that couldn't speak yesterday," she said.
Council members said they regretted the incident and discussed steps to address it. Alderman Rick Dunn said department heads should be allowed to answer questions at the podium and apologized that he had not spoken up; others asked for accountability, better procedures and for colleagues to speak up when they see unequal treatment.
Ending: Councilors acknowledged the complaint and several offered on‑the‑record apologies; the incident drew repeated public and council discussion during the meeting, and members said the issue would be addressed through internal procedures and further conversation.
