Chicago Becomes Largest Midwestern City to Pass “Back from the Brink” Resolution
The Chicago City Council today passed a resolution calling on President Biden and Congress to cease spending federal tax dollars on nuclear weapons, embrace the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and make global disarmament a priority. Chicago joins a movement of 50 municipalities that have passed “Back from the Brink” resolutions and is the largest midwestern city to have done so.
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“This resolution is the product of the hard work of the 49th Ward’s Youth Committee, young people who understand deeply that nuclear weapons do not make our country more secure – and they certainly don’t make Chicagoans safer,” Hadden said. “Chicagoans pay more than $500 million in federal taxes every year to fund U.S. nuclear weapons programs – money that could be better spent on programs and services that actually make our streets and neighborhoods safer by addressing pressing threats like gun violence, climate change and COVID-19. As a city central to the development of nuclear weapons, the City of Chicago has a responsibility to do what it can to ensure a safe, nuclear war-free future for its residents.”
Cities including Boston, Evanston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and six state legislative bodies have adopted “Back from the Brink” resolutions. Back from the Brink resolutions are part of local governments’ anti-nuclear war activism history. Over 300 local, county and state officials – including Chicago City Council members Alderwoman Hadden and Alderman Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) – signed an open letter calling on President Biden and Congress to reduce and eliminate the risk of nuclear war. The Chicago City Council declared Chicago a nuclear weapon-free zone in 1986.
The resolution passed today was supported by a coalition, including the Union of Concerned Scientists and Chicago Area Peace Action. The text of the resolution can be found here.
Read more at Chicago Joins Movement to Prevent Nuclear War
