Chaotic Council Meeting Ends With Calls To Respect Anjanette Young, No Vote On Lake Shore Drive

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A vote to rename Lake Shore Drive in honor of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable has been pushed back at least until Friday.

Wednesday's City Council meeting erupting into a number of heated arguments. CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reports from City Hall.

There were signs the City Council meeting was going off the rails fairly early on.

The first sign of trouble? Objections to appointing a new top lawyer for the city due to the handling of Anjanette Young's wrongful raid case.

It derailed from there.

It was expected to be a routine point of business at the day's City Council meeting: Voting to make Celia Meza Chicago's new corporation counsel.

Then this happened...

"In light of everything going on with Anjanette Young, Alderman Taylor and I defer and publish this item. Thank you," said Ald. Ray Lopez (15th.)

Lopez (15th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th) stood firm about their reasons for deferring Meza's appointment.

"This was about their mistreatment Ms. Young," Taylor said.

Earlier this month, the city moved to dismiss Anjanette Young's civil lawsuit, despite Mayor Lori Lightfoot's December 2020 acknowledgement that what happened to her was inexcusable.

Meza, who became the mayor's interim council after the city's top attorney resigned, was the mayor's counsel and senior ethics advisor at the time.

"The law department has to be taken to task for what it has been doing to this woman this entire time. If this is the only way to get their attention, so be it," said Lopez.

During a recess, Mayor Lightfoot went back to talk directly with Taylor in what appeared to be a heated private conversation.

Minutes later, Lightfoot walked away, shaking her head and waving Taylor off.

"So I've said to her and I'll say it to you all, since we've been in a global pandemic and she got this ultimate power, she doesn't feel like she has to work with us," Taylor said. "I'm not fooled. I'm going stand up for Ms. Young. She deserves to be respected."

Many aldermen objected to the move to delay Meza's appointment, saying she was thoroughly vetted and this appeared to be a last-minute drive by before the entire meeting was adjourned until Friday.

Mayor Lightfoot postponed an opportunity to ask her any questions until then.