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A thread: In my four years on the Chicago City Council I’ve faced anti-immigrant, anti-Latinx, and homophobic harassment from some of my colleagues.
Until now I’ve remained quiet about the harassment I’ve received because it’s not about me, it’s about us, and I've felt there are much bigger systemic issues that require our energy and attention.
I also know that much of the ire I’ve received is a direct result of my progressive stances & my siding with our grassroots social movements, whether it be #NoCopAcademy, #CPACNow, #EraseTheDatabase, & that the youth at the frontlines of these movements have received much worse.
But today an incident occurred in Council Chambers that I feel it is important to address and unpack, both for my emotional well-being, and the future of our City and our Council.
Last week, mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot accepted the support of Alds. Nicholas Sposato and Anthony Napolitano, the Council’s two most conservative and anti-immigrant members. 
In response to this support, members of Chicago’s immigrant community called on Lightfoot to publicly reject this support. I shared the petition and uplifted their concerns via Twitter. action.mijente.net/petitions/ligh…
Today, as I entered the Council Chamber for a committee meeting and walked past Alderman Sposato he told me: “Hey Carlos, I got something for you to tweet out. Tweet out that Ald. Sposato said you’re a pile of shit!”
This is the same Ald. Sposato that quit the Progressive Caucus over the Caucus’ support for pro-immigrant policies, and equal access to public bathrooms for trans Chicagoans.
This is the same Ald. Sposato that recently went on Fox News to condemn sanctuary cities and call on City Hall to ignore Chicago’s immigrant community and work with ICE to terrorize immigrant communities:
This is the same Ald. Sposato that violently mocked Black youth and #NoCopAcademy activists when a vote on the cop academy passed.
To date, @LightfootforChi has been silent about the support she received from Ald. Sposato. When confronted about his support at a recent debate, Lightfoot claimed he didn’t endorse her - despite clear statements to the contrary in the press.
I support @toniforchicago, but this is not about my preference for mayor, this is about ensuring that whoever is our next mayor makes it clear that anti-immigrant, anti-Latinx, homophobic and transphobic hate and stances are unacceptable at City Hall.
Had @toniforchicago accepted Sposato’s support I would have shared the same criticism, but what I & the immigrant community want are assurances from the possible next mayor that bigoted harassment & policies will have no place in her admin, & Sposato will play no leadership role.
