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CHICAGO
Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced Chicago’s first “Language Access Ordinance” at the meeting here of the City Council’s Hispanic and Asian-American Caucuses March 18. The ordinance is to ensure that immigrants and residents whose English language proficiency is limited would have “meaningful access” to city programs, services and resources in the top five languages spoken in Chicago: Spanish, Polish, Mandarin, Hindi and Arabic.
Co-sponsored by Alderman Ameya Pawar (47th), the ordinance establishes a working group charged with developing an implementation plan for a municipal ID program to connect Chicagoans with city services and benefits, whether or not they are homeless and regardless of their immigration status and gender identity. Every city department would be required to designate a language access coordinator to implement policy and submit an annual compliance report. The mayor’s 2015 budget earmarks $100,000 to begin the process of translating the city’s website into the top five languages.
“When diverse immigrant communities gain language access to city services, it leads to positive social and fiscal change that ultimately benefits all Chicagoans. There has been a huge growth in the number of local South Asian Americans with limited English proficiency, and Hindi assistance is a crucial first step to their integration. Having successfully advocated for inclusion of Hindi assistance in the City of Chicago’s language access ordinance introduced March 18, SAAPRI looks forward to continued work with community and government partners for improved language access policies, strong implementation and enforcement of these policies, and increased justice for immigrant and minority communities,” Executive Director of South Asian American Policy & Research Institute, Ami Gandhi, who was also cited in the city’s press release told Desi Talk.
More than 400,000 Chicagoans have difficulty speaking, reading, writing or understanding English, which means that 16.1 percent of the city’s population faces “significant language barriers” when trying to access city services or programs. “Chicago has always been a beacon of opportunity to people from all around the world. This ordinance is an important next step to ensure that we remain a city where every resident has an opportunity to fully access all of the great things that Chicago has to offer,” said Emanuel.
“The ordinance as proposed still does not apply to Chicago Public Schools, or emergency services such as the Chicago Police and Fire Departments, and we know that education and public safety are two top priorities for our community,” said Advancing Justice | Chicago Legal Director, Andy Kang. “We will continue advocate for a means of public recourse for agencies that do not provide adequate language access, and reviewing language access plans as they are developed by city agencies. The City Council has shown that even in a budget crisis, you can prioritize language access,” continued Kang. “Across the state of Illinois, over 1.1 million residents are limited-English proficient, and the Illinois General Assembly can take the lead on ensuring all residents can access basic state services.”
Fighting for his political life in the April 7 runoff, Emanuel’s move may be also understood as a last-ditch attempt to carve off an even bigger chunk of the Hispanic vote against mayoral challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. In the Feb. 24 election, Emanuel got 37.6 percent of the Hispanic vote to Garcia’s 50.3 percent. Garcia carried 14 of the city’s 50 wards, all of them predominantly Hispanic. Emanuel aims to boost his share of the Hispanic vote and prevent Garcia from padding his lead among Latinos.
Language access was one of the longstanding issues on which Emanuel was taken to task at the Garcia rally in Devon March 21, where the mayor was accused of making insincere eleventh-hour concessions to stave of defeat. Although Emanuel has bent over backward to make amends, Garcia recently reminded Hispanic voters that Emanuel had been the White House roadblock to immigration reform, both as political operative to President Bill Clinton and as White House chief of staff to President Obama.
Emanuel’s campaign is however co-chaired by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), the nation’s foremost champion for immigration reform who had endorsed mayoral challenger Gery Chico over Emanuel four years ago.