Chicago Adopts “Back from the Brink” Resolution July 21, 2022

On July 20, the Chicago City Council passed a Back from the Brink resolution, becoming the 58th municipality in the USA to do so. The others include Baltimore, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, both Portlands (Oregon & Maine), San Francisco, Tucson, Ithaca,  Santa Barbara, and Honolulu.  Chicago is the largest midwestern city to pass a “Back from the Brink” resolution.  PSR is a partner organization in the Back from the Brink coalition.

The resolution called on the U.S. Government to “to cease spending Chicagoans’ Federal tax dollars on nuclear weapons, embrace the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and make global nuclear disarmament a centerpiece of our national security policy.”  

The resolution was introduced by Alderwoman Maria Hadden, representing  Chicago’s 49th Ward, and co-sponsored by Alderman Daniel La Spata (1st Ward) and Alderman Carlos Rosa-Ramirez (35th Ward). “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.”

In addition to the 49th Ward Youth Committee, this resolution was supported by Chicago Area Peace Action and Union of Concerned Scientists.

Click here to learn more about Back from the Brink.

The text of the Chicago City Council resolution is here.