Alderperson Guzman Trashed by Residents; Asks for Amnesty for his own City Citations
This past Monday’s City Council meeting was full of complaints from residents against Alderperson Jose A. Guzman.
As usual, the City of Waukegan allows anyone to speak during public comment time for up to three minutes, and like the last meeting where multiple residents chastised Alderperson Guzman, the same thing happened this past Monday.
Check out the video below featuring multiple residents’ complaints about the embattled freshman alderperson. Most comments were regarding Guzman’s lack of understanding of his job, being unprepared, rude to staff, and unresponsive to residents.
At the end of each Waukegan City Council meeting, Alderpersons are allowed to make their own remarks. Guzman chose not to address the residents’ complaints but brought an unusual motion to the floor.
Guzman asked that the City Council give residents amnesty for tickets they were given for leaving garbage outside their homes. As Guzman was explaining this situation, he was asked what was prompting this motion, and Alderperson Michael Donnenwirth called the building commissioner up to explain how residents had been breaking city codes by leaving large trash items outside their homes and had been cited if they didn’t move the trash away from the street.
When the motion was brought to a vote, Mayor Ann Taylor asked the city’s attorney if Guzman could even vote on his motion because the city cited Guzman for leaving trash outside his home in Waukegan’s 7th ward. This was when the council chambers became audibly shocked, as Guzman is the 2nd ward alderperson.
When Alderperson Keith Turner asked what exactly was being voted on, Alderperson Thomas Hayes of the 9th ward said, “To help Alderman Guzman get out of his ticket.”
This was one of the most bizarre City Council meetings ever witnessed. Guzman didn’t deny living in the cited house. It looks like Guzman has dug himself quite an interesting hole to dig out of, and in the meantime, he has created countless enemies at Waukegan City Hall and throughout the city.
Nevertheless, the motion passed on the floor to allow Guzman’s issue to be heard at the next City Council meeting on December 18. It remains unclear how Guzman, a road maintenance worker for the Illinois Department of Transportation with a fairly significant criminal history, owns a house in the 7th ward but claims he lives in the 2nd ward at a house he does not own. We are hearing rumbling that Guzman’s time on the City Council could quickly come to an end just months after he was elected.
Check out the video below.
Coming up next: The City Council meets for a Committee of the Whole on Monday, December 11; the next regular city council meeting is Monday, December 18.
