Jackie Robinson West honored at City Hall

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Trey Hondras, Josh Houston and Ed Howard, members of Chicago's U.S. Little League champions Jackie Robinson West, were honored with standing ovations at City Hall Wednesday for accomplishing what Chicagoans thought was impossible.

"People on both the North Side and the South Side are proudly cheering for the same baseball team," said Ald. Ed Burke of the 14th Ward.

The kids fidgeted as the politicians pontificated.

"Stay focused on your sports, your studies and the sky's the limit for you guys," said Ald. Nicholas Sposato of the 36th Ward.

"You will go more than just a long way," said Ald. Carrie Austin of the 34th Ward. "You will be the successes that may one day sit in here."

"They brought tears to our eyes. They brought pride to our hearts," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Later Emanuel helped promote the Chicago Football Classic, the Sept. 20 game between two historically black colleges at Soldier Field.

"The proceeds from that game (will) to go towards college scholarships," said Larry Huggins of the Chicago Football Classic.

"It's the only way we're going to rebuild our communities, our neighborhoods across the City of Chicago," said Everett Rand of the Chicago Football Classic.

Back at the meeting, Ald. Pat O'Connor introduced an ordinance to give the city's Inspector General Joe Ferguson power to investigate aldermen, effectively firing the council's inspector general who was investigating O'Connor.

"It will help in terms of the economics of the investigations, it will help put them all under one roof," O'Connor, of the 40th Ward, said.

Ald. Bob Fioretti confirmed that Saturday he'll announce if he's running for mayor next year, as he called incumbent Emanuel "vulnerable" on several issues.

"I think on crime, education, development, our fragile budget that we have," Fioretti said.

"We're going to work on that," Emanuel said. "The voters will decide that and that's what the campaign's for."

Meanwhile, the mayor began his push to lower the city's curfew age from 18 down to 17 to get more children off city streets at night, also holding Chicago parents more accountable for the whereabouts of their children after dark.

"All of us shake our heads because we hear these stories about an 11-year-old out at hours when they need to be indoors," he said.