Chicago's City Council on Wednesday called for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, but aldermen displayed the same kind of division on the issue that is common across the nation.

At a more than 5-hour meeting during which Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd) threw a scare into his colleagues after collapsing to the council floor, aldermen voted 29-9 to support the resolution.

The vote, which came after several aldermen had departed from the chamber, made Chicago the second major city after San Francisco to formally call for a pullout. Some smaller municipalities have passed similar measures, including Evanston, where the City Council voted 8-1 Monday in favor of a pullout.

Chicago aldermen who supported the resolution on Wednesday said that President Bush and members of Congress are the ones who should be moving to pull out American forces. But they asserted that local officials must do what they can if there is no action in Washington.
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Natarus said he supported the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but not the continuing attempt to form a democratic government in the image of the U.S.

After concluding a speech that lasted about five minutes, Natarus told a colleague that he wasn't feeling well and headed for an exit. He collapsed to the floor of the council chamber.

- posted by Cynthia @ 9:05 AM | | | Link |