Yesterday the Democratic stronghold of Chicago become the largest US city yet to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, heaping further pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration to force an end to the brutal, nearly four-month-long Israeli military campaign.

The razor-thin vote on the resolution — authored by Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, one of the city council’s six socialist alderpeople — ended in a tie that had to be broken by progressive mayor Brandon Johnson, who was elected last year in a shock victory on the back of union and left-wing support. Chicago now joins the at least forty-eight, largely Democratic cities that have passed resolutions urging an end to the war, including San Francisco, Detroit, and Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

After a sometimes-contentious city council meeting — the chambers overflowed with keffiyeh-clad pro-Palestinian protesters, whom Johnson ordered out halfway through the proceedings — things ended in a dramatic vote that saw cease-fire opponents close the five-tally lead by supporters, leaving the council deadlocked 23-23. That put Johnson, who just a week earlier had come out in favor of the cease-fire, in the position to cast the tiebreaker, setting off rapturous celebrations in the city hall lobby.