Boycotters still seek broad demands
Luken thinks these demands will cost in total about 5 billion dollars, not just the 1.6 billion amount named. I wish I understood the law more, because this sounds like a case of extortion that could fall into the realm of the RCIO statues. I also question this bit of alleged history put forth by the reporter:

In fact, council members were elected using proportional representation until voters changed the city's charter in 1957 in a bid to block Theodore Berry from becoming the Queen City's first black mayor. The change prevented Berry's ascendancy for 15 years, officials said.

The fact may only be the change of the charter in 1957. The bid to block Theodore Berry is an opinion that I don’t think was established as a fact in the article, and I would guess is something only considered a fact in some people’s opinion. It might be true. I was not alive then and am still a relative new comer to this city, at 13 years in the greater Cincinnati area, so my knowledge of that kind of local history is very limited. I am skeptical that what the writer claimed as “fact” can be documented or supported. I think the reporter should have qualified that part to either support it as fact with some reference to evidence, or treat it is a generally accepted opinion in certain or some quarters, as opposed to a clear fact.