Mayor Johnson, City Officials Looking for Ways to Close Projected $1.2B Budget Shortfall

Chicago mayor vetoes teen curfew measure amid rising concerns

Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago, recently vetoed a curfew measure aimed at controlling late-night gatherings of unsupervised minors. The City Council had passed the ordinance with a 27-22 vote. The proposal would have empowered the Chicago Police to disperse these gatherings, which have been linked to increased violence and disruptions over recent summers.Mayor Johnson expressed his opposition to the curfew by questioning its necessity: “W…

Mayor Johnson, city officials looking for ways to close projected $1.2B budget shortfall

Mayor Brandon Johnson attended the second of four roundtables meant to engage the public ahead of what could be a contentious Chicago budget fight.

Chicago ended 2024 with a $161M deficit

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s already gaping budget hole will be even tougher to fill heading into next year as City Hall officials on Monday closed the book on the 2024 fiscal year, showing the city’s general fund was $161 million underwater. Major sources of revenues in the city’s general fund came in far lower than anticipated, most notably a $175 million pension payment that City Hall wanted Chicago Public Schools to pay back but didn’t, and a $16…

City Hall wrapped up 2024 with a zero balance in its operating checkbook

Chicago closed the books on 2024 with an unassigned balance of zero for the first time in recent memory, in part because the Chicago Public Schools failed to reimburse the city for a $175 million pension payment for non-teaching school employees.At the end of 2023, the unassigned balance not yet dedicated for a specific purpose was $226.6 million, even after Johnson followed his predecessor Lori Lightfoot’s lead by devoting $306.6 million to a “…

As Hearings Start on How to Fill Chicago’s Projected $1.2B 2026 Budget Gap, Officials Won’t Say How Much City Spent on Overtime in 2024 – WTTW (Chicago)

In addition, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s finance team, led by Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski and Budget Director Annette Guzman, has yet to account for a $175 million pension payment the city made for Chicago Public Schools employees who are not teachers in the city’s 2024 spending plan. The Chicago Board of Education refused to reimburse the city for that payment, despite the mayor’s repeated requests.

As Hearings Start on How to Fill Chicago’s Projected $1.2B 2026 Budget Gap, Officials Won’t Say How Much City Spent on Overtime in 2024

Chicago officials held the first of four “budget engagement roundtables” designed to gather feedback about the city’s 2026 budget.