Cash crunch: Mayor rolls out plan to close $85M shortfall

CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says his budget team is prepared to fill a projected $85 million shortfall for this year, without making cuts to programs or the city payroll.

The mayor laid out his administration's plan during an appearance here Tuesday, during which he leveled new criticism at members of City Council for pushing through a budget which he said put the city in a precarious financial position.

"My administration has identified a pathway forward," the mayor told reporters, explaining that the city will refinance about $500 million in existing city debt, potentially saving the city $71 million without increasing future debt costs. He added that the city will pull from grant management and leftover COVID-19 relief funds if needed: "This is responsible financial management."

But he said the city could have avoid such eleventh-hour juggling if aldermen had approved his budget at the end of last year, including its $33-per-worker "head tax" on Chicago's biggest employers. Instead, City Council approved a spending plan that included other initiatives, including a sale of outstanding parking ticket debt and legalization of neighborhood video gambling terminals, which have resulted in no additional revenue for the city this year.

"That's a dereliction of duty," said the mayor of the "alternate" budget. "We cannot continue to budget by searching for loose change in the couch," strongly signaling that his 2027 budget will include more "progressive" revenue options, which he says have been outperforming projections this year.

The aldermen who approved the budget over the mayor's objections now refer to themselves as the Budget Accountability Coalition. One of its members, North side Ald. Scott Waguespack, said the real fault for this year's cash crunch lies with the mayor.

"I would hope that he would start doing his job and stop deflecting his failures by finger-pointing at City Council," said Ald. Waguespack (32nd Ward), accusing the mayor's team of "slow-walking" the programs in the approved budget because he didn't like them.

"He had every opportunity to veto the budget, and he didn't, which means he accepted it," Ald. Waguespack said.

The mayor said his debt-refinancing plan does not require Council approval.