CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago's budget shortfall is going to be much higher than many people were expecting, according to an update from the Johnson Administration, which released a budget forecast showing a projected gap of $538 million.
Roughly $200 million of that is due to the ongoing migrant crisis. Mayor Brandon Johnson is also not favoring what would have been an automatic property tax increase, so that accounted for another $90 million.
Former mayor Lori Lightfoot projected an $85 million shortfall before she left office, but Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) — the longest serving City Council member — wasn't sounding the alarm.
"All of us are concerned and hopeful that the federal government will give us more money to help us with this. It was really hard to comment on it, because we haven't seen it yet, so we need to see where all those pockets are."
Burnett added that they must look at revenues and pointed out that Bally's Casino just opened.
In a press release, Johnson said solving the City's budget shortfall will "require careful consideration and strategic action."
"In the coming weeks, we will be taking a much closer look at the challenges we face and how we will address those challenges reasonably and responsibly, and not on the backs of workers and working families," Johnson said.
A copy of the 2023 budget overview can be found here.
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