CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A number of the new programs in the city’s 2022 budget are funded through federal COVID-19 relief and recovery funds.
That worries advocates like Andrea Ortiz, director of Organizing for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council who said they want funding for long-term efforts to improve communities.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the federal money was mostly used for one-time efforts and things the city can sustain.
Kennedy Bartley, legislative director for the group United Working Families, said she’s disappointed the administration didn’t spend more money in the neighborhoods.
Instead, she said the mayor chose to pay back bank loans the city made. Lightfoot had an eye on the city’s credit rating, which can make borrowing much more expensive if it falls.
Issues of policing were high on the agenda for progressive groups and aldermen during the budget process.
Jung Yoon, campaign director for the Grassroots Collaborative, noted many of them wanted to see less spending on police and more on things like mental health treatment, neighborhood investment and other things.
Kennedy Bartley, legislative director for the group United Working Families, acknowledged many people in crime-ridden areas are fearful and want to see more police on the streets. But she and others feel differently.
But all are anxious to see whether programs that will send mental health professionals and not police to some emergency calls, will be successful.
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