(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is not backing down from his promise to increase public education funding at the expense of city and state taxpayers.
Johnson spoke at the City Club of Chicago this week and answered questions about the city’s budget deficit, which is projected to approach $1 billion in 2025.
“I’ll be doggone if I’ll allow anybody in this room or anybody in this city [to] make me flinch when it comes to investing in public education,” Johnson said.
The mayor told City Club CEO Dan Gibbons that no one in the city has more standing in public education than he does.
“I’ve taught in our schools. I’ve sent my children to these schools, and I’ll be doggone if someone tries to reduce my power after the people of Chicago voted me to transform this city. Guess what? We are going to transform this city whether you are with this formation or not. And if you’re not with it, you might as well join the ‘in’ crowd now, because people’s lives are dependent on us getting it right,” Johnson proclaimed.
Johnson said his budget team is working with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s team to come up with “progressive revenue” ideas.
“We cannot afford to cut services,” Johnson insisted.
The mayor criticized city council members and one of his predecessors for the city’s budget woes. Johnson said former Mayor Rahm Emanuel raised taxes by $500 million for three consecutive years.
“The pension grew by $7 billion, and then our credit rating was junk status. That was the so-called pro-business mayor,” Johnson said.
Johnson also took aim at aldermen.
“There are individuals who are on city council right now that voted for higher property taxes three years in a row. [They] did not take care of pensioners, did not invest in our public schools, credit rating ran in the ground, we had no labor peace,” Johnson said.
The city council unanimously rejected Johnson’s proposed $300 million property tax increase on Nov. 14. The mayor has since proposed a smaller tax hike, but many aldermen expressed opposition.
Numerous Chicago residents have blasted the mayor’s policies at city council meetings in recent months over his proposed tax increases and migrant spending.
Illinois has received about 55,000 non-citizen migrants since August 2022, costing Illinois taxpayers more than $1 billion.
Greg Bishop contributed to this story.
