(The Center Square) – Chicago aldermen are expected to vote Wednesday on an $830 million bond issue favored by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
The mayor reiterated his refusal to cut spending when he spoke during a community forum last month.
“We never compromised our value system. We negotiated the details around this budget so that there was a fiscally responsible balanced budget,” Johnson said.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded Chicago’s general obligation debt rating from BBB+ to BBB soon after the city council approved the $17.1 billion spending plan.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza posted a statement on X Monday morning.
“I’ll raise a red flag if the state OR its main economic engine, Chicago, considers a bad borrowing proposal. Going $830 million deeper in debt right after downgrade is short-sighted. City Council members should vote against this back-loaded borrowing,” Mendoza stated.
The state of Illinois is facing its own deficit of more than $3 billion ahead of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget address on Wednesday. Mendoza has served as comptroller since December of 2016.
At the city council’s scheduled meeting Wednesday, aldermen may also consider a proposal to lower the city’s speed limit for drivers.
Alderman Daniel La Spata’s measure to reduce the maximum speed from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour passed out of committee last year.
Johnson expressed support for the measure.
“You saw the resounding support around this working group to come up with viable options and presentations that maximize safety but also ensures that equity and justice prevail as well,” Johnson said.
W. Robert Schultz III Of the Active Transportation Alliance advised aldermen to first lower the speed limit and then redesign streets to force slower driving.
“Consider parking garages, whether you’re renting a car or parking your car. They’re designed so it’s impossible to speed. We can do that with our streets,” Schultz told the council’s Committee on Transportation and Public Way.
Several aldermen have expressed opposition, and La Spata’s proposed ordinance was not called for a vote last month.
The lower speed limit would not affect major thoroughfares regulated by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
