Chicago Democrat mayor admits city faces $1 BILLION deficit in 2025 budget

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says the city can expect a $982 million deficit for its 2025 budget, almost double what it was for his first year in office. Johnson blamed the shortfall on higher spending on city workers and lower revenues from city taxes, CBS News reports.

"The size of the budget gap is significant. It's going to require decisions that will speak to our overall collective desire to build an economy that works for working people. There will be sacrifices that will be made," Johnson told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

While facing an almost $1 billion budget would seem historic, it doesn’t equal the $1.2 billion dollar shortfall that former Mayor Lori Lightfoot presided over in 2021 after Covid pandemic costs drove up the city’s expenses. Lightfoot weathered the storm with cash infusions from the Biden-Harris administration in its Covid relief spending package.

Last year, Johnson dealt with a $538 million budget deficit for 2024 and didn’t lay off city personnel or raise taxes. The mayor declined to say if he would reach for either of those options in the current financial crisis, nor did he comment on the possibility of legalizing video gambling in the city and slot machines at the airport to raise more money. He did not deny that layoffs or at least a hiring freeze at the city is a possibility, according to CBS.

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