Facing certain defeat, Mayor Brandon Johnson postpones Chicago city budget vote!

By Sabrina Franza, Todd Feurer CHICAGO (CBS) — Mayor Brandon Johnson called off Friday’s 2025 city budget vote, after his revised spending plan relying on a property tax hike and other increased fines and fees without significant spending cuts faced certain defeat. After the meeting, Johnson acknowledged he does not yet have the votes to pass his $17.3 billion spending plan. It was another chaotic day at City Hall as shouts erupted in the City Council chamber when the meeting was brought to an end after about 20 minutes, and recessed until Monday afternoon, before any action was taken on either the budget or other routine legislative items on the agenda. At least one person in the City Council gallery was handcuffed and escorted out as they shouted over the Council’s vote to end the meeting and return on Monday. The Johnson administration and City Council have until Dec. 31 to get a budget deal done, or face an unprecedented city government shutdown. Despite spending weeks tweaking his original budget plan, the mayor has yet to get the votes he needs to pass it. He would need either 26 votes, or could cast a tie-breaking vote to approve his budget if he can get the support of 25 alders. “The reality is, we’re very close, but we’re still not there yet,” Johnson said after Friday’s council meeting. Read More Here!

New Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke vows to lower ‘war zone numbers’ of Chicago violence

The county’s new top prosecutor highlighted Illinois’ assault weapons ban as a key tool in tamping down the violence she says has “overshadowed” the region. Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke vowed Monday to crack down on gun criminals as she takes the reins as the top law enforcement official in a county she says is “being overshadowed by crime.” “We have unparalleled opportunities here. We have world-class universities, we have infrastructure. We even have a fresh water supply,” O’Neill Burke said after a ceremonial swearing-in as the county’s top prosecutor before hundreds of supporters at the Ivy Room in River North. “We are primed to boom, but we are being overshadowed by crime right now,” she said. “While our crime rates are beginning to come down, the progress is not sufficient, particularly when it comes to gun violence.” Read More Here!

How Mayor Brandon Johnson Lost Control of the Debate Over Chicago’s 2025 Budget

The first sign that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to spend $17.3 billion in 2025 was dead on arrival came just minutes after he finished telling the Chicago City Council the only way to balance the city’s budget was to hike property taxes by $300 million. Despite being one of Johnson’s closest allies, Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez (25th Ward) wasted no time telling reporters that he would not even consider voting for the largest property tax hike since 2016. Pilsen residents struggling to keep their homes amid a wave of gentrification could not afford the increase, Sigcho Lopez said. The fact that Sigcho Lopez, Johnson’s hand-picked Housing Committee chair who has voted in lockstep with the mayor, dismissed the budget proposal out of hand sent shockwaves through the City Council, frustrating Johnson’s allies while emboldening his critics.  Read More Here!

Chicago residents rip mayor over spending on migrants: ‘Worst mayor in America’

Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Mayor Brandon Johnson is trying to close $1 billion budget shortfall, with $60M property tax hike floated Residents of Chicago are blasting Mayor Brandon Johnson over the city spending more than half a billion dollars on sheltering migrants, with one telling the Democrat to his face during a City Council meeting that he’s the “worst mayor in America.”  The criticism surrounding Johnson and Chicago’s New Arrivals Mission – which so far has cost the city $574.5 million since its inception in August 2022 – comes as the mayor is trying to overcome a $1 billion budget shortfall by the end of the year. The City Council held a meeting Monday during which residents voiced their opposition to an approximately $60 million property tax increase floated as one way to help close the gap.  This is on top of a CPS Budget Short Fall! This year’s $8.4 billion operating budget for Chicago Public Schools included what was left of the district’s covid allocation, $233 million. Heading into this school year, the district faced a deficit of $500 million, and it anticipates another half-billion-dollar deficit next year. Oct 21, 2024 Plus a State Budget Short Fall! Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget released a report on Nov. 1 projecting the state will face a $3.2 billion deficit for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.Nov 13, 2024 Read More Here! About ‘Worst mayor in America’