By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
$6 billion more. That’s how much more the city of Chicago has to spend this year compared to 2019. The massive jump in revenues began in 2022 as part of the federal covid bailouts and has continued through this year. The city’s total budget was $16.7 billion in 2022, compared to just $10.7 billion in 2019 – a 50%+ hike.
Despite all those additional billions for both Mayors Lightfoot and Johnson, Chicago’s lawmakers today face a billion-dollar operating deficit for 2025 and are now looking for money to cover the hole. There’s even a sense of desperation as $175 million in pension costs have become a hot potato between the city and the Chicago Public Schools, while the school district also faces an upcoming $1 billion deficit of its own. Property tax hikes on Chicagoans is a likely outcome.
The big question is, why wasn’t any money set aside for the eventuality that the covid money would run dry? Everybody knew it would happen around this time. The feds required all covid-related funds to be spent by 2024/2025.
In a better world, the city and the mayor would face an audit over how the money has been spent. On covid relief. On illegal immigrants. On new government worker contracts. On infrastructure.
Instead, we still haven’t heard from the mayor’s Pension Working Group since it was created more than a year ago. Nor have we heard officials acknowledge that Chicago’s credit rating earlier this year became the nation’s worst, behind even Detroit’s.
The situation is getting worse and the city is running out of options. Which means tax hikes are on the way.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Update: Chicago school board resignation is giant distraction from the fact that kids at CPS can’t read
- Don’t look now, but here come the tax hikes on Illinoisans
- Chicago Public Schools is in dire financial straits, yet Chicago Teachers Union blocks closing of near-empty, failing schools.
- Detroit’s bankruptcy offered key lessons. Chicago has ignored them all.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
When someone is flippant with their personal finance like Johnson, and can only speak in meaningless ‘word salads’ of wokeness and Marxism, why would any taxpayer EVER vote for someone like that!? No, Chicago fully deserves Johnson – hopefully his regime won’t be fatal. But there will be deep damage done.
We elect leaders who don’t care about performing their civic duties. They only care to loot the treasury through maximum spending and higher taxes. This isn’t hyperbole, this is how they run cities. They don’t care to leave the City of Chicago in better shape than when they found it. They intend to burn it all to the ground and loot everything that isn’t bolted to the ground. They see the City of Chicago as a vacant home with copper pipes in the walls. They’re ripping out the copper piping for scraps before moving on to the next home. They… Read more »
Before the recent elections, I predicted Lightfoot’s replacement would be worse. I can’t even imagine Johnson’s replacement being worse, but never underestimate the Chicago voters.
People avoiding the Central Business District reduce the city’s sale tax income. No customers and increased violent crimes drive out established businesses, eliminating jobs of employees. Property taxes go unpaid. yet, city/county voters are continually returning the same slugs to office. Voters get what they deserve.
I used to spend thousands and thousands of dollars a year downtown. I had my tailor, my christmas shopping, lunch several times a week, taxi cabs around the loop, dinner, entertainment, bars after work. I purchased most of my clothes downtown (prefer to buy clothes in person) and I did a lot downtown. I haven’t spent more then $50 in total since 2020 downtown, basically on two fried chicken sammichs for lunch the two times I was down there. There’s really nothing in the world that would ever make me go downtown again. I will occassionally think well maybe I’d… Read more »
The answer to all this is to move out of state like I did 5 years ago. It’s going to continue to get worse in the city and the state. Much worse. Get out and save your money when you have the chance.
At this point, every one their has been amply warned. Either they like what they voted for and deserve what they are about to get or they are deluding themselves. Either way, the steamroller is coming. You can either get out of its way or get crushed. Personally, I would love to see the people that enabled this get crushed by their own stupidity.
As you stated, everyone reading WP has been amply warned, perhaps though, not the average ignorant Illinois resident, but they are complicit by not seeking information/truth. Perhaps like yourself, I also have no sympathy for any of them.
Democrat sinkhole budgeting 101: Spend every last dollar you have, say it was not enough, them demand more. Rainy day? What’s that? I noticed the smallest line item on the budget was debt service. Perhaps Mayor Brandon thinks Kamala will send him some more free Covid money and everything will be BAU. Calling Kamala–Send some more helechopters filled with Government cash; we need some rain.
Look at the leeches in the photo. There’s you answer as to why.
I believe, city Budget Director Guzman on Fran Spielman show was claiming the $billions city received from various fed COVID bailouts was keep in separate accounts from cities main “Corporate Fund” account. I realize city has all kinds of other accounts (“funds”). Are the separate accounts for fed COVID bailout available to public?, because all I can find from reviewing Johnson admin “City of Chicago’s FY2025 Budget Forecast” (attached below) where city tries to make the case for $1 bil budget deficit for 2025 is that the $1 bil deficit is only in main “Corporate Fund”? WHERE HAVE ALL THE… Read more »
What is the city’s normalized revenue run rate? Is Chicago headed to an annual shortfall of two to three billion? If we are in the last year of free Fed Covid bucks, what are next year’s revenues projected to be? And if we don’t get a soft landing and instead are dealing with a real recession, that shortfall is going to balloon higher. Can we all agree that Brando isn’t capable of managing through the challenges ahead?
Extremely bad decision making + giving away buckets of money + grift = an insurmountable debt despite a never ending flow of tax revenue. This is the type of math Playa neither taught nor learned.
HORRIBLE JUST HORRIBLE
Why? Because the pols do not see any money problems. This is what the pols do when confronted with deficits.
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/crisis-gm480981612-69076583
In recent years I wondered which would collapse first, the city finances or the state finances. It now appears it will be the city, but does it really matter? If you think Chicago’s fate won’t impact other parts of Illinois, you would be wise to reconsider. If you actually live in Chicago, your way of thinking is completely foreign to me, so I’ll simply wish you good luck.
Chicago is considerably more vulnerable than the State. Among other things it has fewer avenues to collect revenue.