Far South Side Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, called on Lightfoot last week to delay a vote on the 2020 budget due to concerns over $163 million in ambulance reimbursement payments she’s relying on as a key part of her spending plan for Chicago government.
On Monday, Lightfoot emailed Beale a response saying a delay would be “reckless and irresponsible.” Then she questioned the veteran alderman’s grasp of her proposal, saying his “predictions and statements about the proposed budget ... reflect a basic misunderstanding of the fundamentals of this budget."
“Unfortunately, as I understand it, you skipped many aldermanic briefings and then missed important days of the budget hearings while on a hunting trip,” Lightfoot wrote.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.