Chicago’s budget shortfall could skyrocket to $1.9 billion by 2026 if the economy takes a nosedive and even under the rosiest scenario, the gap between revenue and expenses would be $789 million by then.
Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t take his predecessor’s word for it when Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’d left the city in great financial shape, with an $85 million shortfall. And it’s a good thing the new mayor was skeptical, his top aides told some City Council members in a budget briefing.
Mayor Brandon’s three-year budget forecast is a far cry from the rosy picture painted by his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot, who had projected an $85 million 2024 budget shortfall.
CHICAGO — Brandon Johnson strode into a conference room this month at Malcolm X College, where scores of mostly West Siders had gathered to hear how Chicago’s newly minted mayor will align his unapologetic progressivism with the dollars-and-cents realities of the city’s $16.4 billion budget. The crowd of at least 100 at the community budget roundtable listened raptly as the mayor dared them to .
CHICAGO — Brandon Johnson strode into a conference room this month at Malcolm X College, where scores of mostly West Siders had gathered to hear how Chicago’s newly minted mayor