Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for being here today.
Today I'm joined by our Chief Operations Officer, John Robertson, Budget Director, Annette Guzman.
I also have my Deputy Mayor of Community Safety, Gary Gatewood, and from our Law Department, Jeff Levine.
I want to truly thank the members of City Council who are doing the continuous work that's necessary,
the hard work to partner with me and my entire administration to secure a balanced budget
that works for every single resident of the city of Chicago.
As I've stated before, I am still fully committed to remaining the collaborator-in-chief
during this budget process.
With this budget, we must, of course, uphold our obligations to pensioners, workers,
and the people of Chicago while ensuring that the budget has progressive revenue sources.
Our budget is proof of our values, and like I have said before,
I will negotiate the details around this budget, but I will not negotiate my values.
We have seen past budgets leave people and neighborhoods in Chicago behind,
and I've made it my mission to chart a new course.
I look forward to this continuous work with the city council to pass a balanced budget
that expresses our values of investing in our people, our communities, and, of course, our city.
So with that, I'm happy to answer any questions.
There will be one question and one follow-up.
Can you talk about the status of negotiations right now?
Do you feel like you have 26 votes and then I have a follow-up?
Well, I'm certainly heartened by the energy that the city council is responding to with my team.
As I've said from the very beginning, the proposal that we've put forward that invests in youth employment and workforce,
investing in mental and behavioral health, building more affordable homes,
making sure that our community safety plan for the city of Chicago is still implemented and executed with precision and with justice.
Those are the tenets of this budget.
And I'm, again, certainly heartened that there are a number of city council members that understand the progress that we have made thus far
in the first 18 months of my administration, that there's no reason to look back now.
And given the incoming Trump administration's position on sanctuary cities,
are you concerned at all about how this budget, the 2025 budget,
is going to be impacted in terms of federal funding?
Well, federal funding around a host of things I'm concerned about.
The president-elect and former president of the United States of America
has demonstrated ill intentions around our public education system.
He has demonstrated ill intent around the environment.
There's still yet not a full analysis of what impact these tariffs would have on our overall economy.
Quite frankly, as a former social studies teacher, I can tell you a little bit about the American Revolution,
and I think it was actually centered around this very concept.
So the impact that these tariffs will have on everyday grocery bills is something that we have to continue to understand.
You know, I know when families go and purchase lunches for their children, $7.29 for a bag of potato chips, right?
I know you're smiling because you know, especially those of us who enjoy Lay's.
I remember once upon a time, I'm old enough to remember, you can get two for $5.
I sound like my dad.
So I'm very much concerned about his vision as a whole for public accommodations.
But, again, our values are still very much in line with the people of this city,
and we're going to stand up and fight to protect the interests of working people.
Oh, well, look, I mean, asking police officers to behave as ICE agents is antithetical to building community trust, right?
But, you know, I guess we shouldn't expect more for someone who was a part of an operation.
where the Capitol was attacked on January 6th, where police officers were trampled by mobsters, essentially.
So our values are our values, and we're going to protect the people of this city.
Families who rely upon public education, families who want to see justice administered as it relates to the environment,
and families who certainly do not want to see police officers sworn to behave as federal agents.
That is not the spirit of who we are as a city.
Hi, Mayor.
Hi.
Speaking of Donald Trump, can you talk about how you plan to approach communicating with the White House?
Have you been in touch with him?
Do you have a game plan for communicating and trying to ease any tensions that appear to be happening right now?
Well, look, we have not made any contact with the Trump administration because he's still in transition right now.
So I'm not entirely sure if there's an appropriate protocol there that could be just out of line.
As I've said, the city of Chicago, we're open for business.
We're just not for sale.
What we can do is do what we can control.
And that's to ensure that people of Chicago who are concerned about their day-to-day groceries, being able to afford to send their children to college, being able to afford child care,
these are the day-to-day experiences that people have that we're going to continue to address.
And as I said, if I were president of the United States of America or coming in and I had control of the House and the Senate and the judicial branch of government,
We certainly will be having far more substantive conversations in this moment than what's happening right now.
As I said, I just hope he doesn't waste this opportunity and waste his power on menial dynamics
that do not provide the type of substantive transformation that the people of this country want.
And then going back to the migrant issue,
It seems like some Democrats have hinted that they support the idea of helping address immigrants who may have committed a crime.
Is that something that the city is willing to work with?
Well, look, there's no secret here, I've said this repeatedly, that we need immigration reform policies, substantive transformational policy shift and change.
The incoming Congress has an opportunity to do what the current Congress has refused to do, though there's still time.
There is a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration bill that could still be passed in the House.
I just, you know, there's rhetoric and presentation, and then there's actually doing the work.
What we need to do in this moment is to have real comprehensive immigration reform policy
so that the tensions, as you've described, that may exist can be alleviated.
There's a difference between, I want to be very clear, though, here,
that we're talking about asylum seekers, though.
Remember, there were 30,000 Ukrainians that came into the city of Chicago.
30,000, that is still currently larger than the asylum seekers that were coming from Central and South America.
So, you know, of course, I still continue to beg the question, if people are concerned about those seeking asylum,
this sort of vitriol reaction to what was happening at the border did not play out as related to those who were seeking asylum from Ukraine.
And I'm saying they should have been granted asylum.
And so there's a great deal of debate that's happening around immigration reform, but there's also misinformation that's being propagated on purpose.
And I'm going to always keep it 100 with the people of Chicago that there is an opportunity for us to have real comprehensive immigration reform policy that addresses the concerns that people have along the border,
making sure that we have patrol officers, making sure that there are more judges that can help move asylum cases faster,
making sure that we have a process by which individuals who are waiting to be heard and seen before a court
who've been seeking their status in this country for 20-plus years, that there is actual an ability to address those measures.
That's the serious nature that I hope that the president-elect, the former president, takes on and not find himself in a constant petulant state.
That kind of cycle is akin to one great philosopher, George S. Counts, where people are more interested in the sound of a rattle and being appeased by rattle and noise and not actually addressing the key issue.
George S. Counts.
to look them up. Hi, Mayor. Hey. The CPS board is set to have a meeting before its regular meeting
on Wednesday. They're going to have an executive session. Do you expect they will address Pedro
Martinez? What I expect them to do is to address the transformation of the school district. That's
what's most important here. As I said, I don't, you know, get into, you know, conversations around
on individual positions or personnel matters, you know, I made a commitment to transform our school district.
As the first mayor in the history of Chicago to have been a public school teacher,
sending my children to the public schools, parents want small class sizes.
Parents want, they want libraries and librarians.
They want psychiatrists and psychologists.
They want social workers and counselors.
They want after-school programs that enrich a child's development.
That's what I fully expect this board to continue to do, is to move on my vision to make sure that every single child in this city has access to a fully funded neighborhood school.
And my follow, Mayor, if someone of authority in your administration is harassing a subordinate, how would you expect that to be handled?
Well, you know, first of all, there's no tolerance for harassment, sexism, racism, misogyny, xenophobia.
There's no tolerance for that.
And, you know, individuals who are accused of such, there is a process by which the city of Chicago engages those type of accusations and complaints.
And I fully expect that process to be able to help us come to a conclusion.
And in the event, if it's proven, that there is a person in my administration that do not reflect the values of this city,
the mitigation or consequence that comes with that, I fully expect the process to be able to deliver it.
Hey, Mayor, how are you?
I'm wonderful. Thank you.
Glad to hear that.
So some alders are saying that there's two options.
the other, reducing the workforce or increasing property taxes?
I know you said you would not compromise your values,
and you seem to repeatedly mention that would mean reducing the workforce.
So are you committed to making sure that the workforce stays the same, and are there alternatives?
Well, look, the altered alternative is to fight for progressive revenue at the state level,
which there is a commitment to do that.
My budget and finance team, they are in constant conversation with the governor's team.
I mean, that type of collaboration is what people have come to expect of me, and that's what I will continue to deliver.
You know, as far as the consequences to cuts to services, my chief operation officer is here,
but I can tell you the people of Chicago don't want cuts to services.
I can tell you that emphatically.
Now, listen, the people of Chicago say a lot of things to me, but they never say,
Mayor Johnson, could you just cut these services?
Mayor Johnson, can you just lay off more people?
No one.
I've been mayor for 18 months.
Not one constituent has ever come up to me and said, lay off police officers, lay off firefighters, lay off streets and sanitation workers.
So these particular alders who are speaking to individuals, I would ask them this question.
Who is asking them to lay off Chicagoans?
Because the people of Chicago are not asking me to do that.
So is that your commitment?
To make sure no one gets laid off?
Yes.
Hey, Mayor.
Hi.
Excuse me.
Okay. So in the past, you've spoken out why you support the basic income pilot that was previously approved.
I already had one round and that you would support a second round of that.
In recent budget negotiations, it appears that has been taken off the table in order to further reduce the property tax.
Is that accurate? Would you support a budget that did not include funding for basic income?
First of all, I'm not going to negotiate the details of this budget in the press.
This is an ongoing process.
What I can say is this.
There are values that I do have and that there are alders who have different values.
If there are alders who do not see the value of that particular line item,
that's what this collaborative approach is about, to discuss that.
And then on the property tax number, you know, is there a number that you would?
Maybe in a different way. Is there a number that should be included as a property tax?
Well, look, as I said from the very beginning, that's why the initial exercise a couple of weeks ago was, to some extent, it's an exercise of futility.
This is an ongoing conversation about how we balance the budget by not just collaborating and coming together, but ensuring that we make critical investments.
Look, we hired almost 28,000 young people for summer jobs.
of the 10 neighborhoods where most of the young people were hired from
all on the south and west sides of Chicago.
It's a great investment.
We want to do more of that.
The first mayor here of Washington not to cut public services
as it relates to public health and particularly behavioral and mental health.
The people of Chicago want us to invest more in mental health services, right?
We've already built 3,400 affordable homes.
We're on pace to build thousands more.
We're building opportunities for our young people to find their purpose in our community colleges.
There's an opportunity for us to do yet another project so that young people in this city can actually find their purpose in the trades.
And having a community college campus that is dedicated to that type of opportunity is one that I'm committed,
especially because, you know, Chief Operations Officer John can speak to this,
$20 billion of new investments coming to the city of Chicago.
That's what's in this budget.
And so I'm going to hold the line and remain firm that I made a commitment to invest in people.
And that's exactly what I purpose to do, and that's what I will continue to do, to invest in people, particularly in neighborhoods that have historically been neglected, marginalized, and quite frankly dismissed.
Mayor, buenas tardes.
I know that you decided that you're not going to talk about ongoing negotiations with the budget.
So let me ask you this, because we did hear from one of the alderwomans in there.
They're saying that the pilot program, the $500 pilot program, is on the chopping block as part of the city's budget solution.
Is there a message to the constituents here in Chicago about this?
Yeah, call your alderman.
Tell them you don't want that cut.
Listen, I put forth my proposal.
Everybody knows what my proposals are.
There are individuals who are putting forth proposals, and in some instances they're calling for cuts.
Call your alder and tell them you don't want cuts.
You have support from my administration to invest in people.
I've done that, whether it's investing in youth employment and workforce development,
investing in mental and behavioral health, investing in community safety,
as we continue to see a decline in homicides, shootings, vehicular hijackings, robberies.
All of this is the result of critical investment.
And so, look, I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that we invest in people.
And, you know, that requires those support and help from city council.
So is that off the table then?
I'm saying that this process gives people an opportunity to make their proposals.
And then we will have substantive conversations around a pathway forward.
Hi, Mayor.
Hi.
I wanted to ask you about a previous question that was asked about harassment.
In Ronnie Reese's personnel file, it was written that your chief of staff suggested that peace circles
and restorative justice were ways to remedy some of the allegations during that time.
I guess what would you say to people who questioned whether those were the best remedies to put forward?
Well, again, as I said, I don't make statements publicly about anyone's personnel,
the personnel decisions on the personnel file.
What I can say is this, is that the information that was disclosed as it relates to the FOIA request
was the first that we were hearing of those allegations, right?
You know, as far as what our approach has been, I can tell you this,
that there is a process that has been established long before I got here that we inherited.
And, you know, in this particular instance, it's very clear that the system that I inherited
established a process that did not provide full disclosure of everything that was in that personnel file
until there was a FOIA request.
Our commitment in my administration is to make sure that there's a healthy working environment
for anyone and everyone.
That's what our commitment will remain as such.
and we are doing everything within our power to ensure that there's a collaborative approach
and a healthy work environment.
But I guess my question is, you know, those are some of the remedies that were supposedly brought up.
Supposedly?
According to the personnel file.
Okay.
Are those things that are, you know, used frequently within your administration?
What I can say is this.
There's not a tolerance in our administration for...
There are misogyny, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, anti-blackness, anti-immigrant, no tolerance.
And we're going to continue to foster an environment where as people have experiences,
whether it's in the mayor's office or anywhere else in the city of Chicago,
that there is a safe space where these concerns can be brought to light
and that we're going to continue to work to ensure that the people of this city
and the people who serve this city have healthy, strong working environments where they feel safe.
Good afternoon, Mayor.
Yes, it is.
Activists and aldermen are calling on you to put forward a million dollars
for the municipal sidewalk plowing program in the 2025 budget.
Is that something that you will do?
Well, look, again, I won't negotiate the details of this budget in public,
But, you know, no one is – it's not a secret of my stance on plowing the sidewalks.
And, you know, our policy team engaged with many of the community organizers, and we're grateful.
Alderman La Espada has been very much zeroed in on this and very much focused.
Those conversations are ongoing.
I've said it from the very beginning.
I do support the effort to plow the sidewalks.
And I believe an opportunity for us to grow our operations and services in the city.
It is certainly antithetical to what some people are proposing, which is more cuts to city services.
So these are the dynamics that we're dealing with.
We're having people who do not want to see services as they are to be maintained, not to mention their disdain towards a new service.
But we'll continue to have those conversations out loud, and I'm really grateful for the leadership of Alderman Lospato.
Is there a reason that $1 million wasn't included in the original proposal you put forward?
Well, look, it's a proposal.
There's ongoing conversations.
I've made a commitment that plowing the sidewalks is an important part of who we are and what we can be as a city.
Afternoon, Mayor.
Good afternoon.
The 15 elders who sent the proposal to cut staffing and services to 2020 inflation-adjusted levels say they haven't heard from you in 11 days.
Are you considering any parts of that proposal, and if so, which?
First of all, is it a proposal?
It's not a proposal.
The suggestion.
Okay.
My team is available for any alder that wishes to have a conversation.
We take every single consideration seriously.
Those of you who have covered budget processes before, you have to admit this is the first of its kind.
Now, people like Jake, who just got here a year and a half or so ago, may not have a full reference.
But in terms of the collaborative approach that we have in this moment, you have never seen city government engaged like this.
So welcome to the new administration.
An administration is committed to being the collaborator in chief.
These individuals put together something of substance in its proper form, like anyone and everyone else.
We will have a serious conversation about a proposal and not just suggestions.
Okay, Alderman Dibby Silverstein said that the atmosphere and the culture of misogyny, xenophobia, and sexism
extended beyond the press office into your larger appointed staff.
I asked her to be specific, and she wasn't.
When you hear that allegation, do you feel like there's any substance behind it?
Well, look, my values are front and center.
Everybody knows I lead with my values.
Whether it's anti-blackness, anti-Semitism, sexism, misogyny, any of those forms of wickedness do not have a place anywhere in our society.
And I know what government and corporations have, how they have behaved over the course of decades.
And it is incumbent upon this generation to chart a new course and to course correct.
And, you know, we're growing up in a time period in which that type of leadership is needed.
But I can tell you, this city is not without sin. I can tell you that. It's not without sin. And for black families who have been pushed out of their communities, that's anti-blackness.
and Jewish families who don't feel safe in their own communities
and are being threatened because of their religious beliefs,
that is just as wicked.
It is a black family experience in a school closure.
And we have to name all of it.
We do.
So I'm going to continue to work to make sure that whether it's misogyny, xenophobia, anti-blackness, anti-Semitism,
not only does it not have a place in my administration, it doesn't have a place in our society.
That's the work that we get to do together.
Hi, Mayor. How was your Thanksgiving?
It was great. Thank you. Thank you.
If I could just follow up on that.
After the FOIA's release came out about Ronnie Reese, has your administration or have you directed anyone in your administration to put forth memos that would make it absolutely clear to everybody in case it wasn't clear already that this is there any additional training, if you will, that is reinforcing what you're telling us now?
Well, look, what I can say clearly, and I want to pass it over to Jeff Levine here, that there is a process that I inherited.
And it is clearly evident that information was not fully disclosed due to a process that I inherited.
And absent this FOIA request, it's not clear on whether or not the process would have or not have revealed all that which is in the file.
What I can say, though, emphatically, is that as this information has been brought to light,
our commitment to ensure that every single worker in my administration feels safe and protected,
that is of the most importance for me.
Jeff?
Thank you, Mayor.
Good afternoon.
To your question, the city has very clear processes in place.
from the human resources standpoint to guard against and to prohibit the kinds of conduct that you were speaking of.
And from time to time, as the need arises, those processes are open to updating and improvement.
Thank you.
And then just following up on the budget, in talking to your budget committee, Chair Jason Irvin,
You said earlier today that the current plan is looking at going ahead with CPI for the property tax.
Is taking CPI a way to make it easier for aldermen to, hey, this is the ordinance,
give them cover, if you will, to support the property tax increase that you believe may be necessary to pass the budget?
Well, look, I don't know if there's any alder that's feeling that anything that we do in this moment is going to make life easier for them.
What I can say, though, is this, is that we have made a commitment, my administration, to pensioneers and to workers and to families in this city.
The budget will be balanced.
The budget will include investments.
The ultimate work is to have real progressive revenue at the state level.
Whatever we do in this particular budget cycle, we're going to have to do more statewide.
And it's not limited to the state of Illinois.
This is a dynamic that exists all over the country.
And so that's why I said, by the way, Chase Redwinkle has joined us, our city's comptroller.
Our finance and budget team, they are rolling up their sleeves, working hard every single day.
Not every single day with the governor's team, but every single day on this budget.
but on a regular basis with the governor's team.
I've had multiple conversations with Speaker Welch, the Senate president,
other state reps and state senators, talking to our congressional leaders.
This is an ongoing dynamic that really requires progressive, bold leadership in this moment.
And so that work continues.
And, again, you know, I think the question that you're raising around what makes something more palatable or easier,
I'm not sure if there's anything outside of the real thing that we have to address,
which is progressive revenue, is ever going to make any decision easy,
regardless of what the amount is and what we ultimately settle on.
Hi, Mr. Mayor, how are you?
I'm doing wonderful, thank you.
Good, good.
So this is my first question.
D-Day on this budget is coming very soon, in less than 30 days.
We need to have something.
technically resolved right now though we have a very large hole as far as i know and we also have
a lot of people who are not on the same page about what needs to be in this budget with that said
how confident are you that we will have a budget that works for all chicagoans by december 31st
on a scale of one to ten where would you say you are well look first of all my confidence is not
based upon a scale. Either it is or it isn't. That's
the lane that I work in. And right now, what is happening
is a very comprehensive, collaborative approach
to closing this large hole that you speak of. But let me
just say one thing to that, though. We forecasted $1 billion.
It was just under $1 billion. We've closed the gap
significantly. We're talking now
Now, you know, at least with the first proposal, you know, there were $700 million of cuts in revenue, right?
And so the fact that we're still here and we're still standing, this gives, you know, all the impression in the world that what isn't today, we live to work for tomorrow to make sure that it is.
So you're confident?
I'm saying that either it is or it isn't.
And it is?
And we're going to continue to work to make sure that it is and that it becomes.
Okay.
And so then my second question, you said something a second ago I wanted to tap in on.
You talked about some crime statistics.
Yeah.
And you said crime was essentially down.
And I wanted to know if you believe that you've gotten adequate credit for that.
And then I want to know why or why not in terms of.
Well, I guess the one benefit of being mayor of the city of Chicago is that, you know, you don't have to do this work by yourself.
This is not just about, you know, Mayor Johnson.
I'm no one's superhero, you all.
I am flesh and blood like everyone else.
What I can say, though, is that, you know, public safety is still something that I think about every single day.
And any loss of life is too much.
I did make a promise to hire 200 more detectives.
We're going to accomplish that by the end of this year.
We're going to have three brand-new helicopters.
We have a stronger staff ratio. Those are things that I've talked about and ran on between sergeant supervision and rank-and-file members.
We're creating better opportunities and spaces for women and men who serve our city to receive mental health support.
One of the reasons why I was so adamant about extending the CARES program was so that police officers and firefighters would not have to show up to crises that are behavior and mental health.
And that frees them up to actually respond to some of the other violence that unfortunately happens in our city.
So, you know, do I feel positive working alongside of my deputy mayor, Gary Gatewood,
and our police superintendent between the time I got in office where homicides and shootings have gone down
and we've turned around our robberies in this city?
I believe, Gary, and if I'm not mistaken, before we implemented our robbery strategy, I mean, we were in the positive.
And we're down 1,600 robberies.
So we're down 1,600 robberies since we implemented that plan just a little bit over six months ago.
So there's good work that's being done, but it's a work that we're all doing together.
And I believe there's a lot of folks that deserve credit here.
I don't think it's a coincidence that in the Austin neighborhood, for instance, where there's been a decline in certain parts of Austin,
a 57% decline overall in violence, and the Austin neighborhood was the largest number where the largest number of young people were hired from.
I believe all that works together, youth employment, making these critical investments,
which is putting us on a pace to have a better, stronger, safer Chicago.
But thank you.
Mr. Mayor, before I get into my question and my follow-up question,
I thought you all might want to know, since we're having this discussion about your former communications director and his issues,
that your press office is named after someone, a former journalist,
who I witnessed harass the bejesus out of who is now one of the lead political reporters for the Sun-Times
while I was a J-School student with a program for HBCU J-School students hosted at Northwestern.
Northwestern, and that went on until I put an end to it by asking that person what that other person's cleavage in front of them
and in back of them had to do with what they were there for, which was to mentor me as a journalist.
So getting into my question, my first question, a lot of people are refuting the budget director,
of budget chairs, rather, disagreement that people are not.
getting an equitable amount of services that they've been asking for for decades compared with what illegal immigrants are instantaneously getting.
So that leads them to ask, where is this money going to for, let's say, the liquor tax increase,
which is a problem for people in the nightlife community or business community, as you call them,
as part of your arts community to people who are connoisseurs of various hemp products
because I don't see where that's being specified.
Okay, so your question is where are the dollars going specifically?
Yeah, from those kinds of things.
Okay, I will pass it over to my budget director,
though, again, we are not negotiating or speaking in specificity around the negotiations,
but in terms of what our corporate budget entails, Director Guzman?
Well, they want specificity, but I'll let you all answer it.
Go ahead.
Yeah, so thank you for the question.
You know, this is a simple math question, right?
There's a billion-dollar budget gap for the city of Chicago.
That is our existing services that we provide to the city of Chicago residents, business owners, and so forth.
You know, when we came forth with our budget proposal with the $300 million property tax,
It was to make sure that we maintain services and not reduce the number of services provided to the city of Chicago,
whether that's garbage, whether that's tree trimming, whatever, police services or whatnot.
When that was rejected by city council, you know, the conversations that we've been having with members of city council is,
how do you now fill that plug to actually provide those same services and not have to reduce?
And so whether it's a liquor tax, whether it's a different other type of tax or other revenue source,
it's going to make sure that our services that we provide can be maintained.
And that includes enhancements on some of the programming that the mayor has already spoken about,
whether it's youth jobs, whether it's provision to our mental health apparatus.
All of that is spelled out in the budget.
One thing you won't find in the budget is continued services for the new arrivals mission, which will be ending this year.
And in follow-up, can any of those dollars go for providing services that have been denied for decades?
For example, in the 21st Ward, there are a lot of streets that are sinkhole waiting to happen.
So I'm going to pass it back to my budget director as well as my chief operations officer.
Yeah, thank you.
That's another great question.
And so infrastructure is what I think you are really focused on.
And our infrastructure is actually budgeted through our capital plan, which is a separate budget for the city of Chicago.
And we put out a five-year plan every single year that reflects all of the infrastructure work that the city will be focused on,
whether it's through our water department, our aviation department, and most importantly for your question,
our Department of Transportation, who does all of the road work, bridges, and stuff like that.
We work with each of our departments to understand where the critical infrastructure needs are.
There is way more infrastructure needs in this city than bond dollars or other infrastructure dollars that the city has,
but that's how that is actually budgeted, and that's how those things get done every single year,
not through the budget that's currently being debated by city council, but by our five-year capital plan.
No, that's a good answer.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for that.
Mayor Johnson, your approval ratings are at an historic low.
The recent 50 to 0 vote on your property tax, your $300 million property tax increase, suggests that you've lost control of the Chicago City Council.
Chicagoans on the street are telling me that your liquor tax is nothing more than a tax on the working man to fund your plan to hide migrants from Donald Trump and Tom Holman.
At what point will you put Chicago first?
At what point will you shift to putting Chicagoans ahead of migrants?
Well, you know, as I've said from the very beginning, you know, it's always been a part of my value system to invest in people.
And that's why in this budget, and you've seen it in my previous budget, we made a commitment to hire young people.
Last year, almost 70 percent of those who received jobs through our youth investment were black children.
In fact, 97 percent of those young people were black and brown.
The 3,400 new affordable homes that we've put forward,
this was very much what people were calling for, and we've done that.
The people of Chicago know that we have to invest more in our behavior and mental health apparatus.
We've done that.
And the people of Chicago also know that we have to have a community safety comprehensive plan
that invest in people and we make sure that our women and men who serve our city
have the resources that they need.
The $20 billion of new investments that are in the city of Chicago
through PsyQuantum and the 1901 project,
the fact that we continue to see growth in our community colleges
where more young black men are registering for community colleges
because they see a future in this city.
we're talking about in some neighborhoods where investment has not taken place in a very long time
I can tell you along Madison Street there hasn't been a comprehensive investment on Madison Street
since the the uprisings and the riots in 1968 and there are hundreds of millions of dollars
of new investments along the Madison Street corridor that includes expanding the the campus
of Malcolm X. I mean, these are things that previous
administrations just refused to do. There's another example with
our TIF surplus. Many administrations were stingy with the
dollars that, quite frankly, are for Chicagoans. Two consecutive
years in a row, the largest
comprehensive TIF surplus declaration than we've seen
in this city. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars for our
schools, parks, for county government, for our community colleges. So, you know, I think one way
that I believe that we can continue to see these type of investments take place is for, again,
all of us to come together to fight for progressive revenue. You know, there was an opportunity for us
to do that a cycle and a half ago. And the interests of corporations, the ultra-wealthy
in this state, Ken Griffin in particular, spent more money
to defeat the tax than he would have had to pay.
To me, that just didn't make any sense. That's not putting Chicagoans first.
In fact, I believe 73 plus percent of Chicagoans
supported that progressive form of revenue, 80 percent
in black wars. And so those were efforts that I led and was
a part of. And in this position with key investments
in health care, education, responding to the unhoused crisis.
We're going to build for the first time in the city of Chicago,
first time, a one-shelter system for people to be able to have a place to stay in the event life doesn't favor them.
We're going to continue to build systems of care in every aspect of government
to ensure that these investments remain critical and that they remain intentional
and that they actually show for the people of Chicago.
Did you have a follow-up?
Real Chicagoans tell me that after they attended the Christmas tree lighting ceremony
that was disrupted by hundreds of violent youth,
and a woman was shot in the doorway of Macy's,
they tell me that the hundreds of millions of dollars that you're spending
on these violent youth programs simply aren't working.
At what point will you course correct and acknowledge that these programs are not working
and perhaps consider listening to law enforcement and other voices?
So the people of Chicago believe in our young people.
They do.
And so the dollars that we're spending to ensure that young people have summer jobs
and year-round positions, people want to see those investments.
They really do.
and furthermore, the people of Chicago appreciate the fact that we have 200 detectives,
more than we had prior.
People appreciate that we have brand-new helicopters.
No other administration has been able to deliver that.
People appreciate that.
Now, is there more work to be done?
Of course.
Look, this city has been...
run a certain way for for 30 years and you know two budgets won't two budgets certainly won't be
enough to turn the tide completely around for the people of this city now again first 18 months of
office 20 billion dollars of new investment no one can take that away from chicago still the top
destination for corporate relocation in this country, voted as the best big city in America.
What is it now, eight years in a row? Just saying, and there are more people, I can tell you,
my chief operations officer can speak to this, John, speak to this, that the business community
and the investments that are coming, we haven't seen anything like this in a very long time.
I can tell you two previous administrations ago when property taxes were raised $500 million three years in a row and there were people in that chamber who voted for them, they also saw the pension deficit grow by $7 billion and our credit rating was junk status.
that's what it looked like
two administrations ago
our ability to transform this city
in just 18 months
when things have been jacked up
and messed up for a very long time
because some of the same people that you critique
I fought against
I did
it turns out I actually ran against Democrats
because they weren't doing their job
I took a rest outside of the
elevators on this first floor
when two administrations ago
with shutting down schools and black communities.
And so in 18 months, the decades of decay won't necessarily get eradicated in the first 18 months,
but I can tell you one thing for sure, we will eradicate it, though.
Hi, Mayor.
Hi.
Two weeks ago, you told us that you had floated a $150 million property tax.
Now you're saying that you won't negotiate specifics of the budget deal.
Why the change in strategy?
Well, no, let me just clarify.
It's not that I won't negotiate those specifics.
In public, I meant.
I'm saying in public because it was clear that I made that public presentation.
Right now I know that there are things that you all are hearing from people.
Once something is actually in a real proposal form, that is my preference of how I deliver information.
Because the moment you start talking about supposals or suggestions, then it just, this is my opinion.
I don't mean this in a condescending way.
and this is just my opinion, that once you start to move and float different possibilities
without something actually being in writing, that causes that much more confusion to the people of the city.
It's why I think one of your colleagues asked earlier about a group of alders who put forth a proposal,
and I just wanted to clarify it. It actually wasn't.
And so it's not a standard that is unique to my administration.
That's just the normal course of how government engages.
You mentioned that this is sort of a new budget system that we have in us old timers.
I'm trying to remain positive, yes.
Yeah, us old timers hadn't seen before.
I don't think I said old timers, but okay.
That's okay. I'll accept it. I'll wear that jacket.
When the people of Chicago look at this process and are maybe feeling nervous or concerned that there won't be a budget in 29 days,
What do you say to them, and how do you address concerns that there's problems governing the city?
Wow.
Well, the reason why I can handle it is because I'm not doing it by myself.
I mean, you see Annette and Chase, but there are entire floors of individuals who are working every single day on this budget.
You know, it's a side of government that I do know that some people might be interested in.
Most folks just expect us to go to work and do our job.
But I can assure the people of this city that their neighbors work in this building.
It was the fifth floor, sixth floor, seventh floor.
There are people who are working every single day tirelessly to put together this budget.
And then there's an entire IGA communications team that is working with every single older.
Let me just say something. I'm going to reveal something that some folks may not appreciate this, but I'm just going to tell people the truth here.
There are alders who never had conversations with previous mayors, never, and has told me as such.
There are alders in this building who have been here longer than me, who were never invited to the fifth floor.
All I'm simply saying is this. Listen, I get the noise around my administration.
I'm doing it differently
And I know it feels a certain way
But I'm doing it better
I am. I know for sure. Because as an organizer, we saw it play out.
There were alders who were never brought into the process.
Not to mention if they were a political foe.
I am literally talking to every single alder who wishes to engage.
And there are entire floors of hardworking Chicagoans who are dedicated to this process.
We can handle it because we're Chicago.
We'll have a balanced budget that invests in people.
So, y'all hear that? Six floors?
All right.
Hey, Mayor.
Hey.
On the budget, with the property tax hike closer to the CPI and changes to consent degree positions,
the liquor tax, and the state's prepaid phone tax,
there seems to be a new gap since your last proposal, well over $100 million.
What is one aldermanic recommendation that you think is a good idea or one proposal that you back?
Well, look, first of all, thank you for that question.
And, you know, I'll pass it to my budget director.
She wants to add some context to what I'm going to say.
is that, remember, I put together a subcommittee for revenue.
It's the first that's ever existed.
And, you know, there's, you know, some pushback,
but I believe what Alderman Will Hall is putting forward, there's value there.
And there's actually a legitimate proposal there.
And, you know, there are other alders who are still working with our IGA team
around a host of things.
I do, I can say this, I believe it's actually an official proposal with Irvin in Hatton.
So with Irvin and Haddon, I know both of them have worked together around this back tax.
That's something that they have to continue to have a conversation with their colleagues about.
But here's the thing that's most important to me.
It's not just about a single proposal.
It's about the overall vision for the city.
Now, again, I get it.
I mean, people want to know some of these specifics about which tax, which tax you're going to do, what you're not going to do.
Here's the thing that's most important, a balanced budget that invests in people.
And I want us to stay focused there.
And, again, I think this process that people are experiencing right now, it's a new form of democracy that people have not, you know, had the ability to do right here in this building.
I'm not just talking about the people of the city, and as your colleague Heather was expressing,
is that we're talking about elected individuals who were not privy to the budget director.
Madam Budget Director, anything else you want to add to that?
No, I think the only thing I'll add is I know that there's this desire to want to skip to the end of the book before the book happens.
We're in the midst of negotiations with alders.
We're in the midst of hearing their ideas.
We're in the midst of running numbers based on what they're asking us.
We're in the midst of helping them understand the dynamics of the revenue sources that they're putting forth.
We've got to let that process play out and let the numbers play out.
And once we have a package that is collectively put together with not only our voice but our alders, that's what will be released.
But let's not skip ahead in the chapters.
And a follow-up for Budget Director Guzman.
How much will the change to the state's prepaid phone tax cost the city?
So within the budget?
So based on the proposal that we put forth, it's about $10 million within the corporate fund
and about $27 million within the emergency communications fund.
Good afternoon, Mayor.
Good afternoon.
Alderman are discussing efforts to audit and put guardrails on how the do not hire list has been used during your term.
Do you agree that your administration should take accountability for how it was used against staffers
who complained about Ronnie Reese and other bosses?
Jeff.
Thank you.
Yes, the Department of Human Resources has a detailed and comprehensive policy
that governs placement on the Do Not Hire list, that governs removal from that list,
that governs a process whereby new information can be provided and received and considered
and whereby appeals can be made from decisions of the city.
and that process and that policy is currently playing itself out
and I think it is comprehensive and covers a variety of situations.
And Mayor, I understand what you're saying about not learning about the complaints against Ronnie Rees
until his recent FOIA, but why was the first batch of complaints filed in summer 2023
and that we reported on in January not enough for your administration to look into his behavior?
Every single employee has constant review.
Every employee does.
There are regular check-ins that happen to gain better understanding of what's working in departments
and what's not working in departments.
As I've said repeatedly, we don't discuss.
...discuss personal matters publicly, and the work that my administration is doing and will continue to do
to ensure safe, healthy working environments that reflect my values, that I will continue to do.
And good afternoon, Mayor.
Good afternoon.
Even maybe some older old-timers...
See what you started, Heather.
Take things for granted, because none of us has ever seen a case where the city council and the mayor didn't eventually come up with a budget.
However, people more and more are asking questions about what if there's a shutdown.
Like I said, maybe we old guys think it's inconceivable, but a lot of people are worried about it.
But what can and cannot happen with this budget if you're, you know, somewhere between Christmas and New Year's and still working on it?
Well, we are bound by law.
And my portion of that assignment is to present a balanced budget.
I will do that.
The city council has a responsibility to pass the budget.
And I get what you're asking.
You're asking what if they don't do their job, right?
And here's why this moment is so crucial.
It's why I'm doing everything in my power to demonstrate a collaborative approach that they have longed for that have never received.
And so we've seen budgets pass in this city under tremendous duress without any real engagement as a whole.
And all I can do and what I will continue to do is to model what a best practice looks like.
And like in any scenario, this is new for people.
There are individuals who have not had voice who have voice now.
As my wife tells me, as we describe this sort of unprecedented moment, she says, honey, you are inspiring people.
That's what's happening.
And so on behalf of the first lady of the city, I'm going to continue to inspire people to show up to engage.
And, you know, we can get you a further response around the constitutionality around in the event.
But I want the people of Chicago to know that this is just a representation of the dozens and dozens and dozens of workers in this building
who are ensuring that we handle our constitutional responsibility,
which is to present a balanced budget.
And might I add, a budget that reflects our values,
investing in workforce and youth employment,
investing in building more affordable homes,
investing in behavioral mental health services,
making sure that our school district is fully supported and ran.
That's my commitment, making sure that we have safe, vibrant communities.
So at least they know I'm coming to work every day.
And that's the way my father raised me, by the way.
And for the record, I would like a response on the constitutionality.
But my follow-up question has to do with the collaboration, collaborator-in-chief,
because you heard some comments at the public hearing today mentioning ShotSpotter,
and you know there's a majority of the alders who have said that they want it to stay in some form.
Is there any wiggle room in the collaboration for that?
There's a lot of wiggle room.
In fact, Greg, I'm the first person to actually open up a process for technology.
I can tell you, and you can ask anyone who has been here before,
when ShotSpotter was brought on the scene, does anybody in this room,
young people who may have Googled and knew about this stuff
in 2016, because I do not want to be accused of what you all have accused me of
but no, can anybody in this room honestly say that there was
substantive debate around ShotSpotter? The answer is
no. It showed up and quite frankly, let me just
say this for the record, you can quote me on this
the irresponsibility around how
shot spotter was administered is far more severe than what's
being reported. There are places in this city, quite frankly, that could
benefit from technology and it doesn't exist in those particular areas.
And then there are areas where there's just
goo gobs of this particular form of technology and it hasn't yielded
any positive results. Gary, correct me if I'm wrong, what is the amount we're spending
per square footage? 63,000 per square mile
on this deal.
And, by the way, we saw the trend in November.
We were down 17, significantly down from the previous November.
When I say there's room, we had an RFI process for people to actually bring in ideas.
That wasn't done before.
Let's start there.
There's now an RFP process now, right?
Please, could you just come on and lay it out?
Thank you.
Gary and Gatewood with Deputy Mayor.
Afternoon.
So as the mayor mentioned, the RFI process closed last Friday.
We had a lot of results from that, so we're excited about that.
There will be a team that reviews the results of that RFI and recommendations for the RFP will come from that.
Again, we're excited about the results of that.
We talked to the chief procurement officer, really looking forward to seeing what some of those new forms of technology can be for different parts of the city as we embark on this journey.
I mean, as the mayor said, he wanted to have an inclusive process to really see what the city of Chicago deserves,
and this gives us an opportunity by looking at the results of that RFI process to see what can be out there,
potentially run pilots in different parts of the city, and really roll out different forms of technology that can be helpful,
while also making sure people are included throughout that process.
So, back to the mayor.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi, Mayor.
Hi.
Around nearly 700 or two-thirds of principals and assistant principals at CPS have signed on to a letter
asking the Board of Ed to hold off on any leadership decisions.
What do you think of that letter and that call?
I actually don't think much of it.
Could you elaborate?
Nope.
I don't think much of it at all.
In terms of how you're weighing the concerns of principals?
Is this your follow-up question?
Be careful, because I've already answered it.
I'm just saying, if you do it again, I'm going to count that as your follow-up question.
All right.
My follow-up question is, is it still your wish to replace CPS CEO Pedro Martinez?
So what wish are you speaking of, though?
What wish are you speaking of?
Have I ever wished that before?
Our outlets have reported on steps your administration has taken to replace CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.
Which steps?
Asking him to resign.
So you heard me ask him to resign?
We've reported on it based on sources.
Yeah.
Have you heard me ask him to resign?
Okay.
All right.
So here's what I'll do.
It's okay.
Do you still wish to replace CPS?
Have I ever wished that, though?
That's my question.
So then let's ask it this way.
Do you wish for Pedro?
So go ahead.
Ask it.
Is it still your wish to replace?
What do you mean still my wish?
You're making an assumption here respectfully.
Okay.
Okay. So if you ask, you're right. I'll answer it.
When is the last time you've met with CPS CEO Pedro Martinez?
I can answer that question. So a couple of weeks ago, we had a conversation with the CEO and parents who would be or could be impacted by school actions.
and coming up with a district response so that these families who are experiencing a great deal of fear right now,
that we can alleviate that.
As you know, I do not discuss personnel issues.
I do not mean to take you through an unnecessary exercise.
I'm just simply asking, if your question is whether or not I think somebody can still need to work and have their job,
I'm happy to respond to that.
but I don't want to accept this frame or assertion
that I've done something that I've never expressed out loud
because I don't discuss personnel issues.
Here's what my priority is.
It's the children of this school district.
I really wish it could come down to one person.
I do.
Because if it come down to one person,
I would ask a parent in this city what they actually want.
And I know if I were to ask a parent,
they would say what this parent says.
Class sizes that are manageable.
extracurricular activities
the full force in the broad curriculum
so that children can experience their greatness
that's what this is about
look, I get it
people want to have political discussions
about someone's individual's job
my responsibility are the hundreds of thousands of families
that are counting on me
to deliver on what parents in this city have longed for
and that's a school district that loves our children
and sees them
and doesn't count them out
where other administrations have purportedly have done that.
I'm not going to do that.
Hi, Mayor.
Hi.
A November memo that was outlining your former comms director's termination
noted at the time the mayor's office did not want to place Ronnie Reese on the do not hire list.
Has your office reconsidered that decision all given the nature of the complaint?
So, again, thank you for that question.
I don't discuss personnel issues as our...
as
Jeff has expressed as part of our law department that there is a comprehensive criteria that is available for us for consideration of any employee who could be or not be on that list.
And two former mayor's office staffers who had previously complained of mistreatment under Ronnie Reese, they were removed from the city's do not hire list on Friday.
You know, can you shed any light on why their appeals took over a year from their termination to be decided on?
And do you think that review process just needs to happen more quickly, more broadly?
Well, look, I mean, in terms of review process in government, I don't think anybody is going to disagree that review processes, you know, do take a considerable amount of time.
And that's in every aspect of government, not to, you know, equate apples to oranges, but much like the cut the tape initiative, right, where there's just processes that have unnecessary inhibitors, right?
And so reviewing all of our processes in this city, that's something that our team does on an ongoing basis.
And to the consideration of this one, like anything else, everything is always up for review.
Thank you.
And you said, Mayor, that this is a process you inherited in terms of reviewing these complaints.
Although in the FOIA, your chief of staff had been aware of them for a long time.
Are you satisfied with the way that she handled this or your staff in general handled this?
Well, again, just like myself and everyone else, the extent of which was disclosed in that file came out through FOIA.
So it's not the case that all of the information was available to anyone in my administration.
What I can say emphatically is this.
We are committed to creating, and I say creating, healthy, safe working environments for all of our employees here.
And I know for a long time in systems that that has not always been the case.
And we are committed to being the generation that brings about the type of substantive transformation to workspace.
We're committed to that.
And just to follow up, you and Ronnie go back several years.
He's been with CTU.
Are you surprised at these allegations?
He's vehemently denied them.
Do you believe him or do you believe the allegations?
Look, there are allegations that have been brought to an individual.
You know, I'm not in a position, and nor will I succumb to litigating anything that is ongoing publicly.
What I can say is this. I can speak for Brandon Johnson, that I do not tolerate anti-Semitic, misogynistic, sexist, racist, xenophobia, anti-blackness, anti-immigrant behavior. I don't. That's not how I was raised. That is not attached to my faith.
I'm raising three beautiful children in this city, my wife and I.
We expect them to have not just tolerance for people, not just acceptance for people.
We're talking about an appreciation for people.
See, in the 90s, Jake, there was a term called tolerance, right?
And to me, I think you're absolutely right about that.
but but this was this was like a time in which when i was in high school and going into college
you know where people in the lgbtq plus community um could not come out i mean there was an entire
term around family members living in the closet right and so i have i have witnessed in my
lifetime incredible transformation and progress of how we treat people how we treat one another
now look i know sometimes people want us to fight just as hard um for them as what it seems like
we're fighting for other people there's enough strength to go around to ensure that anybody that
is experiencing any type of bullying or anti-behavior that we as a society can come together
and push back on it it's why it was actually repulsive to hear some of the conversations
at the highest of levels during debates.
That type of behavior feeds some of this behavior
that unfortunately still shows up in our spaces.
And so it's incumbent upon all of us
to resist the degree in which people are trying to separate us,
but it's also incumbent upon all of us
to recognize what part we all play
in ensuring that everyone feels safe.
And that is what I'm going to continue to lead in this city.
You all have been terrific.
Happy holidays.
Thank you for having me.