Chicago Politics

Update From City Hall 12.16.24

Chapters

Description

Mayor Johnson hosts a media availability.

Transcript

0:00 All right. All right. Hey, good evening, everyone. Thank you all for being patient and hanging around this evening. I do want to acknowledge three of our alders that are here today, Irvin, Burnett and Hall. Thank you all three of you for you all's leadership. And of course, we have some operational leaders here. Our chief operations officer, John Robertson, budget director, Annette Guzman, our chief financial officer, Joe Jarowski, our Comptroller, City Comptroller Chase Rushwinkle, Corporation Counsel, Mayor Richardson-Laurie,

0:32 and all of you for being here this evening, and I thank all of you all for your leadership. I'm thrilled that our city collaborated to pass a 2025 budget wherein we uphold our commitment to serve the people of Chicago. With this budget, we put yet another down payment towards a better, stronger, and safer future for the working people and families who call this city their home. Because of the true collaboration and hard work and vision,

1:03 we passed a budget that does not cut services, does not cut jobs, does not raise property taxes, and sustains key investments in youth employment, mental health, community safety, and affordable housing. In addition to funding the most critical services, like ensuring our streets are clean and garbage is collected, we uphold our commitment to protecting our financial future. This budget protects workers and retirees by fully funding our pension obligations,

1:35 including the supplemental payment. Finally, with this budget, the city is set to release a record TIF surplus of $570 million, returning record amounts of tax revenue to our schools, libraries, parks, And, of course, our city colleges. I am deeply grateful to the members of the city council who contributed their hard work, ideas and passion to this process. I especially want to thank again Alderman and Vice Mayor Walter Burnett, Alderman Jason Irvin, Alderman Pat Dow, Alderman Emma Mitz, and, of course, our subcommittee chair of revenue, Alderman Will Hall.

2:17 While the budget process may have been different from the past, it included truly unprecedented levels of collaboration and input from the City Council. My administration is proud to have created one of the most transparent and expansive budget engagement processes in the history of this city. We did this to ensure that community voices would be reflected in this budget. I am continually grateful to the residents and stakeholders who have made their voices heard throughout this entire process.

2:48 And finally, in the coming year, we will continue to fight for a progressive revenue source that secures our city's bright future for the long term. I am proud that today we stand as an example, an example of what's possible when we come together to deliver real results for the people of Chicago. I am greatly looking forward, of course, to the investments and the progress that we will continue to make in 2025. And with that, I will take your questions.

3:20 Thank you for taking the questions. Of course. My question was related to the type of progressive revenue that you're going to be asking for at the state level or potentially beyond that. And then I have a follow-up. Yeah, sure. Look, I really wish that we would have passed the progressive income tax, the fair tax. I wish we would have passed the fair tax. We're only one of 11 states in the entire union that has a progressive income tax. This is an idea that was incredibly popular by Chicagoans.

3:50 But one of the things that we do have to just be very clear about is that the ultra rich in this city, state and country have to pay their fair share in taxes. in order to make sure that the critical investments that we need to make in order to build a better, stronger, safer future for the people of Chicago, they have to pay their fair share. But is there a specific measure that you're going to be championing over the next year? Again, we do not have a progressive income tax. There are a number of ideas that are out there that would challenge the ultra-rich to pay their fair share, a plethora of ideas.

4:21 And so all of those ideas will be on the table, and we'll continue to organize to ensure that the rich pay their fair share in this state. And my follow-up is related to 2026. There were several comments during city council today about how difficult 2026 is going to be compared to how difficult this year's budget was. So can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah, we have to continue to work hard and bring people together. I mean, look, we didn't sign up for this job because we were hoping that it would be easy. It's going to take all of us, and I'm committed to that. My entire administration is committed to that. We have alders who are committed to that.

4:53 This has been one of the most expansive budgetary processes in the history of Chicago. Just over the weekend, 48 alders who decided to show up were briefed in advance. I promised that I would work hard this weekend. So even as a good labor person myself, I'm still working on weekends and even Sundays. I'm so sorry to my wife and my kids. I promise you, in about two more weeks, daddy's going to be completely available. And when I say daddy, that's what my children call me. I don't want you all to get too excited.

5:25 Hello, Mayor. Good evening. Good evening. Talk to me about what relationships amongst the aldermen would look like next year. I think a lot of them really talked about a lack of trust and just talked about hoping to get to that point next year so you all can really try to address that 2026 budget when the time comes. But where do you think things need to begin when it comes to relationship building or just trying to make things a little bit better amongst those? Yeah, look, my phone is available, my door is open, and I can't wait to continue to work together to go to Springfield to challenge that the ultra-rich pay their fair share in taxes.

5:59 For a very long time in this city and this state, the balance of powers have yielded to the interests of corporations and the ultra-rich in this state. You know, you heard from Chairman Irvin today. You know, there are some folks who want to go backwards to a time in which we were closing schools, closing mental health clinics, shutting public housing, you know. And so we're going to continue to move forward. And my number has not changed. Everybody still has it. And I'm open to all ideas. And God bless my Aunt Betty because she sends me text messages all the time about ideas.

6:32 But I'm listening to Aunt Betty, to everybody else in this city for that matter, too. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Mayor. There was a lot of talk today about the property tax increase and the fact that it came from $300 million down to zero. And a lot of the elders are saying that it's essentially kicking the can down the road, that we might have been a much more severe problem or a much more severe situation next year. Can you kind of speak to that and about starting the process maybe a little bit earlier, because that was mentioned quite a bit as well today? Well, we started the process early last year.

7:03 We had multiple community meetings. I believe we had five community meetings where people all over the city of Chicago were able to weigh in on this budget. Again, this is about making sure that labor, community, working people have access to this process. And we have had constant conversations with city council members around this entire process. Here's the thing. Last year, we predicted a budget deficit of a half a billion dollars.

7:35 I did that when I was running for office. There were alders who were here who didn't project that, and they had all of the information in front of them. And then while projecting, before I became mayor, the half a billion dollars, this time last year we told people what this year's budget deficit would be. It's not a surprise. It hasn't snuck up on anyone. But it also has a lot to do with just the failures of past administrations. Now, here's what we've done. There are structural changes that we have made to this budget. There's revenue. We are paying our pension obligation, which is going to save the taxpayers $3 billion over the course of $3 billion over the next five years.

8:12 So these are the responsible structural shifts that we've made in order to create that much more confidence in this economy. Now, again, you know, the Alders have an opportunity to work with me, work with the community, to go hand in hand, to get more progressive revenue out of Springfield. And listen, we're going to need that because we already know that the looming administration that is coming, the Trump administration, has already made it very clear their disdain towards working people.

8:45 So we're going to have to lock arms, and we're ready to do that. But just to kind of, you know, reemphasize something there, I think a lot of Chicagoans who are going to watch the news tonight are kind of hearing no property tax increase, and they see that as a significant win. And it is. It's great to not have property tax hikes. That's wonderful. But are they going to be harder next year, potentially? If we don't go together, and I'm committed to going together to Springfield to fight for progressive revenue, we're not going to be able to continue to make the type of investments that we've made thus far. Now, listen, even with the challenges that we've had, the largest investment for youth employment in the history of Chicago,

9:21 building more affordable homes, getting at the root causes of violence in this city by making critical investments to ensure that community safety continues to strengthen the largest historic TIF surplus in the history of Chicago. So clearly we're prepared and willing to put our money where our mouth is. But it's going to take all of us to go to Springfield and fight collectively. And our team has been working with the governor's team on a regular basis to come up with ideas and proposals. This is not a single-person show. I do know that sometimes there's this urge to, you know, to behave in a way that's isolating or in silos, but that's not.

10:00 our approach. We're going to go collectively, collaboratively to ensure that the ultra-rich in this state pay their fair share. Hi, Mayor. Hi. So you went from a $300 million property tax ask to zero. So why should residents believe you in the future when you say you need something big, whether that be a tax hike or something else, that you really do need it? Well, look, we had a billion-dollar budget deficit. We closed that gap by $700 million with over $460 million in efficiencies and savings.

10:31 We told people the truth. Look, it didn't change the fact that we lost $160 million. Remember, we lost $160 million when the PPRD, the personal property replacement tax, that that particular measure was able to expire. We lost $100 million when the interests of corporations fought back against raising the real estate transfer tax to bring Chicago home. And again, the fair tax that we ultimately was defeated because the ultra-rich spend hundreds of millions of dollars to do that.

11:05 Here's the thing that the people of Chicago know. They know that I'm going to invest in people. The largest investment for youth employment in the history of Chicago, building more affordable homes, making sure that we are continuing our efforts to see our city become safer. In every single major category, violent crime has gone down. So that's what we can continue to count on. I promised that I would deliver tip surplus to city colleges, to parks, libraries, to our schools. Do you know how frustrating it is as a parent when you got a log on at nine o'clock in the morning to try to get a park program for the summer?

11:39 And then by nine on one, it's over, it's closed. We're working to change that. Look, there's not a surprise here to anyone that we are in the financial state that we're in because we've had previous administrations that were more interested in protecting the ultra rich. We're going to do it differently in this city. So we're going to continue to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago by fighting for progressive revenue and ensuring that the ultra rich in this state pay their fair share. Should you have started with a $300 million ask?

12:09 I mean, listen, here's what we started with. We started with investing in people, and we will continue to start that, the largest investment in the history of Chicago for summer jobs. That's what the people of Chicago want. We increased our resources to gender-based violence to make sure that families who are fleeing violence in this city have programs and opportunities to heal and to become secure. And so know that in order to build a better, stronger, safer Chicago, you have to invest in people. This budget does that.

12:39 Thanks, Mayor. Welcome. And you did answer one of my questions about progressive revenue, so thank you for that. But also, let's have real talk for Chicagoans. Where should they expect to feel some of this financially? For example, bag tax up to $0.10, things like that. Well, look, it's not a secret that too many families in this country are experiencing, you know, a great deal of anxiety around grocery costs and things of that nature. Here's where people will be able to feel the investments.

13:10 That there's going to be an opportunity for 29,000 young people, mostly on the west and south sides of the city of Chicago, are going to have opportunities to get summer employment. Here's where they're going to be able to fill this in every single ward, that we have $300 million conservatively, almost $300 million for our schools. They're going to fill that investment. That's in every single neighborhood. Every single neighborhood, every single ward has a school. Same thing with parks. They're going to see and feel and experience those investments. We're already seeing a return on those investments. Homicides are down. shootings are down, vehicular hijackings are down, robberies are down.

13:44 For the last couple of years, now, there's a lot of work to be done, but the people of Chicago will continue to fill those investments because that's how we build a better, stronger, safer Chicago. We've got to do that together. Thank you very much. Well, look, here's the thing. There are workers in this city that didn't get laid off. So guess what? They're going to fill it in their pockets because they're going to have a check. There's no cuts to services. There's no layoffs. There's no furloughs. services for garbage for snow removal for lights those services are still being made available

14:16 even though that there are some individuals that wanted to cut those services we didn't do that, we protect working people in this city but here's the big thing that's important though the ultra rich in this state have to pay their fair share in taxes so the people of Chicago, we can all go together to ensure that we have real investments across the state for our public schools, for our libraries, good-paying jobs, building more affordable homes. Do you know by the end of this year we have built almost 3,600 affordable homes? 3,600. We're going to keep doing that.

14:46 We're going to do that together. Mayor Johnson, about four weeks ago you stood in that spot. You said that you were surrounded by the greatest financial brains in the country, yet it took four tries to pass the budget. that during those weeks that went by, people came to City Hall, real Chicagoans. They yelled at you from the galleries. They said they didn't trust you with 50 cents, that they didn't want you spending all of their money on migrants, on violent teenagers.

15:17 They said that you would lose a re-election, that any alderman that voted for this. absolutely they said that they didn't want your budget and that you said that you didn't want anyone to lose a job do you think the alderman who voted for your budget will in fact lose their jobs, their re-election campaigns? Well we voted for a budget that invests in people and not one layoff, not one furlough again the highest number

15:48 of investments in the history of Chicago for youth employment, building more affordable homes we actually expanded and extended Our care is programmed to respond to mental health crises. I mean, these are investments that have ultimately led towards violence going down in the city of Chicago. Here's the beauty in this moment, is that we have now two years of critical investments in the areas that the people of Chicago actually care about. But here's the thing that's most important, though. We're not done. We're not done. And so that's why we're going to go together as a collective. And our team is going to continue to work with the governor's team to find and come up with progressive revenue ideas so that we can continue to grow our economy.

16:22 Ronnie Reese, your longtime friend, former press secretary, was fired because of alleged racist and comments and sexual misconduct. You said you knew nothing about it. If it turns out that you did and you lied to the people of Chicago, will you resign? So we don't discuss personnel issues. And as I said, I'm committed to making sure that we have an environment here at City Hall that protects and keeps people safe and a healthy work environment that ensures that every single voice is heard.

17:02 So according to the municipal code of the Illinois compiled statutes, a Chicago vice mayor is a mayor-in-waiting and not a co-administrator like a U.S. vice president. So the question is, wouldn't it make more sense, instead of creating a separate budget for the vice mayor, and far be it for me to mess with anybody's money, but wouldn't it make more sense for him to use your staff since the legal minds among the aldermen say that he fills in for you for duties that you can't perform like going out and visiting people?

17:45 So it wouldn't make more sense to have staff that would be at his avail for that to come out of your budget as opposed to creating a separate budget. Well, look, thank you for that question. The entire budget that we voted on today is a budget that not only reflects the values of this city, but it ensures that the alders and leaders and city council can actually carry out the function of their respective responsibilities.

18:15 And so we do work together and we speak, you know, to one another and share ideas. But just like every single function of the city council body, each of them have, you know, staff members that coordinate with my staff members that that work will continue. So in follow-up, in case stuff happens under the circumstances listed in that statute, would that $400 carry over in the event that the vice mayor would become an interim mayor or a permanent mayor?

18:52 Mark, why are you trying to get rid of me, man? I'm not trying to get rid of you. I'm just saying, you know, hypothetically happens, you know, you listen, got to have a contingency plan. So that's why he has staff, you know, to help support the vision for the better, stronger, safer Chicago. Let me just say this about Vice Mayor Walter Burnett. You know, here's a person who has led the charge to make sure that returning residents are fully supported. His consciousness around public housing and affordable housing,

19:23 we're already looking at space in his ward to grow our community college footprint so that individuals who want to go into the trades can actually participate in the over $20 billion of new investments that are coming through here. So listen, I know that people are paying a special close attention to how we deliver services, but just be very clear that the investments that we are making across this city, on the west and south sides of the city of Chicago, It helped us with the $1.25 billion investment for housing and small businesses, the largest investment in the history of Chicago.

19:55 We're going to build more affordable housing units. We're going to continue to grow our economy. What our commitment is, and all of our chairs and leaders in city council play a part in that, and I'm grateful to have strong, conscientious leadership like Vice Mayor Alderman Walter Burnett, who is not the mayor in waiting, by the way. He is just the vice mayor, okay? Unless you plan on running in four years. You don't plan on running in four years yet. Thank you. Your Honor. Yes. Congratulations on a successful budget vote. Thank you very much. In your closing remarks today, you mentioned that the next step is having the wealthy in the state pay their fair share.

20:31 This is the next step in progressive financing. You also mentioned that the governor supported the fair tax. I did. Significantly. Yes. Thank you, Governor Pritzker. And that you're working with his staff now on other progressive revenue solutions. Is a fair tax revamp something that is one of the discussions that you're having? Well, I mean, we're having a number of conversations. You know, I'm not going to get into specifics around, you know, what those conversations entail, but I will say that they are happening. Fair. And I'm saying that what I'll say is this is that I do support a fair tax.

21:05 I do support that we have, you know, the bring Chicago home measure, which would have increased incrementally three percent on three percent of the people of this city. So 97% of Chicagoans would have received the tax break. Only 3% would have had to pay a little bit more. $100 million of revenue we could have been able to have for this particular budget. Again, the personal property replacement tax, you know, we're going to work to make sure that there's an opportunity to extend that and recoup those resources as well.

21:36 So there are a host of elements there that our team is digging in on. And, you know, I feel really good about the effort that is happening, and we're going to continue to collaborate with the governor, as well as the General Assembly. A lot of bankrolled misinformation in both those campaigns. But my follow-up is in regards to Washington, which doesn't look like they'll pass a continuing resolution tonight or even release one. Do you have any advice for would-be budgeteers in D.C.? They should call my vice mayor. He can tell you how to get it done. Well, look, we know that the incoming administration has given a lot of animus

22:12 towards public accommodations. I know it's unfortunate, but it's a very solipsistic approach towards governance. That type of egocentric behavior is not something that is good for the country. The disdain towards public accommodations, particularly education, housing, his inability to recognize that there are environmental concerns that we have to address. These are the investments that we are making at the city level. And, you know, I'm still hopeful, right, that we can come together as a nation,

22:47 utilize the power that we have to ensure that working people in the city of Chicago and across the country can have the type of investments that are needed in order to have, you know, real vibrancy within our communities. Thank you. Mayor, thanks for doing this before a very consequential Bears game. Of course, I'm facetious. There's been some concern about the $40 million reamortization of the loan, and I'm just wondering if you or someone on your team could just address the concerns

23:19 that that might put the city in a worse long-term fiscal position. Jill? Thank you for the question, Jill Jaworski, CFO. There's been a lot of confusion around this. We sold refunding bonds 11 days ago that generated a very significant amount of savings for the city. Because of the amount of savings that were available to us, we considered paying down one of our letters of credit by about $40 million. That $40 million repayment was not in the budget that was proposed.

23:52 We have subsequently decided we're just going to realize the savings in lower debt services this year. But we are not backtracking on a payment that we were going to make or anything like that. We considered using surplus savings to pay it down. We've decided not to. And there's no other – I don't want to overdescribe it, but much of the information that's been out there is inaccurate, and we're trying to make it clear we didn't have that scheduled, so we're not backing away from anything that we plan to do. So that's just – it's savings from refinancing that $40 million?

24:25 That's right. That's right. There was a lot of attention paid to the refunding transaction that was authorized probably two months ago from city council. There was a lot of allegations around that, that we were creating slush funds and various things like that. We did a refinancing for savings. We generated a significant amount of savings, which went into fiscal 24 and into fiscal 25. We considered using some of that to essentially accelerate our debt. We've chosen not to accelerate any of our debt at this point with that savings. Instead, we're just realizing that with lower debt service costs and fiscal 25.

24:58 Thank you, Jill. Good evening, Mayor. Thank you for taking our questions. You're welcome, of course. Given how controversial your initial pitch to break your campaign promise on not raising property taxes ended up being, are you back to 2023 mode where, you know, it's a red line for you? Or are you open to pitching another property tax hike if it comes to it? Progressive revenue is what we need. That's what we need. You know, the ultra-rich in this state have to pay their fair share in taxes. There's tremendous agreement around that. And so we're going to continue to work with everyone in city council.

25:29 So that's really what we have to do together. Labor has to work with us. City Council has to work with us. The General Assembly has to work with us. We all have to work together, really, to ensure that our schools across the state of Illinois are fully funded. You know, property taxes in and of themselves is one of the few levers at the local level that we can administer. Seventy percent of our potential revenue ideas require state approval. That's what our focus is going to be on.

25:59 So in the next year, if it comes that the city does not get more progressive revenue, would raising property taxes be on the table again? How about we just focus on what we want? Let's focus on what we want. I want you all to stay positive, okay? Because the people of Chicago and the state of Illinois really require that. Look, I know it's easy to go back and forth about this tax versus this tax. People have sold the people of Chicago out for too long, and they have kowtowed to the interests of the ultra-rich.

26:31 You know, Ken Griffin spent more money to defeat the tax than he would have had to pay. It's just asinine. You know, so our budget finance team, we're going to continue to work with the governor, work with the Senate president. We're going to work with the Speaker of the House. As city council, there's commitment for progressive revenue. So it's going to be incumbent upon all of us to ensure that we have, you know, a tax structure that doesn't rely solely on local control. So I'm going to remain confident and positive, okay?

27:01 Hey, Mayor. Hey. Alderwoman Haddon called your budget process disrespectful and specifically said that there was not enough collaboration when she spoke today. How do you respond to that? Are you taking that to heart, or do you still think that this was, you know, the best collaboration that a budget process at City Hall has ever seen? Look, the greatest investments that we've seen in youth employment, we did that together. You know, the greatest investment, you know, for an alternate response to 9-1-1, to respond to mental health crises, we did that together.

27:33 You know, the push for the largest surplus, historic investments, we did that together. And you know what else we're going to do together? We're going to challenge that the ultra-rich pay their fair share in this state. We passed a budget making critical investments In all the areas that people know are important I didn't do that by myself You know this Budget and finance team I mean I think Conservatively It's like 600 different exchanges Roughly Just back and forth meetings

28:04 Y'all going FOIA anyway so you know it's there You'll see it all These folks are working overtime Rolling up their sleeves, work hard Look it's a new process, we're doing things differently but we're doing it better. And so there are folks who are going to take some time to make adjustments. I can tell you this, Jake, you and I are new around here. I can tell you that this process that we are experiencing right now, there's no one in this room can say that this process has been more collaborative than previous administrations, no one. And if they say that, they're being dishonest. And so we're going to continue to work together because we have to do that.

28:35 And I'm very proud of the work that the city council has done. I'm glad that they are finding their voices. You know, I was an organizer, and I tried really hard to get city council members to find their voices. It looks like they have, and I get to do it from the inside with them. So it looks like my organizing has worked and paid off. This budget relies on some estimates that raise eyebrows like $10 million coming from events and a number of new efficiencies that were brought in pretty late in this process. Are you confident that this budget really is balanced and that the city won't overspend like it has this year?

29:09 $460 million of efficiencies in cost savings. Now, remember, we saved the taxpayers in this year's budget. Was it over $200 million? We did that. Renegotiating contracts that we inherited, save the taxpayer dollars. But, you know, look, the expiration of the PPRT, it was a problem, right? But that's something that we can fix together. Like, there's an opportunity for us to do that. You know, so here's what I'm confident in,

29:39 that in our ability to bring people together, to work together, to make sure that the ultra-rich in this state pay their fair share in taxes. We've got to do that. Hi, Mayor. Hey. I imagine that the Wall Street Ratings Agency has watched today's proceedings and are perhaps even watching now. What would you say to them as they weigh whether to downgrade the city's credit, which would, of course, cost the city a great deal of money. Look, we've had two credit score upgrades since I've been in office, right? We do know that, you know, the sins of previous administrations, you know,

30:14 left billions of dollars of debt and left out of here with junk status. We don't want to go back to that, right? We're working to make sure that there are structural shifts within our budget, which 70 percent of this budget responds to the structural, you know, component, which I think is responsible. You know, you know, I'll just say this. You know, it's important to in Jill and that and Jason, I talk about this quite a bit about labor peace, you know, showing some stability there.

30:48 So, you know, part of this budget makes some projections for our fire department and EMT. You know, I'm going to continue to make sure that our folks remain at the table to make sure that our first responders are fully supported. In fact, I'm going to call Pat today and let him know that we're committed to find a solution to ensure that those investments reach the workers of this city. So between the structural commitment that we have to paying into our pension debt, having labor peace, a diverse economy while also making investments that, you know, I feel good about, you know, how we're moving forward.

31:33 I think ultimately one of the things I think they're going to watch is what else we do to ensure that you have a progressive revenue formation that balances our budget with more equity. I think that's important, right, so that we don't have these reliances, you know, on these incremental shifts that we make. So, you know, we're going to continue to show up for the people of Chicago to make the critical investments and then work together to go to Springfield together to fight for progressive revenue. There was a proposal from some alder people led by Jesse Fuentes that said,

32:09 hey, let's take $170 million from the Chicago Police Department budget, which is earmarked for vacant positions, and let's use that to sort of bridge the gap this year. Ultimately, that didn't happen because there was the sense that that money was needed to fill overtime and settlement costs that are not budgeted in this budget. Is that an appropriate way to budget for the Chicago Police Department, and does that help obscure the cost of police overtime and police misconduct?

32:40 Well, this budget certainly positions us to respond to reform in our overtime system, but I'll let Annette expound on that. Thank you, Annette Guzman, Budget Director. I wouldn't state that the way you characterize it is correct. we make in a forecast of how much of the cpd budget is actually going to get used during the year based on hiring trends attrition trends and so forth and i think when if you just look at the

33:13 value of positions and you add them up you're actually forgetting and missing the part of the budget where we call turnover our turnover approximates how long those positions are actually going to stay vacant which means that we've actually lowered the cpd budget already And so I don't think it's accurate to say that the budget doesn't properly account for settlements and judgments or police overtime. We have already made an approximation of how long those positions will be vacant when people will potentially leave CPD service, creating salvage within the CPD budget.

33:47 And those those things are interrelated. And so we have a balanced budget and we have balanced CPD's budget as well. So how much is CPD going to spend on overtime in 2025? Because in the first six months of 2024, it spent $130 million out of a $100 million overtime budget. I think, you know, CPD was this year very much involved in a very, very big event that happened in the city of Chicago in 2024, which was the DNC.

34:19 What you don't see in the overtime is the reimbursement that the city receives for overtime for special events and other events that happen in the city of Chicago. And I'm actually glad you raised that because it was something that I think it was Jake that asked about, whether or not the cost recovery initiatives and contract savings initiatives are real initiatives. They are. What we have seen over the last few years as it relates to not only CPD's overtime and their regular salary and wage line as it relates to supporting events,

34:52 we have other departments that do that as well, is that the city of Chicago is going to be working in 2025 to make sure that our purpose permitting processes, our coordination and scheduling of events is done in such a way that we actually have the capacity and the resources to staff those without increasing our costs across the board for all of our departments that do that work and support that work so that organizations, sporting teams, and so forth can continue to have the

35:22 support that they need to ensure that their events are safe, that people feel safe when they come to them, and so forth. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening. I have a question for the CFO. Okay. I just want to follow up on the line of credit, and I might have misheard this, but if that wasn't included in the budget as proposed, how could it be counted as a savings, the $40 million? The savings came from the bond refinancing.

35:53 Can you expound on that as if I'm a third grader? Yeah, we sold bonds to take out bonds that were callable, and we tendered for a lot of bonds, which means we bought them out of the marketplace. And we were able to sell the new bonds at lower rates than we pay on the old bonds. And so we generated $89 million in savings that is allocable to fiscal 24, which is $19 million greater than the amount we had originally expected from this transaction, which will help go towards our balance for 24.

36:33 And we generated $54 million in savings in fiscal 25, of which we had already allocated $13 million to the budget. And we considered accelerating payment of a line of credit for $40 million. We chose not to do that. So those are just savings we realized from our bond sale. Got it. So the revenue from the refinancing was higher than expected? Much higher. That's correct. We did not budget anything for the savings in fiscal 25. As we got close to the deal, we thought maybe we'd get $10 million.

37:05 We ended up having a very much more successful transaction. Okay. And there were some aldermen who said otherwise that putting this off would cost an additional $2 million, $1 or $2 million. That's inaccurate? So the $40 million on the line of credit, if we assume around a 5% interest cost, would cost, I tell you, it's always cost about $2 million a year in interest. But we're not really putting it off. We had not intended to pay it off this year. We considered the opportunity to pay it off earlier than we expected. But it does carry an interest cost, just like all of our debt carries an interest cost.

37:39 We keep the repayment of our debt. We try to be very steady with the repayment of our debt, paying down principal and interest every single year. we could choose to accelerate the repayment of more debt and that would drive us to a higher budget gap that we would have to fill. But if you look at the repayment pattern you'll see that we are consistently paying down a significant amount of our debt every single year. Thank you.

38:10 Good evening, Mayor. Good evening. With all the talk that we're hearing about progressive revenue what indication are you getting from the governor's office or anywhere in Springfield that they are ready to pursue something like that, of that scale, or even at the city level, another try at the tax surcharge? We're having regular conversations with the governor's team. We have spoken with the

38:46 a Speaker of the House as well as a Senate president, engaging them as well around a host of ideas. You know, look, it's too early to indicate whether or not someone's going to make a commitment one way or the other. All I can say is this, though. Here's what we do know. The state has conservatively projected about a two point. I'm sorry, a three point one billion dollar budget gap themselves. So we're not the only body of government who are dealing with the fact that the ultra-rich don't pay their fair share.

39:17 State of Maryland, $2.7 billion budget deficit that they're projecting. And so, you know, the indication really is being provided by the people of the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. When we went for the fair tax, I believe the city of Chicago was over 70% in approval of a fair tax. Black Chicago was even higher, I think almost 80%, and some awards higher than 80%. So there's clearly an appetite from the people of Chicago, and there's a political will from the people of Chicago and the mayor of Chicago, myself, to fight collectively for progressive revenue.

39:54 It's the pathway forward. Look, we made a commitment not to lay people off. To not cut services, while also making the largest investments in youth employment, affordable homes, and creeping our communities safe. We have demonstrated, to the last point, your question, the indication is based upon our commitment and will to get it done. And so we're going to keep at it, we're going to keep at it. And, you know, I'm a pretty determined person, but so are the people of Chicago. It's not just about me or my administration, it's about what the people of Chicago want.

40:26 But if the success of next year's budget process depends on getting that done, I mean, we kind of have to face the fact that so far the ultra rich have been pretty successful at avoiding paying it despite the efforts here and in spring. You're not wrong about that. I mean, they certainly spent a whole lot of money to distort the truth, you know, but, you know, once upon a time, the ultra rich were pretty successful to preventing black people from being liberated.

40:56 You know, we fought for liberation in this country to end slavery. You know, I mean, look, there's no question here that there are forces that want to keep people restrained and without the ability to live a life that pursues happiness. Here's the thing that's most important, though. You have a mayor, you have city council members, the people of Chicago want to see greater investments.

41:26 so that we can lower the burden on working people. That's what this is all about, really protecting working people in this city. And we're going to continue to show up every single day, roll up our sleeves, and work collectively to fight for progressive revenue. Hey, man. Hey. Sorry, I didn't know if you were done. So there's been kind of a disconnect through this process, right, where you describe being the collaborator-in-chief and that you're inspiring kind of a new process. and then we speak to aldermen and they tell us the opposite.

42:00 I think you saw some of that play out today in the speeches where not even, it wasn't even just opponents that voted no, right, but some of the supporters, Maria Haddon and Emma Metz, also decried that this process. I guess my question is, I mean, you're not really addressing that, right? Do you hear the criticism? Do you think it's unfair? Do you think it is fair and you'll work with them? I mean, help us understand kind of the why we hear different things from aldermen than what you say during these press conferences.

42:33 Well, look, I think all feedback is heard and received. I mean, my budget reflects that. I mean, let's just stay there for a second. Right. So there are alders that said that we didn't hear them. But there were multiple alders that said that they wanted us to find more cuts and efficiencies. We did that. There were alders that said that, look, you know, the property tax, you know, at 300, at 150, at 68 million, that they didn't want to vote on that.

43:04 We heard them. You know, you know, they wanted us to make some adjustments to some of the investments that, you know, we were making. And we made those adjustments. They wanted me to cut my office. We heard them. We did it. I mean, isn't that proof that we actually work together? If the ideas in which people signed on to wanted to see come to fruition and we actually did it, isn't that proof positive? Now, can we do things better? Of course we can, and we will. And, you know, looking forward, you're describing like another run at the fair tax.

43:38 You came into office, obviously, saying you had raised hundreds of millions in progressive revenue, but the budget that was approved today does not include that. You know, it includes somewhat regressive fines and fees. I mean, what in your first two years makes you believe that next year's budget, you will find some of this progressive revenue to avoid the kinds of increases that you had to resort to? So there's a commitment from more than just me for progressive revenue. There's a commitment that there are, again, 70 percent, over 70 percent of Chicagoans say that they want a progressive revenue in this state.

44:18 over 80 percent in black chicago in particular like that's that's what we have to respond to we have to respond to what people want now if you're asking for an over under on on on on how we achieve that look there's been a very long road to freedom and liberation in this city it's been a long road and there are families right now who who want to see more investments in our public schools, and that's why I'm proud that we have the historic release of TIF dollars

44:52 for community colleges and our Chicago public schools, parks and libraries, the city of Chicago's budget. Again, we still continue to see the trend move in the right direction as it relates to violent crime in this city. The largest number of paid positions for young people. Of course, I want to see more of that. And we're going to continue to do our part to ensure that we find more progressive revenue to make those type of investments.

45:23 Not just for the city of Chicago. These are challenges that people are having all over the state of Illinois. And we're going to work with our partners across the state to see that come to fruition. Yes, ma'am. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening. The tribe reported that a business pack called One Future Illinois sent text messages to Chicagoans telling all the people to vote no on Friday's budget. Do you anticipate future action from this group? And what is your message to special interest groups who are attempting to influence members of city council? You know, this has come up earlier in our conversation about the interest of a handful of people who have had unfettered access to the fifth floor, and now they're showing a great deal of animus against working people.

46:09 You know, my message to, you know, these same forces that were okay with closing schools, they were okay with shutting and closing public housing, they were okay with shutting mental health clinics, right? They were okay with not having real structural changes to our budget so that we can meet those pension obligations. That's who these small group of people are. And my message is really to the people of Chicago,

46:40 because the small group of people who are committed to these austere budgets that have continuously created gross disinvestment over the course of decades, I don't know if there's anything else we can say to them. But here's what I can say to the people of Chicago. You have a mayor and members of the city council, people within the labor movement, who believe in working families in this city. And we're prepared and ready to stand shoulder to shoulder, to lock arms,

47:11 to ensure that we don't have to guess whether or not our neighborhood schools are going to be fully funded. That we don't have to guess whether or not we can afford groceries. That's what's at stake right here. And so I'm calling on all members of city council. My phone is available. I have not changed my number. My number is still the same. Anyone and everyone can call me and text me at any moment. And our team is going to respond and show up for the people of this city to ensure that we make sure that the ultra rich pay their fair share in taxes. We cannot give up just because someone says no. We cannot give up just because they send out text messages blasting the interest of working people.

47:46 You have a fighter in me. I didn't get here as a politician. I got to this seat as an organizer, as a part of the working movement in this city. So, hey, y'all, let's knuckle up, buckle up. You know, the fight is real. Hey, Mayor, how are you today? Based upon that last comment, I promise. Probably should have asked me that question before. I'm fine. I'm fine. Okay. What insights did you gain from this process and how do you plan to handle similar situations moving forward? Yeah, what lessons did we learn here is that it's possible to bring people together even when we fuss at each other.

48:22 It's possible. Now, look, I'm just going to say this, and I don't mean to sound hubris, but you all have seen how other mayors get down. I don't turn red in the face. I don't get out there cussing. I'm not storming, threatening people. You know the lesson that I learned here? that you can walk in your principles and values even when people disagree and you don't have to be nasty about it. You don't have to be nasty about it. But here's what we also learned. That people of this body of government

48:54 said that investing in domestic violence to respond to domestic violence, that that was important. Here's what this budget also said. That it was important to hire up to 29,000 young people. The largest amount in the history of Chicago. People are committed to making sure that we have safer communities. Right. And so the lesson, the big lesson here is that when we come together, even when it's frustrating and when it's even when it's new, that we can get through a process that speaks to the values of the people of Chicago.

49:28 So my confidence is just as high. My faith is strong. And now we're ready to go to the next level here and work together to get the ultra-rich in this state to pay their fair share of taxes. Hi, Mayor. Hi. When you pitched your budget, you called a property tax increase the difficult but responsible thing to do. Is it responsible for the council to skip a property tax increase for the third year in a row, at least at the rate of inflation? Well, look, the local government has...

50:00 Limited options as it relates to revenue. And that is a challenge, you know, it is a challenge. Here's what we know is irresponsible. Selling off the parking meters, shutting down public housing, closing schools and health clinics. You know what else is irresponsible is when you have a handful of ultra-rich that would rather protect their pockets than ensure that the working people of this city have some in their pockets

50:34 so that they can afford groceries and rent. The responsible thing to do moving forward is to find progressive revenue so that we can meet our obligations and make those critical investments that the people of Chicago deserve. And are you concerned that the taxes and fees that you guys came up with to replace that property tax increase actually, you know, shifts that burden to lower income Chicagoans as opposed to a property tax increase, which is at least in theory, more of a graduated tax than, you know, a tax on plastic bags or streaming services. Yeah. So look, you know, the property tax as is, we still have a

51:07 property tax. We still have to pay them. You're right that the people who have, you know, value, greater value share a greater responsibility. That's why we were pushing for bring Chicago home. it would have actually caused a 97% reduction, 97% of the people in Chicago would have experienced a reduction. You know, so look, the ideas for progressive revenue are available to us. The political will is there. We're committed to it. We really are. And so that's why I'm grateful that our team is working on a regular basis with the governor's team

51:40 of working to find progressive revenue ideas so that the people of the city of Chicago and the state, working people know that they are loved for and cared for good evening yes it's like the last person during graduation i'm going to ask about a whole new subject of course um today you get to introduce your appointees to the school board and i'm wondering what characteristics were you looking for in those appointees and whether you had any trouble finding people who wanted to serve on the

52:11 school board given the challenges that the school district will face in the next few years well look Here's what I look for. People who actually love and believe in public education. We want every single family in this city to have a fully funded neighborhood school. I talk about this a lot because it's important to me, especially because we know the looming attacks from the federal government around public education are severe. We have to take them seriously. So looking for people who understand the urgency of this moment, people who know that they have to organize and work collectively to fight for progressive revenue in the state.

52:47 But really the big, you know, I guess characteristic that I really, you know, I'm proud that people demonstrated was a real care for the families who do the work as well. You know, I remember, I think I just started organizing, and when Mayor Emanuel became mayor, he took a 4% raise away from teachers. Just right away, unilaterally. That certainly wasn't collaborator-in-chief. Could you imagine if I would have taken the raise from police officers my first day of the job?

53:21 Don't imagine that, right? And I wouldn't do that because it's unjust, right? And so looking for people who understand that working people in this city are not the enemy. You know, it actually becomes a little frustrating at a time where people believe that teachers are somehow out to harm children. It's a really sad argument, quite frankly. And it really comes from this, unfortunately, this disdain and animus towards working people. So looking for people who understand the value of public education for our children, but not be dismissive of the people who serve those families.

53:54 Oh, and no, no, there are plenty of people who want to do it. And it's a matter of finding the right people and the right combination of people who can do it. The other question I have is, you know, you talk about what you were looking for in school board members. They will have to amend the budget. And hopefully they, you know, given your budget, they will include the MEABF pension payment. Was that a question that you asked them directly that they will be willing to? figure out how to pay that pension payment? Well, there's no secret that that's what the city council wanted as well.

54:26 Like, I'm not by myself here, and it's a responsible thing to do. These are individuals who are teachers' assistants. These are overwhelmingly brown and black women. You know, unfortunately, because of negligence over the course of decades in this city, not taking working people seriously, having people on the board who recognize the state law, First of all, that there's an obligation and a responsibility to uphold the state law. But even the moral argument, you know, many of these economies, local communities are are stabilized because of pensioneers, retirees.

55:02 So six zero six four four zip code, for instance, that's a zip code that I live in. You know, the average pensioner at that time, maybe six, seven years ago was around forty five thousand dollars a year. if you were to remove those individuals from the 6th Ward as well, right? These are retired workers, police officers, firefighters, teachers. We have to make sure that we secure these retirements because they ultimately help stabilize our communities. So, yes, that's important that people respect the responsibility of the position

55:33 to take care of the working people and retirees. Were you good? All right, thank you all. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Happy Holidays if I don't see you again. Thank you.

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