Chicago Politics

Press Availability 12.2.25

Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson hosts press availability.

Transcript

5:38 Good morning. Thank you all for being here. Please accept our apologies for running behind today. Thank you for being patient with us today. I do hope that all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving as we move into the holiday season. I hope we all get a chance as a city to spend more time with our families, our friends, and our loved ones. Hold them close and hold them tight. This morning I do want to just take a few minutes to fact check a few pieces of paid information that has been circulating about our protecting Chicago budget.

6:13 And it has been brought to my attention that there is a number of entities that are relaying information that would make Donald Trump blush. You all remember these two groups that formed over the past year and a half to oppose the progressive agenda that I put forward for the city of Chicago The first group is called the Common Ground Collective This group was formed by Michael Sachs and about 90 other wealthy donors

6:45 all of whom chose to remain anonymous This is a dark money pact that raised $10 million a tenth of the entire community safety surcharge to oppose our efforts to invest in young people and communities by taxing those with means. Another group, the One Future Illinois PAC, also formed by wealthy business leaders to oppose progressive revenue, has also begun to spend large amounts of money to attempt to intimidate Alders into opposing our protecting Chicago budget.

7:19 The Common Ground Collective, again this is the Michael Sachs Group, is running a well-funded misinformation campaign about the community safety surcharge, also known as the corporate head tax. They claim that these are $100 million, quote, in new taxes. What they are not telling the people is that this is a $100 million tax on the top 3% of large corporations in Chicago.

7:50 No resident will be impacted by this tax. In fact, 97% of businesses essentially won't be impacted by this tax as well, and every single business with less than 100 employees will not be impacted. They also claim that the Community Safety Fund does not make any new investments in community safety or youth programs. This is obviously false.

8:21 This fund primarily goes towards youth programs, including more than $50 million to employ 30,000 young people for this coming summer, as well as funding for youth intervention and diversion programs. It also includes substantial funding for community violence intervention organizations who are on the front lines working to drive down crime and violence on the most difficult blocks in Chicago.

8:51 They know this. You all know this. But they are trying to mislead and confuse the people of Chicago. The ad is filled with asterisks because they know that they are not being truthful. This fund also supports families who have been victims of domestic and gender-based violence. It also supports the mental health of our first responders. So for truthfulness, I give this ad an F minus.

9:24 We have been explicit from the very beginning down to the dollar level about how these funds will be spent and what they will be used for. This is the slide we presented to you all and to council more than a month ago. We have gone through different iterations of this fund as we work with our allies on council, but we have been transparent about how this fund will be used. Frankly, I think it's beneath these so-called business leaders

9:55 There's... to lie to the public about the community safety surcharge. My challenge to them is to just explain their reasoning and debate the pros and cons of this proposal. You do not need to lie and try to trick the public. You do not need to spread misinformation. You have every editorial section of every newspaper in this city to make your case. You can go on any television channel that you want at any time.

10:27 There's no need to treat the people of Chicago like they're stupid just because they may have as much just because they may not have as much money as you do. The people of Chicago are not stupid. The other group, One Future Illinois, put out this really sort of, it's a real pathetic push-pull with very little details, no cross tabs and no real substance.

10:59 They tried to say that Chicagoans are paying attention to this budget and that they oppose it. They didn't try too hard, though, and they didn't add much of anything to the bait. On this one, the polls that I have seen show that the overwhelming majority of Chicagoans support taxing large corporations instead of working class Chicagoans. For lack of effort, I give this an F minus as well.

11:32 And finally, after more than a month, we saw the proposal from a group of alders who opposed the protecting Chicago budget. Unfortunately, when you crunch the numbers, their proposal is almost $700 million short, and it relies almost entirely on regressive revenue and fees on working people. We hope to see more from them and how they intend to fill the $700 million gap with progressive revenue.

12:07 As a reminder, the proposal that we put forward is pretty simple. No property tax increase. No garbage fee increase. Eliminate the grocery tax. $100 million for community safety fund for youth programs and violence prevention $500 million invested in our public education system protecting investments in mental health care and crisis response

12:37 protecting city services that Chicagoans rely upon we are continuing to have productive conversations with aldermen and we will continue to work with anyone who wants to work together to land this and pass a budget that protects working people and that stands up to Trump's cuts. Thank you all, and at this point, I'm happy to answer all of your questions. Mariah, you want to start?

13:13 The all-star team here, Ms. Jung Yoon, Annette Guzman, Mike Belsky, and Jill Jarowski. Hi, Mayor. Hi. Non-budget-related question first. Oh, my gosh, give her a round of applause. Well, let me just see what the question is first. It's a tough one. And 7500, residents of 7500 South South Shore, the site of the aggressive military-style raid in September, say they've been told by a judge they have until December 12th to move out of the building. They were told this the day before Thanksgiving.

13:43 And they're holding a press conference right now, actually, in part calling on you and your corporation counsel to intervene and file an emergency motion with the court to give residents more time and potentially resources to get out of the building in 10 days, you know, in the middle of winter. Is that something your administration is aware of, and will you try to intervene? You know, the city has an ongoing case regarding this building. Well, look, ensuring that families in this city have access to affordable and quality housing,

14:15 that is of great importance for me. It's one of my top priorities in building a safe city. And we've been working with these tenants for some time. Individuals that have CHA vouchers, we're going to help find placement for them, dignified housing. We've also been working with these tenants to support them in their rental relocation operation. Look, our main responsibility, of course, at this point is to keep the tenants safe in the meantime. However, my administration is working overtime with the organizers of these tenants

14:51 to ensure that they have a place of comfort and a place where they can afford and feel good. good about. Do you support the December 12th deadline, or is that something that you think the court should extend? Well, I mean, look, we're going to work with expediency to get these families placed. If there's an opportunity for us to, especially once we locate and find housing, if there's an opportunity to work with the court to provide maximum time for comfort and placement, of course, we'll explore that. And then you referenced this pitch from a small group of

15:25 alders who say their budget proposals pitch it was more like a roll i want to hear more about that but um you know it it would avoid a property tax increase avoid a corporate head tax but by potentially doubling the garbage collection fee and including a dollar 25 package delivery fee that residents and businesses would pay have you received a formal proposal and are these ideas that you would support in in any form and we have not received a formal proposal um from from anyone at this point. We've started this process well back in April.

15:59 And I guess some people are just used to cramming. Our team, we work nonstop, constantly. We consider ourselves responsible stewards of the people of this city. And so this sort of rush, cram work is something that, quite frankly, I believe the residents of the city of Chicago deserve more than that. But again, And if you look at whatever and whatever form they actually submitted to me and it's still seven hundred million dollars short of completing a balanced budget.

16:34 I think the other thing that's important to note here is that, you know, not only does it take away the responsibility of these large corporations who just received, again, yet another benefit from the Trump administration, It takes responsibility off of them and it places a greater burden on working people, you know, doubling the garbage fee. But but but also it it also assumes that the delivery fee is is something that will stand up to to litigation.

17:07 I think it's well, it's really irresponsible to attempt to balance a budget on speculation. Right. And so it's why with our smart tax, the social media amusement responsibility tax, we know that this is going to be faced with some challenges in court. It's not it's why we're not balancing our budget off of it. Right. And so if you look at their proposal, you have one that's going to be litigated. You have another one that places responsibility on a working people. And then the other proposal removes responsibility from these big corporations who continue to experience incredible benefit from their defender in chief, Donald Trump.

17:47 I just don't see this as a pathway forward because it leaves working people stranded. And in my proposal, we're not going to we're not going to leave working people stranded in this budget. We're going to move forward as a city. We're going to do it together. But we're going to make sure we're protecting working people in Chicago. Hi, Mayor. Hi. I just want to clarify, so that if the city council passes a budget that increases the garbage fee by any amount, would you veto that budget? Well, look, they're going to have to find 34 alders who can compel working people that they're going to balance the budget off of their backs.

18:23 They're going to have to go do that work. And what I'm going to do, I'm going to use the tools that are available to me to protect the working people of Chicago. That is my sole responsibility in this moment, is to protect the people of this city. And here's the thing. We're asking corporations, 3% of them, to help us balance the budget with essentially an amount of dollars that account for about 1.6% of our overall budget. My question is, why are they working so hard to protect the people who already have their protector, which is Donald Trump?

18:55 Every single community group that I've spoken with, I've been all over the city of Chicago, And you know what everyone is saying across the city? These big corporations have to put more skin in the game. That's what this budget does. It's balanced. It protects working people. It protects our investments. It moves us forward to continue to build the safest, most affordable big city in America. I also want to ask you a non-budget question. I don't need any applause, though. Okay. Thank you. All right. Well, I'll just give you one of these. Okay. I'll take it. The Chicago Board of Ethics fined former Inspector General Joe Ferguson $5,000 for disclosing the confidential report that determined that the smokestack implosion could have been prevented and a plume of dust could not have been, you know, that if city officials had done their jobs, that plume of dust wouldn't have enveloped Little Village in April of 2020.

19:46 Do you think that fine is appropriate or do you agree with the former inspector general who said, yep, I did it and I'm glad I did because the. People deserve to know that it could have been prevented. Well, you know, look, I think it's important that, you know, people who are in position of authority and influence should maintain a certain decorum and honesty and work within the confines of the rules that have been established. Now, you know, look, what inevitably came out was that there are better ways in which, you know,

20:20 government can work within these communities, particularly communities where environmental justice has long been fought for. It's why I restored the Department of the Environment so that we have stronger mechanisms in place to ensure that we're moving in a way that maximizes community participation and transparency. You know, as far as someone's desire to work against the confines of the law, you know, I mean, that's a personal decision that he made, but as far as what we do as an administration,

20:52 we respond to the needs and we create government entities that allow for the type of protective measures to be realized. That's why the Department of the Environment in this budget, by the way, is moving forward in an additional phase so that we do have personnel in place to ensure that everyone gets to participate, but most importantly, we actually get to do right by the people of this city. Thank you for those questions. Off topic only. I'm going to stay on topic this time. So as you know, you have allies that are also advocating for this budget, putting out ads, social media posts.

21:28 The CTU put out a social media post yesterday, tracks with previous press releases they've put out. It says it describes your plan and then it says the billionaire back plan would, among other things, raise your property taxes, cuts one hundred and sixty six million from firefighters and doesn't want to pay victim of wrong or pay out the lawsuits to people who've been hurt by like wrongful lawsuits from CPD. As you know, there is not a plan that's been put out that would raise property taxes.

21:59 And while there are aldermen who don't want to borrow for those operating costs, as far as I'm aware, no one has said they don't want to make those payments at all. Do you think the CTU is, as you said about the others, being misleading and lying about what's on the table? Well, there are alders that have floated the ideal of raising property taxes. They have. You know, they're not coming out saying it out loud because, for whatever reason, they don't have the fortitude of a gall to actually state their position out loud.

22:31 You know, so that is something that Alders have expressed. And, you know, as far as making sure that our firefighters, you know, get the contract that they deserve, that's in this budget, right? I mean, we worked hard to ensure that, you know, our first responders are well paid and compensated. And, you know, I don't think it's off track to ensure that working people get their just due. And I think finally, many people have longed for an education system that would be fully supported by a mayor.

23:11 That's who they have in me. I was at a community function that was organized by Apostle Amber Crombie on the west side. and he was distributing goods to families, I mean, long lines. And a woman chased me down. I was headed to my vehicle, moving on to my next stop. And these folks had been in line for, again, for toiletries and food and furniture, coats, you name it. They were in line for these services.

23:42 And she chased me down and she said, Mayor Johnson, what are you going to do about these public schools? And so I asked her what her name was. She told me her name. I want to know what you're going to do about these public schools. I asked her how many kids did she have. She told me how many kids she had. Once again, just, what are you going to do about these schools? I said, what grade are they in? I was trying to get to know her and understand what her motivations are. Eventually, I told her, I said, we're going to release a half a billion dollars into our public schools.

24:14 That's what the CTU is fighting for. And you know why they're fighting for that? It's because that's what I've been fighting for my entire professional career. there's never been a mayor in the history of Chicago that starved themselves for a half a billion dollars to go into our schools there's never been a mayor in the history of Chicago that took arrests to make sure that our public schools have everything that they need and you know why I did it? for that woman who chased me down and said what are you going to do about our public schools Not only are we going to release the largest TIF surplus in the history of Chicago back into our public schools

24:46 so that that mother and mothers and fathers across the city can have access to social workers and counselors and libraries and librarians and psychologists and after-school programs, we're also going to take this fight and continue this fight in Springfield to ensure that the millionaires pay their fair share in taxes. So no, it's not misleading. It is right on. As long as I'm mayor of Chicago, I have put more skin in the game in the fight for public accommodations than any other elected official in the history of this city.

25:18 Name one outside of me that have starved myself, that have taken arrests, that have gone on strikes, that have led organizing campaigns across the city and across this country to ensure that our public accommodations are actually fully supported. And yes, that includes our firefighters. And yes, it includes our teachers. These are the people who make up the soul of Chicago. No, that's not misleading. What these corporations are doing is an absolute, absolute failure. It's a lie. And so, no, I think what they're doing is advocating for working people, and they should continue to do that.

25:51 Have any aldermen called on you to cut $166 million from firefighters or not pay victims of wrongful convictions? They don't want to support this budget that does that. They have made it very clear, and I'll pass this to our budget director, about the mechanisms in which we have used to help make sure that we're paying our firefighters and giving them the benefits that they deserve. And there are people who have pushed back significantly on our efforts. Sure. Thank you. What I will say is that they haven't come up with an alternative to pay it.

26:24 These are the same people that ratified that very contract, which now has to be paid and is an obligation of the city to our firefighters. And so in the absence of an actual solution, they're asking for it to be cut out of the budget. What I would say is what is being put out is very misleading. The entirety of the fire contract is significantly more than the $166 million. dollars. What we have proposed is to finance purely the portion that is one time in cost

26:56 over a three-year period, which is vastly different than how the city has always financed its retro contracts for firefighters and police. We're the first who've financed it over a very short amount of time, over three years, which is consistent with the amount of time that the contract has been unresolved. In the past, the former administrations have financed that over 30 to 40 years. So what we are asking for is to make that a manageable payment within our budget

27:28 over the next three years, rather than being a significant one-time cost hit in one budget. Thank you. Just lastly, I mean, their ads don't say that they oppose your budget and they haven't come up was they directly say these ads put out by the ctu okay says directly that they want to cut them right now a hundred because you're you're kind of ignoring that what they're saying is is not true it's misleading it's not accurate it sounds like you've already drawn your conclusion justin all right let's move along thank you all right hey man hey um can you explain why you went

28:05 with amending the head tax to include uh 18 million dollars in small business rebate rebates instead of increasing the employee size to 200, do you believe that would win over more Alders? We're in constant communication, right? So what you're experiencing is my willingness to, as I've said repeatedly, we don't cede our values. We will negotiate the details of surrounding our values. And so that's all this is. It's negotiating our details. Police knew days in advance about the mass team meetup that ended with eight people shot last week.

28:40 Alderman Brian Hopkins told me this morning that he plans to introduce an amended curfew ordinance that would include a longer notice period than the 30 minutes that his previous ordinance that passed and was vetoed had. Is a teen curfew with a multiple-hour or a multiple-day notice period something you'd be open to? Well, you know, again, look, the tragedy of guns and shootings in the city of Chicago gripped my heart every day. Look, I know this made the news, but there are shootings that happen throughout the week that I confront on a day-to-day basis, whether you all cover it or not.

29:20 One shooting, one homicide. It's still one too many, and that's why I've used every single tool available to me to drive violence down in the city, to get these guns off the streets, because the tragedy of people being harmed is one that will outlive administrations, unfortunately. It's very difficult to recover at all from these tragic events, and again, this is why the community safety surcharge is so critical in this moment, to make sure that we are investing in our young people.

29:52 Now, look, we had 700 additional police officers available that day in preparation for what we saw coming across the Internet. And here's what I've called for and we will continue to call for. We need adults and parents to absolutely know where their children are and where they're going. These unsanctioned gatherings have proven to be detrimental and harmful.

30:24 That's why we had not only additional police officers out there, we had CVI workers. It's why I'm working within my budget to make sure that we are redirecting young people towards positive interactions, whether it's with BAM or WOW or many other community-based organizations who are working hard to provide alternative outlets for young people. You know, so I'm willing to work with anyone who understands the respective assignment. And the assignment, of course, is we've got to hold people accountable. Adults, parents have to know where their children are.

30:56 We actually have to explore and look at how, you know, social media is contributing, you know, to these gatherings, establishing algorithms that are drawing young people towards this negative attention. It's accountability for everyone. And it's opportunity for everyone. That's what the focus has to be, and that's where I will remain. Any clear stance on, I know it's not super clear what his proposal is, but let's say it was two days before. Would you be in support of that? I'm not going to speculate. You know, he hasn't submitted anything to me.

31:26 I've told you what my position is. And, again, my top priority is to keep the people of this city safe. And you saw we made adjustments right away. The next day there were thousands of people who were out as we lit up Michigan Avenue at the Lights Festival. Not a single incident. Look, every time something like this happens, of course it frustrates me because it does set our city back. I have worked my I have worked incredibly hard to drive violence down in this city because it doesn't just affect us when it happens in a spectacle like that.

32:01 It affects us when when the shooting that happened last night that nobody covered, but I'm aware of it. And there's a family that's hurting still. It's why I'm driven towards solutions. And, you know, unless you've lived through the pain and the trauma of shootings and homicides, perhaps you don't fully understand the mechanism in which we are attempting to lift up.

32:32 but what we can't do is give people a pacifier and make them believe that they are being made whole and that's the part where as mayor I'm going to stand firm I need everyone in this city to make sure that we know what is happening with our young people that is not the assignment of one person that's the assignment of all of us and we can't just simply bow out because we're afraid to do the heavy lifting and the heavy work The fact of the matter is we have guns that are being funneled into our city

33:04 from states that voted for this extreme right-wing agenda. 20,000 guns, over 20,000 guns we've eliminated off the streets of Chicago. The fact that young people and bad actors have access to guns, illegal weapons, that is a problem, a severe problem. And it only gets highlighted when something like this happens. And I'm saying that this is my fight every single day because the people who are dying, they look like my children. The people who are victims look like the communities that raised me.

33:36 And so, no, I don't have a high tolerance, you all, for a tepid approach towards how we drive violence on the city of Chicago. We have more work to do, but it's going to take all of us. Good morning, Mayor. Yes, it is. Another off-topic for you. You all are doing wonderful today, by the way. You're welcome. The current electronic monitoring system in Cook County is under scrutiny right now after it was revealed that the blue-line suspect violated the terms of his EM

34:06 at least five times in those days leading up to that awful attack, including on the day that it happened. The Cook County State's attorney said that they were never notified about those violations, but the office of the chief judge then said in response, that's because you told us to pause or to stop notifying us. Do you think that this case highlights the flaws in the electronic monitoring system? Look, I've said this before. I believe this case has highlighted a breakdown of our systems, our institutions,

34:41 whether it's the criminal justice system or whether it's the mental health system. As far as how we move forward, you know, I mean, I think that's something that is going to require all of us to continue to debate and, you know, put on our thinking caps around how do we make sure that tragedies like this don't happen again. You know, so, you know, I still hold to my firm position that this was a severe breakdown. And it's incumbent upon all of us, the state, the county, the city, municipalities around the state to come together to figure out how we can make sure something like this doesn't happen again.

35:19 Thank you. The Chris, Chris Kindle market capacities. Can you just talk about that? I know the limit was raised, but that's still less than than the limit during covid. And why is that? Well, you know, look, first of all, I think it's, you know, a really good sign that there are more and more people who are. Not just participating in, you know, this Chicago tradition, but more and more people are coming through Chicago and coming downtown in particular. So I've had some conversations with my administration around perhaps looking at a different location to be able to accommodate the growing attraction that is clearly taking place in our beloved city.

36:03 Safety is always a top priority. Right. So inspectors assessed. You know, this market in a way that, you know, quite frankly, perhaps should have been assessed some time ago and made a decision. We're going to continue to make adjustments. But again, the good sign is, is that more and more people are coming to Chicago, coming downtown. They want to experience Chicago with good reason. And so whether it's, you know, again, adjusting what our inspectors have have have assessed or looking at an entirely different location

36:36 to accommodate the thousands of people who are obviously seeing the city of Chicago through the lens in which I've experienced, which is the greatest, most amazing city in the world. Thank you. Good afternoon. Hold on a second. Well, good noon? Morning still. We're still here. Well, never mind. My watch said, well, now it's afternoon. So anyway, considering that. Where are you? I mean, we might go with you.

37:06 My watch is time to atomic time. Oh, okay. All right. So anyways, now that messy immigration policies in the U.K. have escalated to a rare constitutional crisis between the British Crown and the mayor, Lord Mayor of London. So this is also off topic. Yeah. Aren't you happy? Okay. So anyway, has escalated to a constitutional crisis between the British Crown and the Lord Mayor of London.

37:36 What is your plan to avoid or to de-escalate a similar constitutional crisis on messy immigration policies in Chicago? Well, look, I've said this repeatedly, that we have a constitutional crisis in this country because we have a president who clearly does not respect the Constitution. So we have long been in a constitutional crisis. You know, President Trump not only has enriched the ultra wealthy, he has cut off the basic fundamentals that working people need.

38:12 Medicine, food, education, transportation, housing, good paying jobs. We do have to have a real concerted effort, particularly those of us who stand up for working people, to challenge this president to actually focus on his job and stop focusing on my job as mayor of Chicago. Let's pass real constitutional immigration reform policy. But let's also make sure that we are protecting the Constitution by ensuring that working people can thrive.

38:44 Here's the crisis. People are hungry. look I was just on the north side yesterday at Care for Real, lines of working people for clothes and food. That's why I'm working overtime with this budget to protect all of Chicago. You know, we have, you know, politicians, you know, in this country who are, you know, committed to a meritocratic society where somehow privileges prove your worth while everyday people are struggling to make the ends meet.

39:16 It's why I'm fighting so hard desperately for the people of Chicago, because we cannot leave people stranded in this moment. And so, yes, there is a constitutional crisis that is already amongst us. And that's why I'm working hard to defend our democracy and to protect all of humanity, whether that's immigrants, whether that's descendants of slaves, whether that's the LGBTQ plus community, whether that's, you know, our police officers, our firefighters and teachers, our public employees, public transportation system. I have put everything on the table to ensure that we are protecting our democracy and defending humanity, and I will continue to do so, so as long as I live.

39:50 So to clarify on this question, you aren't the least bit concerned that this tug-of-war, this constitutional tug-of-war could fuel the president's... I think it's already doing that. Wait, wait, wait, wait. You have to let me finish the question like you want me to let you finish the answer. So you are at the least bit concerned that this could give the president and the Supreme Court ammunition to sink the dual citizenship protections in its landmark decision of 1898.

40:24 Look, I don't think this president is looking for fuel, you know, outside of what has already fueled him is what I'm saying, Mark. Thanks, Mark. Okay, wait a minute. That was a clarification. I have a second question. All right, make you quick. Okay, I'll go as fast as I can. Don't put a rush on me. Because it'll be afternoon before we know it. Go ahead. No, no, no, it's short. So considering your appeal to the United Nations and your hyperviral remarks on defunded law enforcement in the world's freaking greatest city,

41:01 How do you answer the world's coolest dictator in El Salvador contending with with verified statistics that you can indeed arrest and incarcerate your way out of sparring crime? Well, as I've said, and he answered that, he said that directly to you. We got it. We got it. We got it. All right. Well, look, we incarcerate more people in the United States of America than anywhere else on the planet.

41:34 And what I've said repeatedly is that to build safe communities, we have to invest in those very communities. We have to do that. This is not about just simply trying to put a band around a wound. This is really about making sure that, you know, people are not harmed or hurt. And, you know, the truth of the matter is that, you know, for for too long in this country, you know, we have placed too much pressure on law enforcement.

42:11 Law enforcement cannot do it all. Let me just give you a newsflash. Law enforcement cannot do it all. And guess guess who knows that better than me? Law enforcement. and that's why it requires us to have a holistic approach where we invest in people, housing, and policing. We invest in youth employment, but we also make sure that our police officers and the first responders have what they need. It's a holistic approach, and that's what's been missing in our world,

42:41 but that's why we're doing it better and differently in the city of Chicago. Thank you for those global questions. Got it. Thank you, Mark. Appreciate it. I'm not on Atomic Time, so I'll say good morning. Good morning. You mentioned a little bit ago, Mayor, taking the fight to get the rich to pay more to Springfield. Alders, Nugent, and O'Shea were critical of the administration's Springfield strategy a few weeks ago at City Club, and I know the CFO and budget director have talked about the ways the city is limited and how it can raise revenue

43:14 and a decline in PPRT and LGDF revenue that the city has received over the last couple of years. Can you preview what that strategy will look like for the legislative session coming up in just over a month to get the city maybe more ways to raise revenue or more revenue from the state? I will I will say this. I know that there are hardworking Democrats who believe what I believe. I know that. And if you just.

43:47 Look at how the conversation has already changed since I've put forward my budget. The strategy is proof positive that I've said from the very beginning, we will go first. We will lead the charge. If Springfield is not willing to do it for whatever reason, and they have the reasons, then we'll go first. We've even gone as far as to say, if you don't want to do it, give us the authority to do it. But if you look at since we've been talking about not only challenging these large corporations, but the ultra-rich that pay their fair share in taxes, the Speaker of the House recently.

44:21 He also said he supports a millionaire's tax. He said it. So clearly I'm not by myself. It is evident that as we continue to drive this conversation about how working people have to be defended in this moment and that those with means have to pay their fair share in taxes. And here's the thing. This didn't just start when I became mayor. I've been a part of this struggle for progressive revenue for well over a decade now. For well over a decade.

44:52 This is not a new fight. This is one that we have been leading for some time. And so that strategy is not just simply about conversations and, you know, who's going to sponsor what. This is about who is going to stand up for working people. That's the strategy. To defend the honor of working people who are struggling, you all, to make ends meet. I met a mother yesterday who got off work to get into a line for eggs, milk, and flour.

45:23 What a full-time job. Fifty percent of renters in this city right now are rent burdened, meaning they're paying over 30 percent of their income for housing. That's the strategy, is to make sure that those families are no longer burdened because all of their earnings are going towards rent. And so I think it's clear here that the city of Chicago was leading the way, challenging that the ultra-rich, these big corporations who continue to enjoy the benefit of the Trump administration, that they have to put more skin in the game.

45:59 And it's a good signal that we received from the Speaker of the House that clearly he agrees with me on the millionaire's tax. And so we're going to keep pushing for that and other progressive revenue ideas like the digital ad tax, I think, makes sense. You know, the corporate income tax is something that we have to maximize. And then here's the last thing. I'm not the only mayor in this in this state who believes this. Right. And so there's a growing coalition of leaders who recognize that it's time for Democrats to stand up and fight for working people.

46:30 I know that some of your finance leadership has talked about also the need for a sales tax on services to sort of bring in additional revenue for not just the city, but other cities across the state. Is that something that your administration would theoretically push for this session or this upcoming year? I think we have to push for all progressive forms of revenue, particularly as our economy changes. There's no secret to what this team believes up here. This is the all-star team. Take a look at them. Yeah, very diverse. This is Luke Longley right here.

47:02 Nobody gets that reference. A ping pong. Hey, Mayor. Tomorrow in the License Committee, they're set to take up an ordinance that would ban hemp sales, hemp-based products citywide, except at dispensaries. Is that something you support at this time? I'm going to pass it to our, I'm sorry, chief policy. Thank you. Yes. No, we do not support a citywide ban. This is a big industry that many business owners, breweries rely on.

47:38 We understand, you know, we obviously put forward a regulatory and taxing regime as part of our initial budget proposal. We pulled that back with the recent moves at the federal government. But the federal government even acknowledges it needs a year to figure out exactly how it's going to close this loophole. We suspect it will be kicked to the states, and we don't think it's prudent or helpful to our local businesses to preemptively cut ourselves off from what has become a big business.

48:09 We totally agree that the easy access of these intoxicating products to children is a big problem, which is why we put forward our regulatory framework. We would much prefer limits like bans for sales to people under 21, limiting it to tobacco licensee, liquor licensee locations, so not your corner stores, not your drugstores, we have put forward a number of compromised solutions that we think would better achieve the goals of health and safety that we all share

48:43 without undercutting a vibrant business. business, local businesses in our city. And just following up right now, some wards have aldermen have banned this in their ward. There's kind of this patchwork, which I would think is confusing if you're a business operator. So does this ban maybe make it clear, I guess, you know, more clear to people that you can't do this anywhere? I mean, if there were a ban that was passed that would certainly present uniformity across the city. The ward level bans are under litigation.

49:15 um so that is a complicating factor um and yeah and just uh mayor you mentioned the chris kindle market you're possibly looking at a new location anything you can share on what that would look like oh boy that would be breaking news wouldn't it you know well look we're in conversations with um the organizers i'm grateful quite frankly that so many people uh have trusted my leadership and you're seeing pre-pandemic numbers in terms of how our economy is bouncing back,

49:49 whether that's the hotel occupancy over the summer, how our airports set and broke records over the summer. We had the busiest Thanksgiving travel in the history of Chicago. I know that people are getting geared up to come to Chicago for New Year's Eve. It's something that I've pushed for where we have real year-round activity in our city to continue to grow our economy, and all I simply have offered is because the growth has been so substantial and safety is our top priority, we want to make sure that we have a safe mechanism

50:21 in which people can enjoy downtown, and so that may include looking at a much larger space, and that's a good thing for our economy. And just the Wiener Circle is giving away free hot dogs today after the Bears win. Marquis says, we got a new mayor at Johnson. Are you ready to cede the reins of the city to Ben Johnson? Well, I will just say the city of Chicago is a lot better off when Johnsons are in charge. I can't follow up on that. So does this mean you're going to be off topic as well?

50:53 No, unfortunately I'm on topic. So I'm going to let you try to answer the question that Justin asked again. You know, you began this news conference talking about these groups are misleading, confusing Chicago, trying to lie and trick people. The CTU ad uses the word billionaire. It is a fact that some of these companies that will be paying this head tax are not billionaire owners, and it is a fact that the aldermen have not come up with a proposal for a property tax hike.

51:29 So, again, how can you call those ads misleading but not the CTU ad misleading? Well, first of all, the alders have not come up with any proposal. We've just heard speculation. And so what you're simply going off of is speculation. We have not received. That's what CTU was going off of, speculation. No, we have not received any proposal, right? And what I've said repeatedly, though, is that there are a number of alders that have come to us and had conversations with my administration around increasing the property taxes.

52:00 And I told them no, simply put, right? Right. And so, you know, I think what's most important here to note is that you have millionaires, individuals who won't even disclose themselves, who are lying to the public. They are. And, you know, as long as we can agree that it's more prudent to actually just come out and say who you are. Let's have a real debate on why you don't believe corporations who, again, receive the largest one of the largest tax breaks in the history of America from Donald Trump of why they can't put more skin in the game.

52:37 That's that's the conclusion that I'm asking the people of Chicago to come to. You're either going to because here's the thing. There aren't too many other proposals that they can put forward that's not going to include cuts to services and layoffs. And what I'm simply working to protect, I'm looking to protect what Chicagoans want me to protect. Because the city has already experienced the type of cuts to services that these individuals are talking about.

53:10 We've seen massive closures of mental health clinics where people literally died to ensure that we could have access to mental health services. Those are the families that we're talking about. You know, there are still people who are missing from the massive school closings where there's never been an account for where they actually landed. That's really what's being debated right now. You're either going to raise property taxes, lay off first responders.

53:43 Or we're going to challenge these big corporations to put more skin in the game for a cause that I think is admirable, to drive down violence. Here's the question, who would be opposed to generate revenue to drive violence down? That's what we're talking about here, a community safety surcharge that's going to go towards the very areas of need to ensure that we build a safe, affordable city for everyone.

54:13 Some businesses say that if that is the case, if this, obviously this money would be earmarked towards violence, anti-violence initiatives, will there be any type of accountability to make sure that the money, the raise, generate from the head tax, will actually go to, are these groups going to be vetted? Are there going to be audits of some of these groups? I mean, and is that even happening now? I mean, that is a complaint that I have heard from business groups that they just don't – they don't trust your administration that the money raised from the head tax would actually go towards groups that may, you know, be accountable or not accountable.

54:58 Yes, there will be a full account for it because there already is an account for it. $50 million will go strictly towards youth employment. it. We hire 31,119 young people for summer jobs. We actually have an account for it. We spell it out. Here's what I've heard from corporations and corporate leaders, that they want me to invest in CVI. Yes, community violence intervention workers, there are a couple of philanthropic groups and corporate leaders who are investing in the very entities that

55:30 I'm investing in now that I will continue to invest in. So, you know, of course there's going to be, you know, a full account for it because that's the responsible thing to do. It's why we are literally earmarking it. This is the first time where we're actually earmarking and we're making it incredibly specific to where the dollars are going to go. This will be the largest investment for community safety by any municipality anywhere in the country. You know, and as far as trust is concerned, the evidence of how we have invested in these programs and in

56:03 these jobs are clear because we have seen precipitous decline in violence across the board, across the city. And so they can just look at the data that's already available to them to know that we are serious about this investment. And I think it would be a remarkable example. Check this out for a second. Could you imagine the influence that the city of Chicago will have across this country as the first major city in this political climate to

56:35 challenge the very tech companies, these big corporations who are benefiting from Donald Trump to put a little bit more skin in the game. Think about the impact that that's going to have across this country. Not just the city of Chicago by us protecting Chicagoans. The city of Chicago has an opportunity to prove our worth and our value for working people across this country. That's why the corporate interests are fighting so hard to defeat this because they know as Chicago goes, those are the words of Dr. Keene, when we figure it out in Chicago, we can do it anywhere in the

57:07 world. And so, of course, they're going to fight desperately. They're cowards, though. They're hiding behind Michael Sachs, the whisperer of a couple of administrations ago. They won't even face the people. You talk about trust? These individuals are hiding behind Michael Sachs, a multimillionaire who won't stand firm on the values in which the people of Chicago are standing firm on. Overwhelmingly, across this city, working people support the tax on large corporations. Why is he afraid to stand with working people?

57:40 Because he's more interested in protecting the ultra-rich and his buddies who are protecting Donald Trump than working people in this city. I would say, I would challenge them to a real debate. And you can be the moderator. We could do it at ABC, where they get to explain to people why 3% of corporations should not contribute 1.6% to a $6 billion corporate fund for the sake of our young people, for the sake of our first responders,

58:11 for the sake of victims of domestic and gender-based violence. Have him come forward and explain to us, the people of Chicago, of why he is protecting the people that are being defended by Donald Trump. Oh, yes, please. Mike Belsky, ladies and gentlemen. So just from the standpoint of accounting, this will be a special revenue fund. So all the dollars going in there have to be accounted for, and dollars going out that are budgeted have to be accounted for.

58:42 So if we're making grants to groups, on any grant we do right now, we audit it, and we audit it for results and make sure the money is spent the way it's supposed to be spent. And, you know, the one thing I would say back to the business people is that when you have a property tax, that's called a non-exchange transaction. I pay a property tax, but my kids might not be in school. The most equitable form of taxation or fees would be, for example, water or sewer where it's a closed loop.

59:16 So we're setting up as a closed loop here. The dollars going into this fund are being used for the purposes the mayor is articulating. So I think there's very little risk that this money is going to be used for something else or it's not going to be assessed for the sort of results we're expecting. Thank you for that. Mayor Johnson, hundreds of thousands of people have reached out to me expressing outrage

59:47 at your cold, heartless response to Bethany McGee's, the vicious attack on her, calling it an isolated incident. when a young woman is set on fire on Chicago's public transportation. That coupled with your statement that it's a sickness to incarcerate people, violent repeat offenders who, quote, in your own words, look like you. People find that absolutely outrageous.

1:00:19 And I've had many black and brown people reach out to me and say that had it been someone that you care about, And had it been someone that you love, you would have been outraged by that attack. What do you say to those people, Mr. Mayor? Well, first of all, what I've said from the very beginning is that this was a tragedy. And this woman is fighting for her life. And as I've said repeatedly from a question that was raised earlier, that this, you know, that individuals that clearly have a violent past as well as mental health issues should not be on the streets of Chicago.

1:01:03 And that was a failure and a breakdown in our system. and it's incumbent upon all of us to continue to support this family and continue to pray for her and that's what I'm going to continue to do and again, as tragic as this is it is a reminder of how much work we still have to do Business leaders have reached out to me they say that they don't trust you they don't trust your budget they don't obviously trust the head tax

1:01:35 They point to the fact that you don't own and operate a business. You don't know what it's like to actually employ anyone. That your policies, in fact, this absolutely insane policy of trying to limit the number of people attending a Kris Kringle market, a Christmas market, that is directly across the street from City Hall. Your question is like bad coleslaw. This is like raisins and coleslaw and a bunch of stuff. Can you stay focused and just ask the specific question?

1:02:08 Yeah, the question is simply this. Business leaders who actually know something about a budget, who actually know something about owning and operating a business. I'm having a tough time trusting and believing you. You don't talk to that many people. There's just no way. People reach out to you all the time. You don't talk to that many people. There's just no way. You talk to black, brown people, and business leaders, and you can't come up with a simple question. All day, every day. Come up with a simple question. Come up with a simple question. You might ask, report at WilliamJKelley.com.

1:02:39 Take a look. Take a look for yourself. Well, at 2.7 million people in population in the city of Chicago, if you talk to hundreds of thousands of them, you are talking to, what, 20, 30, 40 percent of the city population? On a regular basis? I bet any news organization in here would dream of having that kind of interaction with the population. Your ratings are so substantial. Oh, my gosh, I'm surprised you're here with just that limited equipment. Because there's actually limited equipment that you are operating with right now. Let me just get to your question.

1:03:09 I think I know what you're asking. You're asking me whether or not. By the way, the people who interact with me agree with me. They don't agree with you. Take a look at the comments. We got it. But the fact of the matter is simply this. That the fact that you think that a Christmas market across the street from City Hall is more a threat to public. safety, then violent black teenagers running down State Street shooting people at a Christmas tree lighting shows your priorities. What do you say to those people, citizens, black, brown, business leaders,

1:03:39 what do you say to those people? Got it, got it. Yeah, that if they get a phone call from you or they get an interaction with you, they should avoid you. I'm not going to entertain because the whole premise of everything that you bring up is not only disgusting and racist. It's just there's no facts to it. In fact, so check this out. I actually hire 30. I hire 36,000 people work for the city of Chicago right now. So I do know what it's like to run a major operation. I have the biggest corporation right now in this in the city of

1:04:11 Chicago right now. So thank you very much. And I'm going to close with this. There is not a person in this city who spends more time working to ensure that we're protecting working people. There's not a person that spends more time thinking about it. In fact, our budget reflects that. My values reflect that. You would do yourself good service by actually showing up in this room with some level of integrity as well as some honesty. You don't operate in any of that. So thank you. We'll move on to the next question. We got it. Thank you.

1:04:46 Okay, let me take us home So, well, first of all, WGN You all have work to do, right? Because, you know, in terms of ratings Clearly this individual says that he speaks to more people than WGN News And every other news outlet combined WGN reported that Bethany McGee We got it, we got it Go ahead, Tamar That is false, that is a lie Bethany McGee did not cross that attack She did not cross that attack I'm not familiar with what you're talking about.

1:05:16 And, yes, we have good ratings, especially if the Sunday night news does really well. All right, so off topic, State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill-Burke is expanding her program, allowing CPD to file felony gun charges without a prosecutor signing off. I think you were supportive of that initial program, the test program that she did. What do you say to people who are worried about having police, giving police these kinds of powers, given the department's history of misconduct? Look, the top priority is to make sure, you know, as we work to keep our residents of the city of Chicago safe, it is clear that we have a problem with the trafficking of illegal guns.

1:05:57 Right. And gun violence is that is the act of violence that that that has crippled our city. And what the pilot, you know, intended to do was to make sure that we had police officers who were not spending all of their time processing a gun charge. And, you know, I look, we've taken over twenty four thousand guns off the streets of Chicago and the amount of time it takes for a police officer who confiscates and removes a gun off the streets of Chicago on their shift.

1:06:38 Their shift essentially ends at the point in which they recover a gun because the process is just that arduous. So that's why, you know, my initial interest in this pilot was as strong as it was. And you're good with it expanding across the entire city? We're going to take a full look at how effective it's been because there are some concerns to the point that you're raising that as we work to ensure that there are better checkpoints within our police department.

1:07:09 That's also in this budget, you know, where we have a it's a warning system. So if we see some behavior that doesn't meet the standard for constitutional policing, that there's earlier intervention intervention to be able to address that. You know, so I think coupled with the work that we're doing to create stronger accountability mechanisms while also working to make sure that police officers are back on the street and that a gun confiscation, confiscating, confiscating a gun and removing a gun off the street does not end a police officer's shift.

1:07:46 All right. Did I get all that right, John? Okay. Okay. And then to take us all home, on the budget, Finance Committee meets Thursday. The budget's not on the agenda. You've got committee meetings coming up on Monday. You've got full council on Wednesday. Given that, as you said, you've not received a formal proposal to modify the revenue from the group of alders working on that, working with Joe Ferguson. So should we assume that the homework then is due this Friday or Monday at the start of class?

1:08:18 I mean, turn it in today, right? I mean, look, they've had months. Jill, I don't know if you have anything else you want to add to that or Annette, but, you know, Jeanette, I'm sorry, Annette and Jill put their names together. right what time is it oh it's still morning almost so if i could just so it would there be any reason why you you can't just put the budget on the floor next wednesday and just move ahead then or are you going to allow people to have all month to generate their well their ideas i well here's the city council members said that you know i was moving too fast

1:08:54 Yes, which, you know, I can accept that analysis. I was with my family this past Sunday. My father's, you know, he's going to be 84. And, you know, we're going through a difficult time as he, you know, suffers with all timers. And, you know, this past Sunday I also spent some time with Reverend Jackson, two men who have been just incredible examples for me in my life. And one of the things that, you know, I can admit that I picked up from my father, he's a man of his generation.

1:09:25 And I tease about this, but this man retired with hundreds of sick days. And, you know, his work ethic was one that, you know, I admired watching him. You know, raising 10 and pastoring a church and running a small business as a general contractor, just trying to make the ends meet. And many times it didn't. And so sometimes my hustle, quite frankly, my drive is reflective of the man who raised me, that when you are focused on doing what you know is right, that there are moments when I, you know, maybe put up, you know, I don't know, just a strong light towards the goal.

1:10:18 And I'll go full speed ahead because that urgency, you know, comes from a mentality that families don't have time to wait. They can't live in that level of anxiety. So I admit it. I was moving fast and they can thank Andrew Leon Johnson, Jr. for that, as well as, you know, someone who has stood up for working people his entire career, Reverend Jackson, where the time is always right to do what is right. And so we've slowed the process down. I admit that I have that working class mentality to just get it done because it's the right thing to do.

1:10:52 You know, as far as just like, you know, putting a absolute, you know, time frame on, you know, when folks should actually show up with their work. My only recommendation is that there are lines of Chicagoans right now. Of people who do not have food, you guys. And if you've never gone hungry, you wouldn't know why I have that urgency. If you've never opened up your refrigerator and there's nothing in it, poverty sucks.

1:11:30 Poverty sucks. These people are playing games with working people in this city. We're talking about $100 million in a $6 billion budget for families who do not have food. people who don't have scarves and gloves and coats and toiletries people who can't pay the rent corporations are making a killing right now and we have alders that are more interested in defending these big corporations than families like mine who went without food and electricity

1:12:03 and could not afford rent and mortgage the vast majority of the people in this city are struggling every single day just to make the ends meet and we have alders that are playing games with those families. Give me something I can work with. Give me something I can work with. But challenging the ultra-rich in this country to put more skin in the game, that should not be considered a radical idea. You know what the bigger threat to our society is?

1:12:36 It's what James Baldwin said. He said, when ignorance and power is allied, It is the most ferocious enemy of justice. That's what we're dealing with right now. Ignorance and power that has lined itself up against justice. Justice will prevail. Chicago will come out stronger, and I'm going to use every single tool that's available to me to protect all of Chicago. A budget that passes, that's balanced, and it's not off the backs of working people, that's what Chicago deserves, and that's what I'm going to deliver.

1:13:14 Thank you all. Appreciate your time.

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