Chicago Politics

Press Availability 4.1.25

Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson hosts press availability.

Transcript

0:46 into the next season of Chicago called Spring. I do want to start today with a preview of a new initiative from my administration that will economically empower the people of Chicago. For too many Chicagoans, particularly those in historically disinvested communities, these individuals have been burdened with a ticketing debt system that punishes them for repeatedly falling behind on their payments.

1:22 Residents fall into a cycle of fines and fees that they cannot get out of, and that is hurting our entire city. My administration is charting a path towards relief. Today we are proud to launch the city's Ticket Debt Relief Program. This is a critical step to alleviating our residents' financial burdens, especially those who rely on their vehicles for work, family care, and other needs.

1:56 Beginning today through June 30th, we are offering Chicagoans the chance to eliminate old ticket debts without added penalties or fees. If your vehicle ticket debt was in final determination status before December 31, 2023, you can settle it by paying only the base fine by June 30 of this year. This program also includes relief on towing, storage, and booting fees, plus those late payment penalties and collection costs are waived.

2:37 Even if you are currently on a payment plan for ticket debt, you qualify for this relief program. We want residents to be able to resolve their debts without spiraling further into economic instability. This is what it means to build a government that's rooted in care, fairness, and justice. To the Chicagoans who have old ticket debt, this is your chance for a fresh start.

3:07 So, do not wait. Go to chicago.gov backslash V as in victory, D as in door, and R as in righteousness to find out more. and pay your tickets. In closing, I want to again recognize that April is Fair Housing Month. This is the time to renew our commitment to equitably preserving and building housing

3:38 throughout Chicago. At this point, I will now turn it over to our Commissioner of DPD, Sierra Boatwright, who is here today to talk more about one of our housing development programs. I'll pass it over to her. Thank you. Thank you, Maureen Johnson. I'm happy to talk about our land sale opportunity that launched just this morning. So I'm going to jump right into it. You can see on the slide Chi Block Builders interface.

4:09 This is our land disposition platform where residents, developers, owners, business owners can actually apply for the city-owned vacant lots. To the left on the screen is part of the interface that lets potential buyers review available sites throughout the city. The table to the right lists the types of properties that are actually available today for sale. You can see that 36% of our lots, or 148 of the 405 lots, are slated for market rate projects.

4:44 Eighteen percent slated for side yard development. Fifty-four or 13% are slated for missing middle housing, which you're going to hear a little bit more about shortly, and 48 lots are set aside for affordable housing. The total value of the 405 lots is approximately $26 million. Generally, these lots can be used for whatever they're zoned for. We make some available at a discount depending on what the use is, like side yards or affordable housing,

5:15 as an example, to incentivize developers to really think about strategically creating affordability throughout our city. The rest of the lots, as I mentioned, are being sold for market rate and vertical construction. It's important for us, it's vital for us, to get these parcels back on the property tax roll and get the lots back in productive use. Most of the properties were acquired by default, often through demo and tax lanes, sometimes decades ago. So let's take a look at some of the opportunities. My team and I are thrilled to expand Mayor Johnson's

5:50 Missing Middle program this round. Missing Middle involves one to six unit homes that are systematically disappearing from neighborhoods and has been going on for the last 75 years, along with the people that lived in those homes. These are the backbone of Chicago's housing stocks, which is why Missing Middle is really a repopulation initiative and strategy. and a community wealth building program as well due to the ownership aspect. The program launched in October with 40 lots slated for development in North Lawndale.

6:25 These images that you see on the screen represent the projects moving forward by five minority-led development teams. This equates to $40 million in total project costs. You all can look for ground breakings happening early this summer. Today's round includes an additional 54 lots of missing middle homes in three south side communities, Chatham, Morgan Park, and South Chicago. They're being sold in 11 clusters of four to six properties, typically on the same block.

7:02 We take a block-by-block, node-by-node approach to ensure that you can actually see the investment on a block-by-block level. These are intended for market-rate homes with at least one owner-occupant that can then rent out the remaining units, and that's the wealth-building component that's so vital for our communities. To ensure developers can deliver at price points commensurate with local buying power, we're offering up to $150,000 in developer assistance per unit sourced from our housing and economic development bond proceeds.

7:34 And we're selling the lots for $1 per lot, specifically for the missing middle. The sites for these three community areas are collectively valued at about $476,000, but they're worth far more with homes actually developed on them. All the sites are shovel-ready from an environmental perspective, and the land sale process is moving faster than ever thanks to Mayor Johnson's Cut the Tape initiative. We've reduced the valuation timeline from months to weeks,

8:05 And we're reducing the right-of-entry timeline for prospective buyers from months to days. Developer submissions for Missing Middle are due by May 16th. For more info, you can visit cityofchicago.gov slash missing middle or ChiBlock Builder's website. I want to talk for a second about a couple RFPs and RFQs. Here's a site at Belmont and Wilton becoming available for private investment for the first time in 20 years.

8:38 It's valued at approximately $4.26 million. It's next to the Red Line elevated station at Belmont, where it's been used for station expansion and RPM construction since 2006. This is an example of Mayor Brandon Johnson's building Better Together plan, because the Department of Housing, the Department of Planning, and CTA are all coordinating on this redevelopment. The CTA expects it to be available in late 2026, and we'd like to see construction start shortly after.

9:12 Federal transit assistance requires that at least 40% be made affordable. DOH is willing to extend low-income housing tax credits for its redevelopment, and it's a poster child for transit-oriented development and investment, and also accessible investment with potential entryways located at the ground level. Again, check Chi Block Builder for more details regarding this RFP. Here's another important site at CERMAC. It's almost one acre in size. It's valued at $1.2 million.

9:45 It's immediately adjacent to the Cermak Bridge Historic District. The location is within a sub-area of the Pilsen Plan Manufacturing District and allows for a variety of uses here, including commercial, industrial, restaurant, grocery, office, and artist workspaces and other uses. Submissions for this round are due June 30th. The last RFP, which I want to highlight today, is the largest. It consists of more than eight acres on the northeast corner of 46th Endowment within the Stockyards Industrial Corridor.

10:20 It presents a great opportunity for a new retail or light industrial project that leverages its proximity to thousands of potential employees and shoppers. It's valued at about $3.3 million, and submissions are due on June 30th for this as well. before i close i want to briefly mention the nearly 350 other lots that are being offered through shy block builder here's a look at their locations on the screen these are all great opportunities for infill development whether it's new housing retail or even urban agriculture

10:56 as a reminder over the last 50 to 75 years there were all kind of city agencies performing neighborhood development work. And a lot of the properties ended up in their hands, often by default. Today, the city has a single system for the vacant lot disposition, which is shy block builder. Our role is to get the lots back in productive use and back on the tax roll. These should all be serving private owners, communities, and contributing to neighborhood vitality. We thank the mayor for the new level of intergovernmental coordination that makes this

11:30 possible. And again, check out Shy Blog Builder for all of the lots. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Commissioner Boatwright. We are also joined by our budget, my budget director, Annette Guzman, my chief of staff, Tina Passion-Zayas, and my chief operations officer, John Robertson. And with that, we're open to your questions. Testing. We have time for one question, one follow-up, and no monologues, just questions. Thank you. Hi, Mayor.

12:01 Hi, good morning. I want to ask you about the tentative agreement between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools. Does that tentative agreement, which, of course, still has to go to the House of Delegates and the CTU membership, sort of help you transform, as you've said, the Chicago Public School District into a district that will offer every child a well-rounded education? And will it protect veteran teachers? those two were your sort of top lines for the negotiations. It certainly does.

12:31 Look, this contract is a reflection of my overall values as well as what the people of Chicago expect. Increasing our sustainable community schools is very much aligned with creating a school district where there are resources as well as community input on the direction of that particular school. Dyett High School is a great example of a sustainable community school.

13:03 When you invest in people and when you invest in children, we create champions. Beidler Elementary on the west side of Chicago is another good example of a sustainable community school. And mind you, both of those schools were slated for closure. So this is a complete transformation and a move away from school privatization, layoffs, closures, the so-called turnaround model.

13:33 And so, yes, this contract does reflect the values that I ran on and what the people of Chicago expected from my administration. And I'm also very proud that there are a couple of things that Richard M. Daly and I do have some alignment around, running successful Democratic national conventions and avoiding teacher strikes. Changing topics, there's been a renewed call for a teen curfew downtown. You have said that that is not a great idea.

14:04 Why, then, does the teen curfew remain in place in Millennium Park that was imposed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot if curfews aren't the way to protect people downtown? Well, look, I'm not suggesting that there aren't values to having some regulation and some curfews. What I'm saying in this particular instance is that the working to relocate or displace the problem is not how we solve the problem.

14:37 Of course, we're going to continue to make sure that there are accountability mechanisms in place to keep people safe. But what we also know is that when you are investing in safe spaces for young people, you demonstrate that you can do that without incident. The very next day, I hosted a teen bash at Navy Pier. there were 1,000 young people present, not one incident.

15:07 So this has proved positive that when we are investing in constructive spaces for our young people, whether it's in Navy Pier or Austin or Roseland or Lakeview, when we do that, we create safe spaces where young people can fulfill their heart's desires and connecting with other people, but also direct them towards positive interactions. So I'm all about doing what works. And because we have been laser focused and investing in people, particularly our young people,

15:42 it's not a coincidence that we continue to see violent crime go down in the city of Chicago. If you look at neighborhoods like Austin, where violent crime has gone down in a very dramatic way, it's also the neighborhood that hired the most amount of young people. We're moving in the right direction. Look, you all, it doesn't mean that we're going to perfect and solve every societal ill. It just means that we have to continue to step up in a bold way to ensure that we're doing the things at work. So you won't move to reverse the curfew in Millennium Park this summer?

16:16 I mean, that's, you know, I haven't really thought much about curfews, to be honest with you. I think I spend more time thinking about how we actually can invest in young people and create more healthy, safe spaces for them to be able to, you know, exercise their heart's desires and do it in a constructive way. Hi, Mayor. Hi. The MEABF payment will be a problem again next year. It's still a problem now, presumably a larger one next year and for the years after that. What is your preferred long-term solution, and is there one that doesn't hurt the city or the district's bottom line?

16:46 The disentanglement of our school district and their reliance upon the city of Chicago as a means to support the system is something that I've been talking about for years. When we passed the elected representative school board, we were already working with Senator Martwick to work through the disentanglement. So short-term and long-term is to make sure that the independent governing body, the Chicago Public Schools, can stand on its own. And in terms of the short-term, we'll continue to have conversations with board members. Look, the vast majority of the board members

17:18 actually agree that it is their responsibility. So it's I don't it's not a debate on whether or not where the overall will is. So I'm going to work with the board members. We're going to work with the General Assembly. My office is going to lean in even more because, look, it's ultimately on my watch to ensure that we create systems that are economically solvent. And I'm bold enough and audacious enough to actually take on that challenge. So, again, the vast majority of the board members recognize that securing the pension and retirement for their workers is their responsibility.

17:54 You saw in our last presentation, pardon me, I don't want to assume if you saw in our last preparation, but when our chief financial officer laid out that the city of Chicago subsidizes or supports our public schools in a tune of a billion dollars, There are a host of things that we have to look at as a city and as an independent governing body, Chicago Public Schools, of how we disentangle decades of reliance. We're up for that challenge, though. Do you think there needs to be a change in state law to formally move the responsibility of that payment to the independent board?

18:27 Yes. I mean, this is what I'm saying. The disentanglements are real. And in order for this body to behave as an independent structure like every other school district across this state, it is going to require some codification. Eddie, can we keep moving just because we have a lot of reporters? Sorry. Thanks. On that payment, like you have a few options for the missing revenue for 2024 or more limited options. but the 2025 budget, we're earlier into that year.

19:01 Are there other options, available options that you have that you could kind of proactively do now? And would those options, as opposed to when you passed the budget, you rolled out significant layoffs or seeking furloughs, are you reconsidering or feel like you have to reconsider that now for 2025? Thank you for that question. Look, we've always worked hard to ensure that we're not laying people off and cutting services. We've been able to effectively do that through responsible budgeting. We do have other options, though.

19:32 Yeah, and I think the question presumes that we're not working with CPS to solidify the payment for 24 or 25, right? We're still working with CPS and the Board of Education. I think, as the mayor has just rightfully stated, you know, the entanglements are real. But so are the need for us to work collaboratively and cooperatively, not only with the Board of Education, not only with the state of Illinois, but with our city council on the, you know, the future for how we responsibly disentangle from CPS.

20:07 As the mayor said, the CFO last time laid out just how reliant CPS is on the city of Chicago for everything from their pension payments to the capital improvements on their buildings. Those entanglements are real. And so I only say that to say we don't want to leave CPS without a partner while also giving them an obligation. And so I think it behooves all parties to work responsibly together to figure out what is the pathway to ensuring that both of our institutions are not only solvent, but that we are helping CPS towards independence.

20:46 And then shifting topics, I'm going to try to get three in one here. So there's a special city council meeting on Monday to consider the 35th ward appointment. One, why go through that, like a special meeting as opposed to the regular city council meeting? Are there things coming in April where you would like to ensure another ally on the council for a type vote? And then have you, sorry, have you made that selection, and why is it Anthony Kezada?

21:17 Well, I have not made any announcement on who it is, and the government that I am leading in this moment, as you all know, we don't have a lot of time, quite frankly, with all the attacks that are coming from the federal government. as we push back and stand up to the Trump administration. The Trump administration doesn't want to see the type of affordable housing units that we're putting forward. The Trump administration certainly does not believe in public education.

21:48 If you look at two of the main things that we're talking about today, we're talking about building more affordable homes. The Trump administration hates that concept and idea so much so that he's working to defund it. Our contract that the Chicago Public Schools has worked towards finalizing an agreement, the Trump administration is opposed to small class sizes, sustainable community schools, as well as protecting workers. And so the business of government has to move with some expediency

22:22 because the time is now for us to ensure that working people can afford to live in this city as well as being able to send their child to a fully funded school. That's what we're doing. We're doing that now, and I think that there's a lot of excitement at the city council level to move these projects and these opportunities again with Expedition. Good morning, Mayor. Good morning. Could you – we're going to pivot to tourism now. Are you concerned how or if the Trump administration actions or worries about deportations might affect tourism?

23:00 Is that something you guys have talked about? That's a good question. You know, are there legitimate concerns around the type of fear and intimidation that this administration is trying to bestow upon the city of Chicago? We're aware of it. We're not going to flinch, though. So, you know, the city of Chicago is one of the top destinations in the world. For corporate relocation, 13 years in a row, the best big city in America, eight years in a row, the most diverse economy, having a beautiful landscape in, you know, downtown,

23:32 our world's fresh water, again, the diversity of our economy. You know, our sports teams are playing pretty well right now. I want to give a special shout out to to to Giddy. We've got to figure out how to keep him here and keep those averages going up. Look, and and with all that being said, because the city of Chicago has been such a welcoming destination, we're not going to change our values simply because the president is jealous. He's jealous.

24:06 He's jealous of Chicago. He wished he had an opportunity to run one of the most remarkable destinations on the planet. Unfortunately, he's stuck in D.C. right now, but we're going to do something about that in a few years. I don't want this to be my second question, but is the city concerned about tourism? No. Okay. My second question, you have a new liaison to go down to Springfield. I'm wondering if you can talk about ticking off again. I think I've asked you before, what are your three priorities in Springfield?

24:38 I think we have five. So, yes, we have a number of people in Springfield that are carrying the agenda on behalf of the city of Chicago. Again, the loudest voice for our team in Springfield is me. You know, I had a conversation with the Senate president yesterday. You know, Senate President Don Harmon is my mentor. He gave me my first job. And I was his director of constituent services, making $10 an hour.

25:09 and now I call him Senate President and he calls me Mr. Mayor. Had a conversation, a few conversations with Speaker Welch. On rotation, our budget director and our CFO have had regular conversations with Springfield. You know my chief of staff. She understands that place better than any other chief of staff in the history of Chicago because she's been there and her relationships, of course, are tried and true. And so those top priorities, CPZ, if you don't mind just running through them, there's a number of them.

25:41 Yeah, a lot of them focused on revenue. So there is the personal property replacement tax. There is also the telecom fix that we were working on last session, as well as the 911 surcharge extending that. The sunset was set for this year. We're extending it a little bit further. We have mandated categoricals in the Illinois State Board of Education funding. This would be something that wouldn't just benefit Chicago public schools,

26:12 but it would benefit the entire plethora of school districts, the 852, because as you know with mandated categoricals, there are certain services, such as transportation and special education and bilingual education, that school districts are required to provide, but the state does not reimburse at the fullest amount. And so right now there's some discussion about increasing the proration so that we can get closer to 100 percent reimbursement, which would then mean that all school districts would get more money into their budgets to take care of the funds that they to take care of the services that they're required to give.

26:48 And then the last is the one system initiative. This is the partnership with the state in terms of, you know, what we took with our legacy homelessness system and the emergency temporary system that we put up, you know, because of the humanitarian crisis. We built the infrastructure for something that would live beyond that crisis, but ultimately be able to expand our beds to 126 percent increase up to 6,800 beds, have a 24-hour access point.

27:20 so that now we have nobody on a wait list if they need shelter. So those are the five top priorities. Of course, we know that transit is huge, and there's a lot to be discussed there with respect to the RTA and the various proposals that are put out by some of our colleagues in the labor space as well as the advocates. Thank you. Good morning, Mayor. Good morning. I want to follow up on the issue of teen opportunities.

27:52 Obviously, there will be 29,000 young people put to work this summer, but I'm pretty sure that multiples of that number will be likely applying for that. What are the other kinds of things that can be done to give the teenagers who aren't part of the jobs program something to do or some other outlet that can still, you know, keep down the number of teen trends that we might see? Yeah, thank you for that question.

28:23 This is, you know, where my heart is, you know, investing in our young people and creating opportunities for them all the way up to the ages of 24. At 49, if you're under 30, you're considered young to me now. I can't believe that has happened. But we know that the programming for the city of Chicago historically has been 14 to 18. but we've expanded it, 14 to 24. This is why I'm calling on everybody to lean in. There are investments that the city can make,

28:53 and then there are things that I know that the business community, you know, they want to do more. And many of them have leaned in, but we do need them to do more. You know, our faith community. I'm having conversations with different members of our community. various faith communities to create these spaces and give them more opportunities so that they're not wandering in the wilderness or lost in space. Use any other axiom if you wish, but I think you get my drift here,

29:25 that if young people are not given constructive spaces to experience joy, they're going to find them on their own, right? And so we're doing our part. Our new superintendent for our parks is going to work to make sure that parks become open spaces for constructive interactions. We're going to be working with our Chicago public schools to create more constructive spaces. This is really going to come down to all of us in the city of Chicago to ensure that our young people are valued and loved and seen.

29:59 So it's accountability and opportunity. So thank you for asking it that way. And one for Commissioner Boatwright. Especially for the initial projects that you or the parcels that you put up there, is there any consideration or any guardrails to make sure that it's not a starts off gentrification that could change the character of the neighborhoods and the affordability? Yes, that's a great question, and we do have guardrails in place.

30:31 We have 140 percent AMI cap for the owner-occupant for each of the developments, and so we want twofold. We want you to be able to generate wealth and create density, putting the lots back in productive use, but we also want to make sure that we have guardrails in place so that we don't experience gentrification in these neighborhoods decades down the road. We don't anticipate that, but even without that, we want to make sure that we're being really thoughtful, And so the 140 percent AMI allows us to have more diverse incomes in the neighborhood,

31:01 allows us to create more density in the neighborhood, because we're not talking single-family homes. It's single-family up to six units, and that creates more naturally occurring affordable housing as well. So absolutely, we want to ward off gentrification across all 77 community areas wherever possible, and this is one lever that we're able to pull with AMI caps. Hi, Mayor. Good morning. Hi, good morning. Can you speak directly to the Chicago taxpayer, and you've spoken to this a bit already this morning, about how the city will afford the new teacher's contract and the $175 million pension payment?

31:38 Can I just offer up just some clarification? The contract is paid for through a separate entity of government, the Chicago Public Schools, and that in part is the responsibility of the CEO to be able to come up with mechanisms to be able to satisfy that. Just like when I passed my budget, I spoke specifically of how we're going to pay for our raises for our police officers. We're even projecting how we'll pay for raises

32:09 for our firefighters and all of our city workers. These are what budgets ultimately do. There's enough revenue that we have generated from our public schools that allows for this contract to be settled. And what's also important here is because this is the question that I know that taxpayers ask. What are they getting in their public school system? So if you will indulge me for a second, can I tell you what the taxpayers are getting? Okay, so we're getting up to 70 more sustainable community schools,

32:43 which is a model that has proven to work better than school privatization and turnarounds, which cost the taxpayers, right? We're also reducing class sizes. where there are very clear instructional outcomes that benefit all of the taxpayers when children are in classrooms that are smaller. And I know that personally as a public school teacher. Here's what we're also getting. We're actually protecting experience. You know, when Donald Trump is firing government workers, and particularly these are individuals who have been a part of the public servant life for years,

33:21 We're ensuring that there is continuity and sustainable and predictable workforce so that parents don't have to worry year to year whether or not they're going to have class sizes that are manageable and teachers who have professional, longstanding experience. So, I'm confident that the people of Chicago are relieved, first of all, that we're not going to have a teacher strike or even a strike vote. It's the first time in 15 years. That also provides confidence with our business community because it provides, when we have labor peace, there's more predictability on how an economy can ultimately

34:04 be solvent. So again, the Board of Education will ultimately have to ratify if the full membership votes to accept this. But again, our investment in our public schools, the last thing that I'll say is it's very apparent and transparent. The largest TIF surplus in the history of Chicago. As indicated, we established over a billion dollars of just structural old support for the school district. I'm not going to let this school district fail.

34:35 I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly. The pension payment falls back to CEO Martinez, but ultimately he answers to you, right? Well, he should. But regardless of whether or not he should or should not, here's what we do know. The contract matches the value system of our city. It does. Just like the contract for our police officers matched the value of our city, right?

35:07 We want our officers to be well compensated and paid, right? We all agree with that. We want them to have the support that they need to be effective. That's why we have more helicopters, and we've created a structure that allows for mental health professionals to show up to mental health crises because we have to take that responsibility off of our police officers. These are the responsible things that I've done since I've been mayor. And we're going to continue to write these systems so that they speak to the values of working people in this city. And no one in this city wants to see anybody in this city underpaid or undervalued.

35:41 I know that. So, you know, we got it done. The first mayor in 15 years to get a contract done, keep labor peace. We've raised the wages of our park district workers, stabilizing those workers as well. Pass the pay time off ordinance. So whether you're in a union or not, you get 10 days off. It's the most pro-worker administration in the history of this city. And I'm very proud of the fact that we have a long history of standing up for workers. Mayor, happy belated birthday.

36:12 Thank you. I would just say that you all are making my siblings a little envious because I've gotten more birthday wishes than gifts, personal gifts. Are they in the closet? I've gotten more birthday wishes in these last few days than all of my nine siblings have gotten combined over the course of 49 years. But thank you for the birthday wish. You bet. On that $175 million non-reimbursement for the MEBF, I know there was a letter your finance team sent out to Alders.

36:45 I didn't quite understand. Basically saying to plug that hole, you'd be sort of monitoring revenues and expenses, perhaps revenues come in over projections. Is that how you plan to balance the current fiscal year's budget given that $175 million, or can you just explain to me how this budget will be in balance now? Annette. Sure. Sure. So I think I want to remove the notion of balanced budgets.

37:16 You balance a budget when you pass a budget. You monitor your budget throughout the year to ensure your revenues are coming in as you projected, and that if they're not, that you are mitigating that by lowering your expenditures. Last year, we forecasted the non-receipt of the MEABF payment in our forecast, And so we took measures to reduce our expenditures in the chance that the agreement couldn't be struck with the Board of Education.

37:47 So we took those measures last year. And so what we're doing now is reconciling the end of the year to see how the rest of our revenues came in and the rest of our expenditures came in. And that report will be due in June to City Council. Okay. And then to follow up on what Tara was asking about, because CPS, the board did not vote on a supplemental budget, and this new contract will cost, according to CPS estimates, about $300 million to $400 million a year. Mayor, is it your recommendation still that the CEO and the board consider new short-term borrowing to be able to pay for this contract?

38:26 Well, look, if you look at how contracts have matured over time, you know, I believe this contract that our teachers are currently, the one that has expired, I believe that contract was anywhere from $800 to $900 million over the course of that contract. So the gradual maturation of all of our contracts is just on par for what workers deserve, particularly as inflation has gone up.

38:57 Here's what I can tell you, that I'm going to continue to work with the Board of Education. It's leadership, as well as board members, as well as our workers, because it's not just this contract. You have a principal's contract. I just believe that it's important that we remember that there are multiple contracts inside of our schools. There's a principal's contract. There are contracts for workers who are CECAs and security guards, Local 73.

39:28 Then, of course, you have CTU Local 1. And it's incumbent upon all of us, including all of our workers and our partners, to come together to ensure that there's a pathway for solvency. Here's what I'm going to commit to. I'm going to commit to making sure that our public education system doesn't fail the people of this city. And I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that every single family across this city receives a well-rounded education that's fully funded and supported.

40:00 Mayor Johnson. See, you moved seats there. Apparently you were very eager to ask a question. Now, you've got to get to it quickly, okay? Well, the people of Chicago are asking me to ask you a couple of questions. Go for it. Every single reporter here asked three questions, and you didn't interrupt any of them, by the way. For the second week in a row, we had mobs of violent black teenagers descending on not only residents, attacking police, attacking businesses, shooting at people,

40:34 obviously the shoplifting property damage. And you weren't even in Chicago. You were out campaigning for another unpopular mayor in St. Louis, where your wife Stacy is from. And people are asking me to ask you to add insult to injury. The very next night, not even 24 hours later, you held a campaign kickoff fundraiser. How could you possibly think that this is the right time to kick off your re-election campaign?

41:11 Thank you. People are asking me. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Citizens are asking. Your question is about me, about my re-election. So first of all, here's what I'm focused in on. It's creating more opportunities for people to afford to live in this city. As you have seen today, my administration has moved with a great deal of expediency, transparency, and boldness to build more affordable homes because there's a pathway to sustain our communities and to make sure that they're safe. Here's what we're also committed to doing is to ensuring that there is a workforce that is stabilized in this city so that we can continue to grow our economy.

41:49 You know, the most important thing for the people of Chicago to know, the most important thing that they need to know, is that I'm focusing on people. That's what my focus has been on. And whether that's building more affordable homes, ensuring that our workforce is stabilized, investing in our young people, expanding mental and behavioral health, these are the things that the people of Chicago want. They want their schools to be fully supported. We've done that. They want their communities to be affordable. We're doing that. They want to make sure that our communities are getting safer, 23%, 25% reduction in violent crime just this year alone.

42:24 And so we're going to continue to do that work throughout my term here, and then when it's time for us to make that announcement around what our vision is for the next four years, we'll make sure that you get an invitation. Well, we've got to keep moving. We've got to keep moving. Is there a question? All right, we've got to keep moving. I'm sorry. We can't do this.

43:02 We're investing in people. Thank you very much. Thank you. We'll go to Mariah. Hi. Can you talk about how the city is exploring options to cope with the $125 million in cuts to the Chicago Department of Public Health? Are there any legal avenues the city is exploring to push back against these funding cuts? Those cuts are harsh, right? The number of people who will be impacted who rely upon our public health system.

43:38 It's going to hurt us, no doubt. You know, look, I think it's important, you know, to just note that our work, not just with the city council, but our partnership with county government and the state of Illinois, you know, we'll continue to lean on one another to. to show up to the best of our ability in the event those cuts actually start to come down. As far as any legal actions, of course, we're going to explore all different legal avenues

44:09 to ensure that the tax dollars that we send as a city to the federal government, that we get a return on those investments. And what's the status of the 100 positions that are potentially going to be cut? Have you identified those people, notified those people? It's a great question. You know, I don't really start to provoke personnel issues out loud, but, you know, no decision has been made just yet. But go ahead to our budget director. Every single one of those workers is still working.

44:39 Thank you. Hi, Mayor. I wanted to ask about CPS, but William's question is interesting because I think in her statement, there is a question in there. So you had the large gathering of young people in Streeterville, young black men, teenage boys. And so some people see that, and they're afraid. You know, perhaps they shouldn't be. But the reality is they're afraid, and there's a sense that, you know, what's happening?

45:12 Why are young people taking over my neighborhood? Do you worry about the electoral consequences of that sort of happening? And what is the message that, you know, oftentimes these are peaceful, you know, these are just teens that have every right to be downtown gathering, but it still raises concern among some people? I would venture to say that most people are concerned when our young people, again,

45:43 are not in constructive, safe spaces that allow them to be teens. That's why I created a safe space forum. It's not impossible, but it can't just be government. It can't just be government. And this is why we're calling on everyone. The consequence is not about elections. The consequence is about making sure that our young people find their purpose and that people can live in their neighborhoods without wondering if their neighborhoods are going to be disrupted in any kind of way.

46:21 Nobody wants to experience that level of disruption, and we're certainly not tolerating it, and I never have. As someone who is raising a family, I want my sons and my daughter to be able to go to places in this city without being judged. But I also don't want them to be in places where they're going to feel unsafe. Keep this in mind, you all. We had an event that was dedicated to young people at Navy Pier, where 1,000 of them showed up the very next day, and you did not have a single incident.

46:58 Can we just do ourselves a favor? Let's actually show what a constructive environment looks like so that people know that it's possible. And I get it. I mean, I'm not dismissive of the fact that this did happen. I'm saying that the very next day we actually prove to people that young people can come downtown if they're supported, loved, invested in, have some structure. For too many of our young people, and it doesn't mean that it's the vast majority of them, but for too many of them, they just don't have enough structure.

47:30 I know that as someone who taught in our public schools, if you don't have structure, the idle minds start to linger. So what I'm saying is there's proof positive that investing in young people and providing a constructive space for them to be able to hang out, you can do that without incident. When we do not do that, we do raise the risk of our young people, you know, provocating, you know, a desire and a need, you know, to be able to be themselves.

48:10 And again, the accountability and opportunity is the focus, but it's going to take all of us. Now that the CTU contract is just about done, have you thought at all about recommendations to the Board of Education to reform the district, such as dismantling CPS's central office, maybe taking those thousands of jobs and reinvesting that back into the classroom? And now that it apparently is over, waiting on those final votes, that meeting at City Hall two weeks ago Wednesday,

48:44 what would you like to now tell us about kind of what you said or any role that you played in landing the contract well I said get it done and they did and I gave them direction on On how to get it done. The, I guess the one benefit of having been a part of these conversations, I was able to help, you know, CPS leadership and the CTU see how close they really were and then provided a pathway for them to land what essentially were non-economic issues primarily.

49:24 You know, as far as the district moving forward, look, there's no secret that, you know, I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that every single child in this district receives a high-quality education. That's why I'm pleased, particularly around class size and protecting experienced teachers and expanding our sustainable community schools, you know, something that we didn't talk about enough, but there are provisions and measures within this contract that will help us to address this. Our chief operations officer is here. We've attracted billions of dollars.

49:58 Our commissioner boat ride is here. Billions of dollars into the city of Chicago. The city of Chicago, the difference is we're open for business. We're just not for sale. And thirty seven thousand construction jobs, roughly. And so we're going to begin to move our district towards ensuring that there are there's access to the to the trades. A program that we're running right out of City Hall right now is with streets and sanitation. You were part of that conversation, and thank you for that coverage,

50:29 around the young people who signed up for a summer opportunity to work in streets and sanitation, and 50 of them stayed on with good union-paying jobs. I believe this year we have 100 signed up for this program. And so our school district, as we move towards steam and other areas of interest to make sure we're creating the next layer of workers, that we're going to have a whole bunch of construction jobs available for our people in this city.

51:00 And the 1901 project on the west side of Chicago, that's a seven billion dollar investment, you know, as well. So the district is not so much dismantling the district. It's making sure that we structure the district to respond to the growing economy. Charlie? Oh, hey, Mayor. I'm sorry, but I want to circle back to the teen issue again. Okay, sure. It's okay. This is an important topic. You don't have to apologize. This is important. The folks over at SOAR sent a letter to your office yesterday demanding there be some change.

51:32 Alderman Brian Hopkins in announcing the arrest of the 15-year-old for the AMC shooting said, you know, he would have been affected by the curfew and wouldn't have been on the street had that time been pushed up the two hours. What is, from your perspective, the disadvantage to moving that curfew up two hours? And when we talk about teen gatherings, your event at Navy Pier was lovely and all the kids had a good time. Be careful here.

52:02 But it was during the daytime. Okay. I just want to make sure. Thank you for being careful there. and it wasn't at the same time when a lot of these kids are out. So what can we do to address not only the age problem in the area, but also the creation of activities at a time when a lot of kids are on the streets or going to the streets? Well, first of all, we don't want to assume that all of our children are on the streets after 8 o'clock or after 9 o'clock or after 10 o'clock. And we also cannot assume that just because children are hanging out during the daytime

52:32 that they don't continue to hang out downtown. Many of them did. They did. And it happened without incident. So I don't want to put a disclaimer there. I wouldn't put a disclaimer there. Right. And as far as a 15 year old having a gun, let's just pause for a second. A 15 year old having a gun. Now, we've removed 12,000 guns last year. We're going to continue to do that. A 15 year old that has a gun at four o'clock, eight o'clock or 10 o'clock is a problem, no matter what time of day that is. And that's why we're working to ensure that we get guns off the streets, right?

53:07 Because whether that child has access to a gun at 2 o'clock or 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock, that is the biggest problem there. As far as that letter is concerned, if you read the letter, they pretty much said what I've said. It's going to take all of us, that everybody has to lean in to support our young people. This is not just simply an act of government, right? So most of the challenges that we are experiencing in the city of Chicago do require all of us to participate.

53:37 You know, that's why it's imperative that, again, our business community, and many of them have stepped up putting more dollars towards violence prevention. People are working hard to prevent these type of incidents. One is too many. But let's just keep this in mind. It's not like this is happening every night, every weekend. One is too many. Just like one 15-year-old having access to a gun is too many. That's what the collective work of our city has to be a part of, is ensuring that we're creating not just accountability, but opportunities.

54:11 And we have to do the things that work. And what I have seen is that we are better off putting our efforts towards getting guns off the streets, creating more structure for our young people, and then doing that together. That is how we build an apparatus that supports our neighbors while also making sure that everyone is safe. The one thing that people talked to us about yesterday, and we live in Streeterville, the NBC Towers in Streeterville, we've talked to a lot of people, they felt as if the police had their hands tied behind their back by the current curfew

54:47 and wondered if there wasn't some way to authorize the commander on the scene to say, hey, this situation is getting out of hand now. I'm imposing a disperse order now. When they see the kids running up and down Columbus and being a danger not only to anybody else, but to themselves as well. That's right. Has that been one of the things considered? Well, look, constitutional policing is what we ultimately have to adhere to. And if I'm not mistaken, there were multiple arrests that were made.

55:21 Now, I don't know how many arrests that were made were based on curfew. And we did hold and we do have at least a person that's been identified as the shooter from a couple of weeks ago. So clearly there is a commitment to accountability. Here's what I will say is that it's not just policing. There's a lot that we have to do to make sure that young people who believe that's the only way in which they can have a good time, it's going to take more than policing to, you know, make sure that we're engaging responsibly.

55:54 That's why I was appreciative of the tone of the letter that also said what I've been saying, is that it's going to take more than just government. We have to have support for these young people. but we have to have support, you know, for the homes. There has to be a level of accountability even as we create opportunities, and that's what I'm committed to. Yeah, you're welcome. Good morning. Good morning. For the record, 49 is young to me, too, and Craig.

56:26 Just so you know. Yeah, this is right. So anyway, back to CPS. You know, I know while a contract was settled without a strike, it took a lot of turmoil to get here. unsuccessful ouster of Pedro Martinez. You had a school board that quit. Was it all worth it for you? Especially in the end, Pedro Martinez is still there. The loan wasn't taken out and teachers are getting raises that they were offered last summer. Well, look, when you have class sizes that you could not negotiate over in previous contracts,

57:01 you're actually able to land a deal that lowers class sizes for the health and the benefit of that child, I would say it's worth it. For our veteran teachers that have been, you know, marked with, you know, disparaging, sometimes direct and indirect characterization of a veteran teacher that we have, you know, secured work experience, I think it's worth it. We had 20 sustainable community schools. That was part of an outbreak of organizing as a

57:37 response to the expansion of privatization in school turnarounds that laid primarily veteran teachers off black and brown women. And now we have an opportunity to expand that to now 70. I think it's worth it, right? Because if you think about, you know, diet as well as Beiler Elementary School, these schools were slated for closure and instead of the turnaround model or the privatization model, the closure model, we went to a sustainable community school model, and now those schools are examples

58:10 and now 50 more of those type of schools will exist. I think that's worth it. The fact that we actually have support for arts. And sports, particularly after school, we doubled the amount in the contract so that smaller schools are supported. When I would visit small schools, if you're not sort of a powerhouse school with booster and, you know, PTOs that help raise dollars, some of those schools do not have rides to away games.

58:40 We doubled the amount of dollars for after school programs. And within, you know, the contract, there's a commitment for 400 more teachers assistants. I mean, I could keep going. I'm saying all of it is worth it when we are investing in our public accommodations. I mean, as far as I think to the premise of your question, you know, with all the challenges that we had to get to this point, this clearly wasn't about the raises. Right. Because that part in and of itself stayed the same. But all the other things that I just listed off, those things were not agreed upon.

59:13 And, you know, when you're fighting to ensure that we have a district that respects working people in this city, it will always be worth the fight if the people of this city get to benefit from that fight. And I believe that if the members of this union decide to, you know, codify the agreement, it's going to be an incredible win for the people of Chicago, and that fight is always worth it. And everything you just listed, obviously, very costly.

59:43 CPS says they have the money this year, the 24-25 school year, to pay for this contract. But there is no money. They're facing a huge deficit for the remainder of three years of this contract. So you still have control over the school board for the next year, and as budget season opens up over the summer, as they have to come up with a balanced budget by July. What are your suggestions of how to pay for this? Yeah, look, that's a great question. Look, we'll do it. But just like I came in and I had a half a billion dollar deficit in my first budget, had a billion dollar deficit in the second budget, we rectified that.

1:00:19 You know, we are leading in this moment. Look, I never expected the job to be easy. Nothing that I have ever done in my life has been easy. But what I can say is that I put in the work to ensure that we level set in this city without harming working people. Now, all of us are going to have to roll our sleeves up to ensure that we do that with CPS's budget. We're going to continue to organize and work in Springfield for CTA. I mean, if you think about it, all of the systems that we've inherited up to this point, you know, have these, you know, you know, I guess fiscal challenges.

1:00:53 But we're up for it. I mean, this is Chicago. Remember the last contract? Folks said we didn't have enough money for that as well. And the contract before that, there were some people that believed that I gave police officers too much money. Many people talk about how we may not have enough money to solve these fiscal challenges, but yet somehow through and through we have figured it out, and we will continue to figure it out because it's so paramount for the people of Chicago that I get it right, and so far I think we've done a good job of getting it right.

1:01:23 Thank you for that question. Hey, Mayor. Hey. We saw two elected school board members who were endorsed by CTU sign their name onto that seven-member letter against the borrowing plan. Does that signal trouble for the union and your education agenda ahead of the next school board elections? No. Following up on Justin's question earlier, why should Chicagoans believe the process to pick a 35th ward alderman wasn't a rubber stand? Every mayor has enjoyed the responsibility of appointing someone that reflects the values of that particular community.

1:01:55 I will do the same. Hi, Mayor. Hey. When you say you support working with the Board of Ed on the MEABF, Are you saying you support them having another go at a budget amendment vote to reimburse the city, perhaps when they vote on their contract? Yeah, that's a good question. Look, the vast majority of the board supports this effort. Here's what we have to do. We have to work collectively to work to disentangle the, you know, particularly the financial reliance on the city of Chicago.

1:02:28 That work is going to be ongoing. It's inevitable. Whether it happens now or later, it's inevitable. But yes, I'm going to continue to always work with people. Do you think you have the support for it to happen now, maybe when the next time they vote? Again, the vast majority of the people on the board actually support this. This will be the umpteenth question on the teen gatherings. Okay, all right. No, actually, I do. I mean, in seriousness, I do appreciate the interest here. I mean, this is an important issue for the people of Chicago.

1:02:59 so you talked a lot about the need for businesses and churches and what not to step up to provide spaces and what not but you've used the word accountability a lot where is there need for more accountability for these teens who come down and misbehave, to use a soft term. Yeah, I mean, look, whether they are misbehave or they do something violent, I mean, I think we can name it, you know, some of the acts were violent. You know, all of them weren't. You know, accountability comes when, you know,

1:03:33 unfortunately for some of these young people, and all of them were not teenagers, by the way. There were several arrests that were made. Several arrests. You know, and, you know, as far as anything beyond an arrest and going through the process of within our legal system, that is a layer of accountability. What I'm what I believe what I'm offering in in this sense, that there are different mechanisms of accountability.

1:04:05 I'll give you an example. I didn't need to get arrested when I misbehaved for me to straighten, you know, straighten up. You know, I don't know if anybody needs to get arrested. What I'm saying is that there are accountability mechanisms when you have businesses who help support our young people and show themselves to be mentors, show themselves to be parental figures, if you will.

1:04:40 That level of accountability is important, right? And this is why activity is so important. I remember when I was a coach at Jenner where I taught middle school, and there were some players of mine that will get out of line in a different classroom. And you know what some of those teachers would say? Do I need to talk to Mr. Johnson? And some of those players, the vast majority of them would straighten up.

1:05:10 That's accountability, right? And I think the more we create those spaces for our young people, there are other adults in their lives that they are accountable to and in many instances can incentivize them, you know, walking in a more purposeful life. I want to also follow up with the meeting last night in Hyde Park about the shelter. Folks down there really upset after being apparently promised that this was going to be a temporary shelter for the migrants. Now it's turning into a permanent shelter for, you know, legacy homeless or whoever needs it.

1:05:45 They're not happy about it. Is there any chance that this is going to change, or are these people just going to have to, you know, deal with it? Well, let me just say the first thing, that I'm very proud of how the city of Chicago has stepped up in our response to homelessness. You know, as my chief of staff indicated, our One System initiative, we created more shelter beds year over year than any other time in the history of Chicago. I believe we increased it by 126 percent. And so for the first time, likely in the history of Chicago, when people call 3-1-1 looking for shelter, there's not a waiting list.

1:06:20 I said that I would respond to the housing crisis. I said that I would respond to the homelessness crisis. And we are responding to that. And this one system initiative where I believe 89 percent of those who are in shelter are individuals that have historically lived in Chicago or are part of the – who have grown up in Chicago. And then the others are individuals who are part of our shelter system who have come from other places on the planet. But in terms of this process and our commitment to having a community dialogue, that is something that is important.

1:06:59 And, you know, Tina, if you want to add anything else to it. Yeah, I think what's important to note is that the shelter was originally opened by the state. and the process that they undertook to inform community, we did not have control over that. We have participated in past community meetings and we will continue to dialogue with the respective community groups as well as the local electeds to move forward and stand in our values.

1:07:30 We want to ensure that every Chicagoan that is experiencing housing instability or homelessness has a place where they can lay their head and be on a path to self-sufficiency and self-determination, and we will continue to defend those investments and those specific resources. I guess people in the community are saying, they want you to hear that they don't want the shelter there, they don't feel this is the right place for a shelter. Is there really dialogue that's going to change the situation, or are you set on this being the spot for that shelter?

1:08:00 At this point, that's the location that has been identified by the state, and we are in the process of working with the state to move forward with these particular investments. Good morning, Mayor. It still is. It is still morning. I checked. I wanted to ask about the vehicle debt relief. I don't want to discount at all the benefit of a resident being able to pay off their ticket without late fees, penalties, but what is the city's rationale? How are we able to afford forgoing those penalties and late fees for a time?

1:08:31 Thank you. So harken back to – I want to take you back to our budget process. This was actually a part of that. We have about $100 million in vehicle debt that we work to collect. And as time passes, that debt becomes more and more expensive for those who have yet to pay it back. We have payment plans that we offer to people already, but they still have to pay the penalty.

1:09:02 And so part of our budget process this year, we forecasted an amount that we could receive from the revenue above and beyond what we would normally get by allowing people who may not pay their debt back in normal course to do so without that penalty. So we've baked in the costs related to this program into this year's budget. Understood. And after June 30th, is there going to be a re-evaluation to maybe extend that or expand it to other types of debt that are held by Chicago taxpayers?

1:09:36 That's a good question. I think as we go through this next budget process, all of those type of considerations will be on the table. Are there any specific types that you would like to see, potentially? Could you repeat yourself? Are there any specific types of, you know, aside from vehicle debt, are there any specific types that you might have? We have other debt relief programs in the city of Chicago that are administered through the same Department of Finance, including our utility billing relief programs, our administrative hearing debt programs. So the city actually has a pretty robust programs and initiatives that recognizes that certain people need more time, despite having accrued debt to the city.

1:10:19 And I want to be really clear, the city is still providing a service to residents of the city, but we understand that in some cases, you know, people need a little help. And so this is on top of the existing debt relief programs that the city provides. Thank you. Is that everyone? Thank you all. All right. Thank you all. That's great. Thank you.

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