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Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Chicago has a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion. Tack on another $2.9 billion for a proposed teachers’ contract plus an unknown amount for firefighters.

Chicago’s Budget Gap

CBS News reports Chicago Faces $982 Million Budget Shortfall for 2025

Soft Landing Hoot of the Day

 “We’re working to provide as soft of a landing as possible,” said Johnson.

Expenses Up, Revenues Down

• Budget Director Annette Guzman said the city is expecting continued drop in revenue from the personal property replacement tax – a tax on corporations collected by the state and passed on to local governments. The city saw a drop of $169 million in revenue from that tax in 2024, and is expecting an even bigger drop in 2025.

• The Chicago Board of Education also recently approved a Chicago Public Schools budget plan that does not include a $175 million payment for pensions for nonteaching staff at the district, a cost the city once covered, but that CPS had paid for over the last four years until now, and Johnson’s budget team isn’t expecting the district to cover that cost for 2025.

• Another factor putting pressure on the city’s budget for next year is ongoing contract talks with the union for the city’s firefighters and paramedics, who have gone more than three years without a new contract.

Chicago Teachers Union $2.9 billion Deficit

In addition to the above, please note the CTU’s Proposed Contract would tack on another $2.9 billion.

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

Johnson proposes a “short-term, high-interest loan to pay for a CTU contract .”

Then what?

Let’s give credit where credit is due. No matter how stupid you think Chicago’s mayor is, every election the city manages to find someone worse.

Even Lori Lightfoot was better than this.

However, any thinking person knew this in advance. Johnson was hand picked by the CTU to screw the city, screw the taxpayers, screw the corporations, and screw the kids.

March 13: Chicago Teachers’ Union Seeks $50 Billion Despite $700 Million City Deficit

March 15: Congratulations to NY, IL, LA, and CA for Losing the Most Population

August 11: Net Zero Climate Policies Could Leave the Midwest in the Dark

July 2: In Chicago There’s Under a 50 Percent Chance Police Show Up If You are Shot

Brandon Johnson is the worst mayor in Chicago history, and that’s saying quite a bit.

If you live in Illinois, get the hell out before unions take every penny you have.

By the way, if you want to vote for a Chicago bailout and massive tax increases to pay for it (even if you don’t live in Chicago), then vote for Kamala Harris.