Citing ’catastrophic collapse’ of economy, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago faces $1.2 billion shortfall in 2021 ’pandemic budget’
Citing the “catastrophic collapse of our local and national economy” because of COVID-19 and damage to local businesses from civil unrest, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday laid out a $1.2 billion shortfall for what she called Chicago’s “pandemic budget” in 2021.
Filling the historic deficit will likely require personnel cuts and could lead to layoffs, and the mayor promised to use a TIF surplus and consider a computer lease tax as other potential measures. Lightfoot made no mention of a possible property tax hike in her remarks.
Asked afterward for specifics about cuts or taxes, Lightfoot said that “all options are on the table,” though property taxes and job cuts are at the back of her list.
“The reality is that life will be different for the foreseeable future, impacting how services are provided and how departments are structured, and we must adjust to meet that reality,” Lightfoot said in an afternoon speech at the Cultural Center.
“A very difficult part of reimagining government will also include looking to our workforce, and making needed changes in places that are not being fully utilized during the remainder of this crisis and in our post-COVID-19 world,” she said.
Lightfoot largely avoided discussion about the city’s rising pension costs, aside from calling for state lawmakers to work together and solve the problem. But alluding to the issue, Lightfoot pushed back against Republican critics who say the federal government shouldn’t help blue cities and states such as Chicago and Illinois because their budget woes are “a result of years of mismanagement.”
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Chicago and all surrounding suburbs have been destroyed through inflated taxes for years and decades. She and previous Mayors have operated like homeowners are nothing but cash cows.
Property taxes out in the burbs are over $6,000 per year for a Chicago bungalow not in any great shakes neighborhood. Good luck Lightfoot, fixing anything when you don't have a clue about the real world.
40 shootings in a weekend. Good luck. Hating police. Good luck. You own it. You deserve it. Hope they all walk away.
They brought this on themselves and need to make their own changes in their local government. I say this as a resident of NJ, where our goofy governor just got court approval to borrow 10's of billions to fix our problems because of the pandemic - despite the NJ constitution stating that he cannot.
Vote the jackass out ASAP‼️
He also closed all private businesses and I feel Gov Phil Murphy is just making up stuff as he goes it makes no sense that we can now eat in a restaurant and go bk to the gym but CANNOT VOTE BY MACHINE IN PERSON strange isn't it. I cannot stand him and I feel he cares abt no one like mayor Lightfoot and others Garcetti, and Gov like Wolf, Whitmer and Newsom and Northam and of course Cuomo and De Blasio. Time to vote em out.
Too bad, so sad
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