Mayor Brandon Johnson will head to Springfield again, to demand Chicago ‘receives its just due’

Mayor Brandon Johnson volition instrumentality to Springfield adjacent week to ratchet up the unit connected his backing requests for Chicago, but nether a section and nationalist governmental scenery that has shifted starkly since his past excursion to the statehouse — and with Gov. JB Pritzker preemptively throwing acold h2o connected his visit.

At his Tuesday City Hall quality conference, the politician confirmed helium volition caput to the Illinois General Assembly and conscionable with Pritzker arsenic good arsenic House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon. A flier obtained by the Tribune shows the politician besides plans to big a governmental fundraiser with the Chicago delegation astatine a Springfield venue adjacent Tuesday evening.

The apical of his agenda, Johnson told reporters, “hasn’t changed,” earlier his main of unit Cristina Pacione-Zayas elaborated that it includes securing backing for Chicago’s nationalist schools and transit systems; “creating further revenue, oregon sustaining revenue” from the prepaid cellphone and idiosyncratic spot replacement taxes; and investing successful the associated city-state structure strategy for migrants and stateless people.

The politician past visited the Illinois General Assembly successful May 2024 and saw lackluster results. But this time, Johnson hinted that President Donald Trump’s 2nd word — and a “serious speech astir what Chicago means successful this moment” — would summation the urgency for authorities leaders to determination connected his Springfield agenda.

“I’m going to stay optimistic and hopeful that the metropolis of Chicago receives its conscionable due, peculiarly astatine a clip the national authorities continues to endanger our democracy, arsenic good arsenic everything that’s sensible astir however we make gross for moving people,” Johnson said.

But the politician suggested to reporters connected Tuesday the politician should person secured large fiscal commitments from the authorities months ago.

“I volition accidental it’s April and we enactment our fund unneurotic successful the second fractional of the anterior twelvemonth and past contiguous it successful February. So, it’ll beryllium hard for america to speech astir things successful the existent budget,” Pritzker said during an unrelated lawsuit downstate. “Though, again, possibly determination are things we tin determination astir successful the fund that’ll beryllium beneficial to the metropolis of Chicago.”

Another $3.2 cardinal elephant successful the room? The Chicago Bears’ proposal, unveiled a twelvemonth ago, for a caller publically owned, domed stadium connected the lakefront — to which Johnson hitched overmuch of his governmental superior successful Springfield, to nary avail yet.

But contempt Bears President/CEO Kevin Warren confirming this period the “focus present is some downtown and Arlington Heights,” Johnson remained optimistic connected Tuesday that helium would not beryllium the politician who loses the NFL franchise to the suburbs.

“We’re going to enactment with the General Assembly to find a mode to support the Bears successful Chicago,” the politician said, earlier shrugging disconnected the question successful Arlington Heights. “I don’t spot this arsenic pressure,” helium said. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m nether nary unit arsenic politician of the metropolis of Chicago.”

Behind Johnson’s cheeky response, however, were the imminent fiscal challenges the metropolis is facing with respect to Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Transit Authority and its ain 2026 budget. Compounding those pressures is simply a past twelvemonth of struggles to get Springfield lawmakers and Pritzker to springiness Chicago what helium has asked for.

Johnson, for his part, kept his cards adjacent to his thorax Tuesday connected what “progressive revenue” helium would propulsion for adjacent week and beyond. Asked astir specifics specified arsenic different referendum connected a graduated income taxation oregon reinstating Chicago’s firm caput tax, the politician said “I judge we should instrumentality connected it all.”

Pacione-Zayas elaborated connected the transportation for much CPS backing by suggesting that the caller absorption would beryllium connected upping the Illinois State Board of Education’s “mandated categoricals,” which are grants required for peculiar purposes specified arsenic pupil transportation, peculiar acquisition and bilingual education.

This would beryllium a antithetic way than seeking $1.1 cardinal much for CPS from the state’s Evidence-Based Funding formula, which Johnson said Tuesday remains a precedence portion slow-walking however agelong that would take.

“Look, successful bid for america to beryllium afloat realized, it’s going to instrumentality immoderate clip to get there. No 1 is disputing that,” Johnson said astir the EBF backing levels. “They’re going to beryllium perpetual asks implicit time.”

But erstwhile it comes to CPS, the wealth is needed soon, and the options extracurricular Springfield are conscionable arsenic fraught.

Johnson secured a tentative Chicago Teachers Union declaration earlier this period without a onslaught — oregon a means to afloat wage for the caller corporate bargaining agreement. Though mayors are not expected to cognize wherever each the currency for the adjacent 4 years volition travel from upon clinching the deal, the territory is successful an particularly choky spot for this one.

CPS is projected to look deficits of astir $500 cardinal successful each of the adjacent 5 years. Schools CEO Pedro Martinez’s squad has said determination is capable remaining wealth for the commencement of the contract, but not for some the teachers’ raises and a thorny $175 cardinal pension reimbursement.

In fact, adjacent if the politician gets his CPS backing privation fulfilled successful Springfield, the caller flush of authorities currency whitethorn not beryllium capable to code these complications. That would mean the Chicago hybrid schoolhouse committee whitethorn request to look backmost astatine the Johnson administration’s earlier plans to contented $242 cardinal successful much indebtedness oregon refinance existing indebtedness — oregon crook to cuts, which the politician has been against.

Meanwhile, the projected $730 cardinal determination fiscal cliff for the city’s autobus and bid strategy besides looms up arsenic backing streams are slated to adust up this year. Springfield powerfulness players are weighing authorities tying a bailout of the CTA to caller governance structures that would bounds the mayor’s power connected the transit boards.

Johnson hinted that displacement would beryllium inequitable fixed the larger stock of ridership CTA makes up crossed each determination transit systems: “It is lone close to guarantee the radical of Chicago person authorization to supply direction.”

Pritzker connected Tuesday besides opened the doorway for the General Assembly to punt dealing with the CTA fiscal cliff into the autumn veto session.

He told reporters that transit betterment and backing doesn’t needfully request to beryllium completed by the clip the existent outpouring league is scheduled to reason May 31 but should beryllium resolved “relatively soon.”

“A batch of enactment has been done. I recognize that everybody’s up successful arms, ‘where is the bill? Why are we not debating a measure already?’ But the world is, arsenic you know, galore hearings person been held, a batch of meetings person been had, some with my medication and wrong the legislature,” Pritzker said. “The enactment connected the reforms has been going connected for rather immoderate time.”