Politics
Chicago City Council Votes 26-23 to Borrow $830M to Repair Streets, Sidewalks, Bridges
The Chicago City Council on Wednesday voted 26-23 to borrow $830 million to repair Chicago’s crumbling streets, sidewalks and bridges after weeks of controversy that spotlighted ongoing questions about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ability to steer the city through rough financial seas.
The vote came after a week-long delay fueled by outrage whipped up on social media, the budding 2027 race for mayor and the lack of trust many City Council members have in Johnson’s leadership.
The measure passed by the narrowest possible margin with the support of the entire Progressive Caucus and all but four members of the Black Caucus.
Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th Ward) was the only member of the Chicago City Council not to vote on the borrowing. While he was present just before and just after the vote, he was not present during the vote. The City Council’s rules do not permit members to abstain from votes, prompting many to leave the chambers rather than cast a politically tough vote.
After the meeting, Yancy told WTTW News he had unanswered questions about the bond deal that was first proposed Jan. 15 that prompted him to avoid making a decision.
Opponents of the bond deal tried several times to derail the vote by invoking little-used parliamentary procedures but failed. A push by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) to delay a vote until May ended in a tie vote, allowing Johnson to cast the deciding vote and allow a vote to take place Wednesday.
While supporters said the borrowed money would be used to pay for crucial projects that would maintain Chicagoans’ quality of life and hire hundreds of workers, opponents blasted the deal as a boondoggle that would only worsen the city’s financial condition.
“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging,” Ald. Bill Conway (34th Ward) said. “This will place an enormous burden on future generations. We don’t have to mortgage our children’s future.”
But Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) said communities on the city’s South and West sides could not afford to wait for needed improvements, especially as President Donald Trump works to strip federal funding from Chicago.
“We need to become self-sufficient,” Burnett said. “I think this is very wise and very smart and very beneficial to make sure that we can self-sustain ourselves for the future for the infrastructure that we need.”
Much of the controversy surrounding the bond deal focused on its structure, which would allow the city to pay only interest for the first 19 years.
If the city does not start paying down the principal until 2045, it would cost Chicago taxpayers $2 billion if the debt is not paid off until 2055, according to projections shared with City Council members.
The city’s finance team could choose to pay off the debt faster, if the city’s financial condition allows, but the ordinance was crafted to offer them as much flexibility as possible to keep the amount the city has to pay annually to stay current on its debt at a manageable level, Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski said.
The debate over the proposed borrowing has also exposed the significant lack of trust between Johnson and some members of the City Council, who accused him without evidence of attempting to borrow more than needed to help the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools or increase grants to nonprofit organizations.
The bond proposal “has been misconstrued as a piggy bank for the city to use for all kinds of things,” Jaworski said during Johnson’s Tuesday news conference, acknowledging that the administration had agreed to tighten the language of the ordinance to make it clear that the only grants that can be funded with the borrowed money have to be approved by alderpeople as part of the $1.5 million each gets every year to spend as they see fit to fix up roads, sidewalks or other projects designed to spruce up their wards. Those funds are known as “menu money,” since alderpeople get to pick from a list of possible projects to fund.
Since 2020, the City Council has twice agreed to borrow a total of $3.25 billion to repair Chicago’s infrastructure. In all, Chicago owes an estimated $29.2 billion in general obligation debt and an additional $37.2 billion to its four pension funds.
Among the projects set to be funded with the borrowed money are:
- $157.5 million for street repairs and safety improvements
- $115.5 million for new streetscapes
- $108 million for projects chosen by each alderperson to repair infrastructure in their wards or fund local organizations
- $98.1 million to replace and repair the city’s bridges
- $73.8 million to renovate police and fire stations and other city buildings
- $64.9 million to buy new police vehicles and firetrucks
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone| (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
