Politics
Mayoral Candidate Joe Holberg on Chicago’s Budget Gap, Violence Prevention and the Future of CPS
Chicagoans have months before casting ballots for the city’s next mayor, but the competition is heating up with seven candidates vying for the top spot.
Entrepreneur Joe Holberg was the first to enter the race after announcing his campaign in October. The Michigan-born businessman said he’s ready to fight for safer neighborhoods, affordable housing and economic growth.
Holberg joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss budget reform, violence prevention and how he hopes to improve relationships between the Chicago City Council and residents. Here’s what he said about his campaign and what his priorities would be as mayor:
On his entrepreneurial background:
Holberg is the founder of Spring, a wealth advisory firm that he sold in 2023.
“I’ve worked in nonprofit, I’ve worked at large companies and I even started a company and created jobs in Chicago. And I think that fresh perspective and that diversity of experiences will lend itself to being the next mayor.”
On how he hopes to repair Chicago’s financial crisis:
Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a $130 million budget gap in Chicago after expected revenue did not materialize.
“First and foremost, I think we should buy the parking meters back. That represents an opportunity for us not only to control our streets and our infrastructure, but it represents an opportunity for us to rethink how we could actually generate money for the city rather than seeing that flow out of the city.”
On reducing crime on the CTA:
“We can see reductions in data, but if the system as a whole is not improving in terms of cleanliness, safety and reliability, there is a significant gap between the data and the lived experience of riders, the 1 million riders that use it everyday, including myself.”
On the future of Chicago Public Schools:
Chicago’s first fully elected school board will begin its term in January 2027. The city’s next mayor will lead the board in potentially difficult challenges as many CPS schools face declining enrollment.
“The aging infrastructure is costing us millions, tens of millions of dollars a year. A school is a collection of people, it’s not always just a building. So those types of ideas could be solutions to helping communities navigate both through growth and when they’re declining in terms of student population.”
On how he hopes to improve relationships with City Council and alderpeople:
“Across the city, no matter what neighborhood you’re in, we need more housing, we need to fix the issues with our budget and we need to grow our city so it’s more vibrant and healthy for everyone. Those to me are the starting place, and those can be the North Star in collaborating and getting the job done, which is exactly why we need a different perspective on the fifth floor.”
