“With colder weather upon us, we are at an increasingly critical point in this humanitarian endeavor,” Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement.
Brandon Johnson
Even though the Chicago Police Department has exceeded its overtime budget in each of the past five years, the City Council is once again poised to set aside just $100 million to cover the department’s overtime bill in the 2024 budget.
If the measure is approved, Chicago workers would be entitled to more time off than workers in New York City and Los Angeles, and would be the first to earn time off for any reason, not just if they or a family member falls ill.
The number of migrants sent to Chicago in the last 30 days has grown 30%, with the number of migrants at police stations and O’Hare growing by more than 50%, even as the mayor’s office opened several new shelters in recent weeks.
More than 19,000 people have been sent to Chicago from the southern border in the past 15 months. The city is awaiting test results before finalizing a decision to build a massive “winterized base camp” in Brighton Park.
The working group formed by Mayor Brandon Johnson in June to tackle Chicago’s acutely underfunded pensions has yet to craft a comprehensive plan to address one of the major fiscal challenges facing the city.
Mayor Brandon Johnson praised Ciere Boatright in a statement as a “tremendously talented and respected executive” who has proven she can get deals done.
Many furious residents urged Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration to scrap the proposal, while others vowed to protect and care for Chicago’s newest residents.
Less than 72 hours ago, Johnson hailed the agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, as “fair and in alignment with Chicago’s current policing needs, economic landscape and budgetary capabilities.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2024 spending plan would increase the overall CPD budget to nearly $2 billion, accounting for more than 31% of the city’s $5.7 billion corporate fund, by far the most of any city agency or department.
The deal, which must be approved by the Chicago City Council, resolves the issues left over from the contract agreement reached by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in July 2021 that ended the longest union negotiations in the city’s history.
“Any violent act against an elected official in our city is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.
The analysis by Fitch said the rating upgrade “is driven by a decline in the city’s long-term liability burden stemming from steady growth in the economic resource base and improved debt management practices.”
The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at Kelly High School, 4136 S. California Ave. But Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th Ward) warned that it may already be a done deal – whether or not she objects.
Bills are available online at cookcountytreasurer.com and should hit mailboxes by Nov. 1.
Several alderpeople, from across the political spectrum, asked Budget Director Annette Guzman why the mayor set aside just $150 million in his spending plan to care for the migrants, even though that is less than half of what the city will have spent to care for Chicago’s newest arrivals through the end of 2023.
