Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is running to represent Illinois’ 7th Congressional District and replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis.

A marathon session before the City Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee on Monday made it clear there is no easy way to bridge the city’s $1.19 billion projected shortfall, leaving alderpeople across the political spectrum frustrated as the budget debate hits a tipping point.

In all, 11 cases alleging Chicagoans were hit or killed during a police chase that violated department policy cost taxpayers more than $82.5 million to resolve between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

S&P, one of a handful of major ratings agencies, revised its rating outlook for Chicago from stable to negative. Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his spending plan proposal as a “structurally sound budget.”

If approved, it would be the ninth lawsuit filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara’s misconduct to be resolved, for a total cost of more than $112 million to Chicago taxpayers.

Allowing CPD to spend unlimited sums of taxpayer money is a “crazy way to run a city,” said Justin Marlowe, a professor in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and the director of the Center for Municipal Finance.

“From the public health perspective, it is about protecting the children and protecting adults who don’t really know what is in the products they’re consuming,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige said.

As aldermen kicked off nearly a month of hearings by quizzing the mayor’s finance team for more than four hours, several alderpeople said they were shocked by the amount of money the mayor had proposed taking from the city’s tax increment financing districts.

Budget negotiations between members of the Chicago City Council have accelerated following Mayor Brandon Johnson’s initial proposal, which he unveiled last week.

In all, CPD’s budget is set to swell to $2.1 billion, increasing by $37.9 million to cover the cost of salary increases required by agreements with unions representing members.

The City Council also agreed to pay $8 million to the family of Leonardo Guerrero, who died after being strapped to a stretcher by Chicago Fire Department paramedics.

“The line to draw here is that we either are going to protect working people in Chicago from Trump’s cuts, or we are going to open up the floodgates and allow these individuals to be hurt and harmed further,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Nine months into the year, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $266.8 million to resolve nearly two and a half dozen lawsuits, exceeding the city’s annual budget to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct by nearly $185 million, city records show.

Leonardo Guerrero, 44, died at an Uptown hospital on Aug. 31, 2022, after his heart stopped in a Chicago Fire Department ambulance.

Nine cases alleging Chicagoans were hit or killed during a police chase that violated department policy cost taxpayers more than $75 million to resolve between Jan. 1 and July 31, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

Botched raids by the Chicago Police Department have cost taxpayers more than $5.5 million since 2020, according to a WTTW News analysis.