Chicago officials blame Trump for rising expenditures as city budget
talks begin
[July 01, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Chicago officials have begun a series of public
budget discussions as the city grapples with a deficit of more than $1
billion.
The city hosted its first budget engagement roundtable Saturday at
Truman College.
Mayor Brandon Johnson told participants that he wanted working people to
have a voice in the budgeting process.
“The knowledge and input that you bring forward allow us to think
critically about how we allocate funding towards the things that truly
matter,” the mayor said.
“We’re entering a budget season unlike any the city has experienced,”
stated Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman. “The City faces difficult
decisions ahead and we want to know residents’ priorities so we can be
strategic and laser focused with our budget. It’s Chicagoans’ voices
that will help us get there.”
Guzman told roundtable participants on Saturday that the budget has been
structurally out of balance for decades. Guzman said expenditures have
increased about 8% and blamed President Donald Trump for rising prices.
“You know, we have a president in Washington that has instituted a trade
war that’s driving costs up every single day,” Guzman said.
Guzman also noted that city revenues have not grown.
Chicago Flips Red founder Zoe Leigh said it is shameful and
disrespectful for members of Johnson’s administration to blame a
president who has only been in office for six months.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson during a budget roundtable Saturday,
June 28, 2025, at Truman College - Chicago Mayor's Office | Facebook
“It shows that you guys are not taking any acknowledgement of the
wrongdoing that you guys have done and continue to do. You’re not
making anything better, even with these roundtables,” Leigh told The
Center Square.
Leigh said Johnson could have done what Atlanta’s mayor did by
offering sanctuary status without providing financial assistance to
migrants.
Leigh said the mayor is holding roundtables because he doesn’t know
what else to do.
“You can’t get any money from the federal government. [Illinois Gov.
J.B.] Pritzker is trying to save himself. You’re not gonna get
anything from the county, so now it’s just trying to figure out,
‘What can we do?’” Leigh said.
More Chicago budget engagement events to discuss fiscal year 2026
spending plans are scheduled Monday and Tuesday of this week,
followed by a fourth roundtable on July 9th. The next city budget
begins Jan. 1, 2026.
The city’s budget engagement website includes the calendar of public
events. |
