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Alderman Marty Quinn proposed an ordinance that would have
required future borrowing to be approved by two thirds of the
council instead of just a majority. The council’s finance
committee rejected the proposal by one vote.
Chicago resident Anthony Pruitt expressed his frustration Monday
afternoon during public comments before the Committee on Budget
and Government Operations.
“While this city claims to be evolving, it’s quietly being sold,
stripped and suffocating the very people who built it,” Pruitt
said. “And who suffers? We do. Not just the Black and browns,
but the whites, the visitors, they suffer, too, and now we’re
being treated like outsiders in our own home. We treat lifelong
Chicagoans like second-class citizens while new arrivals get red
carpets. Compassion is good, but fairness is justice,” Pruitt
added.
Over the last two years, Chicago’s government has spent hundreds
of millions of taxpayer dollars on noncitizen migrants.
With the city facing a budget deficit of more than $1 billion,
Mayor Brandon Johnson remains focused on adding more revenue.
Speaking to reporters last week, the mayor said his
administration has a working group to address the city’s budget
issues.
“And we’re getting feedback from alders already around ways in
which we can find progressive means for revenue. The bottom line
is this: the revenue streams that we control in the city of
Chicago are doing well. Can they grow? Absolutely. The revenue
streams that we do not have control over, in other words, state
oversight if you will or state regulated, those are not
performing as well,” Johnson said.
The mayor has said multiple times in the last year that Chicago
should be getting its “fair share” from the state of Illinois.
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