(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.
“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.
