CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — As the Chicago City Council budget hearings kicked off Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot told WBBM that she believes her people and the council have laid the groundwork for a solid future.
The budget hearings are an opportunity for City Council members to raise concerns about the mayor's spending plans, but the mayor said the consultation process has been underway for a long time.
Lightfoot said she and her team meet with a small group of City Council members every other month to hear their concerns. It's a diverse council, she added, both in experiences and interests, and with that comes differences in what each alderperson requests.
Those conversations, though, are what Lightfoot said has made this a solid budget.
“We knew that, in the budget we passed last year, with over $1 billion in investments, that this was not a one-year deal, that it was a multi-year deal,” Lightfoot said. “We’re carrying through a lot of those investments, which I think people will be pleased to see, and then we’ve added on some that we think are important.”
Lightfoot acknowledged that the city has benefitted from Federal Recovery funds and better-than-expected revenues. She scoffed at any notion that her administration got lucky with this budget, though.
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“I don’t think a strong economy comes to fruition through luck,” Lightfoot said. “I think we have been very intentional about making sure that we are good partners with our businesses, particularly the ones that are the core strengths of our very diverse economy. I think that we’ve also used the bully pulpit of the mayor’s office to preach the strengths of our economy.”
Lightfoot acknowledged she doesn’t have a so-called “rubber stamp” City Council. That’s a good thing, she said, and added that she still manages to get a majority, which usually means 26 votes.
The mayor believes, though, that this is a budget that continues needed long-term investments and puts new initiatives in place — all after some tough economic times.
“We’ve done a tremendous job in making sure that even in the face of very daunting economic odds — you know, a $838 million gap the first year, because of the pandemic [it was] a $1.2 billion gap the second year — even through all of that, when you look back, we look for structural solutions,” Lightfoot said.
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