Mayor Brandon Johnson to ask lawmakers for Chicago Public Schools funding during Springfield visit
Johnson accused ex-Mayor Rahm Emanuel of 'jacking up' Chicago's education system and compared him to President Donald Trump.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to take his show on the road next week. He and top staffers are planning a trip to Springfield to talk up his agenda with state lawmakers.
"We are going to have meetings and a serious conversation about what Chicago needs at this moment," Johnson said.
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What Chicago needs is money, and lots of it, as the city faces a huge budget hole next year.
The mayor signed an executive order, launching a budget working group made up of alderpersons, city hall staffers, union and business leaders on Monday. While Johnson has repeatedly said cuts should not be the consideration starter, he will consider cuts if the group recommends them.
"I'll look at them seriously. This is not a futile exercise. This is about the future of our economy," Johnson said.
But some of the mayor's city council critics say his ask for money is likely too little too late. Ald. Brendan Reilly, who represents the 42nd Ward, says the mayor should have gone much earlier with a specific budget plan.
"For the mayor to go to Springfield without having proposed cuts and restructuring our massive spending deficit, why would they give him more money until he has done the homework?" Reilly said.
The mayor's Springfield agenda includes asking for Chicago Public Schools to be fully funded. Johnson blamed former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, two mayors ago, for "jacking up" Chicago's education system by closing 50 schools. He compared Emanuel to President Donald Trump.
"The playbook that Donald Trump is running is the playbook that Rahm Emanuel executed in this city. We didn't get here because we happened to have a tyrant in the White House. We got here because someone gave the script," Johnson said.
"The fact that Rahm Emanuel is no longer ambassador to Japan. He's back to town. Maybe that's making the mayor nervous. He would do well to give Rahm a call and ask him for help getting the budget under control," Reilly said.
