WATCH: Chicago Mayor Scrambles When Asked Why His Budget Makes the City Worse
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson held a press conference at City Hall on Friday to promote his revised budget proposal, a plan that reflects the same pattern that has defined his administration from the beginning: higher taxes, confused priorities, and no serious strategy to address the city’s long-term decline.
Johnson framed the budget as a major step toward “protecting working people,” but the substance of the proposal demonstrates the opposite.
Chicago now faces structural financial pressures, persistent public safety challenges, and declining business confidence, none of which are meaningfully addressed in the plan presented.
The proposal includes a revived corporate head tax, new business surcharges, an expanded sweep of the TIF surplus, and additional long-term borrowing.
Johnson presented these measures as essential for fairness and “equity,” but the plan reflects an administration unwilling to impose discipline on spending or confront the cost drivers that continue to destabilize the city.
Chicago’s police department remains understaffed, 911 response times remain slow, and retail closures continue across major commercial corridors due to theft and security concerns.
The repeated claim that the budget represents an unprecedented investment in community safety overlooks the foundation of public safety: a stable, fully staffed police force with adequate resources to respond to violent crime.
Johnson highlighted an $18 million settlement with DoorDash as evidence that his administration is holding corporations accountable.
But the announcement had no connection to the broader fiscal challenges facing Chicago.
The settlement is not a structural solution. It reflects the administration’s tendency to pursue litigation against businesses rather than address the conditions that have driven employers and residents out of the city.
Since 2020, Illinois has lost more than 340,000 residents, with many of these losses occurring in Chicago, according to census data.
Major employers, including Boeing, Tyson Foods, and Citadel, have relocated operations in response to high taxes, regulatory burdens, and instability.
Instead of attracting new investment, the mayor repeated the same argument he has used throughout the budget process: either impose new taxes on corporations or place the burden on “working people.”
This false choice overlooks the primary reason businesses leave: they no longer view Chicago as a predictable or safe environment.
No city has ever reversed economic decline by raising taxes on employers while crime remains elevated and public safety resources are stretched thin.
Under President Trump, national economic growth accelerated, unemployment reached historic lows, and small-business confidence surged. Cities that prioritize law enforcement and economic competitiveness see measurable improvements in safety and investment.
Chicago could pursue that model. Johnson has chosen a different path—one that keeps taxes high, discourages employers, and avoids addressing the structural issues driving the city’s decline.
Mayor Johnson’s new budget is a confirmation that Chicago’s leadership remains committed to policies that have already failed.
The post Chicago Mayor Scrambles When Asked Why His Budget Makes the City Worse (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.