Mayor Lightfoot presides over last council meeting amid rosy budget projections
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Wednesday is the final City Council meeting for Mayor Lori Lightfoot and 12 sitting aldermen, as the transition process begins to welcome a new Chicago mayor and council next month.
During the meeting, aldermen are expected to pay tribute to 12 colleagues who are attending their last meeting, as well as indicted Ald. Carrie Austin (34th), who stepped down last month, and is awaiting trial on federal bribery charges.
The meeting comes less than a month before Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson will be sworn into office.
Lightfoot recently said she's leaving her successor a parting gift before leaving office – a strong city budget.
The Mayor's office on Tuesday announced it projects a budget shortfall of just $85 million in 2024. On the city's current trajectory, according to the Mayor's office, the shortfall will be just $21 million by 2026.
For comparison, when Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office in 2019, the budget deficit was $838 million.
However, her rosy budget projection comes with a catch; it assumes the city's property tax levy will rise in 2024 to match the increase in the cost of living. During the campaign, Johnson vowed not to raise property taxes in Chicago.
As for Johnson, he's in Springfield on Wednesday and is expected to speak at a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly at the state capitol.
He will be inaugurated as the new mayor of Chicago on May 15.
