When District One Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson ran for Mayor of Chicago, he and his supporters knew he was not a household name-particularly beyond the city’s West Side. Another plain truth was the 40-something former school teacher had never run for citywide elected office. However, the way his candidacy came out the gate obliterated those realities. High-energy workers and deep-pocketed support of the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union, garnered Johnson high visibility, easy recognition, and the funding to emerge victorious.
The successful campaign focused on social services and enticing voters to believe he had the answers. His Day One mistake was not telling Chicagoans that all he had was ideas and no concrete solutions to the bevy of problems facing Chicago. Major Mistake Two was telling Chicagoans what he wanted for them, rather than asking what they wanted of him. His first budget proposal was released this week, and now he is stuck with the reality that even his ideas won’t come to fruition. Before he uttered one word when he took to the podium last Wednesday, the mayor had to know the contents of the budget address he was about to deliver was riddled with gaping holes-at best.
Yes, he got high praise for not instituting a property tax increase. However, he gave no warning or even a hint that the property tax situation is tenous at best. This will mark the second consecutive year that property taxes remained flat. Realistically, Johnson won’t be able to make it to the end of the upcoming fiscal year without raising the property tax rate-the sure stream of increased revenue. The end of subminimum wage also came on the plus side for his ideas. The question there is what kind of economic impact does it have on the city, if any; especially when the tradeoff will be higher prices for some meals as well as fewer staffers at other eateries.
If there wasn’t a $300 millon tag looming over the budget to address housing and feeding tens of thousands of migrants; and if the mayor wasn’t hellbent on jamming new programs into the budget; there might be the possibility property taxes wouldn’t rise. The half-billion-dollar deficit the city will end this fiscal year with can’t be ignored.
Maybe it was hubris, or it could have been an ignorance of how city government and city politics work; or maybe he way playing on a perceived naivety of voters to try to convince them that he actually had the answers. The other real possibility is he believed he could hoodwink voters, and telling them where his proposed $800 million in new revenue would come from, knowing all well it was an if-and-a-prayer that that money would materialize. As a first-time mayor, the best move he could have made would have been to reveal to voters he wasn’t sure what he wanted to try would work. Failing to do that, Johnson set up false expectations for the tens of thousands who believed in him enough to vote for him.
Even before his October 11 formal presentation of his budget to the Chicago City Council; individuals and civic and budget-focused organizations explained why his ideas were penguins-would never take flight. During the campaign, Johnson presented his proposals as though he only needed to sign a few pieces of paper and viola the ideas were set into motion
Not only did he ignore the facts that some ideas either needed the approval of the full city council, while others needed to be passed by the General Assembly in Springfield; and still others were already getting a thumbs down from the local business community, he failed to relate a deficit reduction strategy. Johnson’s ideas were replete with spending plans, but lacked sure revenue generators.
Lightfoot Redux
Early in her administration former Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited Springfield to make a direct appeal to state legislators, whose districts were in or touched Chicago, to prop up the city financially with an infusion of state dollars. The move fizzled like flat pop as Lightfoot broke protocol and didn’t call upon the governor before engaging the state reps and senators. It was the last time she made such a gaffe. It wasn’t personal-just how things are done.
Now, we learn that Mayor Johnson replicated the Lightfoot goof. Politically, his act was more egregious because Gov. JB Pritzker shared several times the State of Illinois is in no position to funnel dollars to Chicago to assist with migrant crisis. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch bluntly explained that during the next few months, often referred to as “veto session” the General Assembly has “no appetite” for appropriating dollars from its coffers to Chicago.
Additionally, his first budget allocated $150 million for asylum-seekers. He previously predicted the total cost would run closer to $300 million. He announced the figure, in hopes that the state would rescue Chicago with the other $150 million; but he had not specifically asked the governor for such funds.
The mayor’s move demonstrates a recurring political mistake on his part. He seems to believe his job endows him autocratic power. There is a citywide buzz-saw his plans keep encountering when it comes to sheltering migrants. Even some of his council supporters are pushing back. One can only surmise that Johnson’s penchant for revealing plans after they have been implemented rubs local legislators the wrong way. The most recent example of that is the crickets he received from alderpersons to his request to identify specific parcels where his so-called base camps can be located. No one in the Johnson Administration has offered what Plan B when winter arrives and the tents haven’t.
The ask was made after the decision that there would be base camps were announced. The city council didn’t have a heads up. Johnson’s attitude toward that body is more like step-children than government equals.
He also failed to notify the legislators that the money previously allocated for temporary housing would be spent with Garda Financial Services to set up weatherized tents throughout Chicago. There is a solid chance that Garda’s less-than stellar reputation, especially in dealing with migrants, would have been revealed, had he shared his plan with those alderpersons. Johnson said he wanted the tents in place before winter sets in. Chicago is a month away from regular freezing temperatures, and the tent villages are no closer to reality than they were a month ago.
It is past time for Johnson to put out a call to key business people here- especially those in the financial sector- academians, community leaders, and county and state government officials-and convene them to get ideas to put Chicago on track. Rarely, is anyone condemned for asking for help. With the right coalition in place reversing Chicago’s fate voters will have nearly forgotten the tumultous start of the Johnson Administration.