Crime is out of control in Chicago, so Mayor Brandon Johnson is playing the race card, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzger strolls the early morning lakefront protected by his security detail to claim: “crime? What crime?” That most criminals are sleeping at that hour and aren’t going to tackle his security detail is beside the point.
There are additional hard truths:
Saying Chicago must face “some hard truths,” Mayor Brandon Johnson painted a grim financial picture for the city Friday, detailing a projected $1.15 billion budget shortfall in the 2026 fiscal year.
The problems are many: lavish teacher pensions to secure the political support of Chicago’s teacher’s union, Johnson’s usual out of control spending and taxes and regulations which continue to drive productive, taxpaying citizens and businesses out of Chicago. Johnson’s single-minded solution to Chicago’s budget woes is to further tax the wealthy and businesses, driving both out and dramatically reducing tax revenue.
Despite princely salaries and pensions, Chicago’s teachers are doing a poor job educating students, while spending on lunatic DEI programs that have recently cost Chicago a handy sum:
The latest example is the over $2.6 million in damages that will be paid to students who were forced to participate in a Transcendental Meditation program during classes. Teachers ignored the religious objections to the Hindu-based program, and the school subsequently litigated the case, incurring even greater costs to the system.
U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly approved the settlement with the Chicago Board of Education and the New York-based David Lynch Foundation to pay $100,000 to the lead plaintiff and between $3,000 and $9,500 to each of the other students in the lawsuit.
More than 700 students were forced to participate, making offerings to a guru and repeating mantra to the name of Hindu deities. One girl was told her place on a basketball team would be in jeopardy if she didn’t kneel before a picture of a guru.
Rather than focus on improving basic education, Chicago’s schools continue to employ failed Democrat policies and priorities:
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Board of Education are following the lead of other major cities and eliminating gifted school programs in the name of achieving greater racial and social “equity.” Eleven “high-achieving selective-enrollment schools” will be eliminated, according to Chicago Board of Education CEO Pedro Martinez, to reduce “stratification and inequity.”
Brilliant. Do nothing to help low achievers while removing opportunities for high achievers. Democrats excel in employing ineffective and costly “solutions” to real and non-existent problems. Now, Chicago is facing another serious budget problem:
The state must come up with $154.3 billion to pay its retired educators. It is $86.3 billion short of that amount. Illinois is ranked as having “the lowest funding ratio for state pensions in the nation at 52%. The Teachers Retirement System is even lower, funded at 45.8%, making it the second-worst funded state teacher retirement system in the nation. Only New Jersey is worse.”
To make up that shortfall and other “unexpected” expenses, Johnson and the Chicago Teacher’s Union--CTU—tried to get a $200 billion loan.
Johnson tried all the usual Chicago tricks, including forcing out a school board chair who wasn’t onboard. Without the loan, the Chicago Public Schools, which are essentially the CTU, would have had to cut staff and budget. Because Chicago’s bonds have junk status, a $200 Billion dollar loan could only be had with exorbitant interest rates and no future income to pay it back.
Finally, even the Chicago City Council, which has approved gross over-spending for years, had enough and wouldn’t approve the loan. Despite Chicago’s 50-member City Council having 20 black, 14 Latino and two Asian members, nine of who are openly LGBTQ+, Johnson played the race card:
Johnson responded in signature fashion and accused his own allies, many of whom are minorities, of effective racism: “When you put a Black man in charge of a city, all of a sudden everybody wants to be an accountant.”
And yes, it’s worse:
In the meantime, Chicago is now facing a $1.15 billion shortfall and Johnson is calling for increasing taxes on the wealthy and businesses despite the fact that Chicago is losing both businesses and residents. The incoming citizens are largely immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, in the sanctuary city. That has driven expenditures even higher for the city while it loses businesses and residents needed for its tax base.
Graphic: X Post
Chicago has many bills coming due and no money, certainly not from Illinois, which is facing a $3.2 billion dollar deficit. Brandon Johnson is as popular as a festering boil, yet Chicagoans keep electing festering boils.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.