This browser does not support the Video element.
City Council approves Chicago mayor's 2024 budget
Mayor Brandon Johnson's first city budget was a success at City Hall Wednesday afternoon.
CHICAGO - Mayor Brandon Johnson's first city budget was a success at City Hall Wednesday afternoon.
The Chicago City Council voted 41-8 in favor of the $16.6 billion budget which calls for expanding social services and jobs but holds the line on property taxes.
"I am proud to pass the People’s Budget – a budget based on our values that is not balanced on the backs of working people and working families," said Johnson. "I have long said that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. From making historic investments in our young people to making critical investments in mental health care and public safety, this budget is close to the heart and soul of who we are, and what we represent as a city."
When it comes to public safety, Johnson's budget will invest $100 million in anti-violence programming, restorative justice work and gender-based violence prevention and intervention.
Additionally, the budget has added a new Office of Re-entry to support formerly incarcerated Chicagoans.
The 2024 budget will invest over $66 million to expand CDPH's mental health staff working in public clinics and 911 response teams by almost 75 percent. It will also more than double the number of staff on the CARE 911 alternate response teams.
More than $76 million in the budget will be dedicated to youth jobs and programming. Johnson says the budget will support summer and year-round youth employment programs within city departments and organizations.
Over $1 billion of the budget will be used to improve the infrastructure of the city.
The city will invest $150 million in the Department of Family and Support Services and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications to manage the New Arrivals Mission, which has set up over 25 shelters to provide food and temporary housing for asylum-seekers.
The 2024 budget will re-establish the Department of Environment, which will coordinate Chicago's environmental and climate resiliency efforts to build an equitable future for the city, officials said. The budget will dedicate $15 million to de-carbonize 1-4-unit homes for low and moderate-income homeowners, $6 million for non-profits and small businesses to help the city meet environmental goals and $6 million for Chicago's compositing system.
Lastly, the budget will provide $500,000 for a new Commission on Restoration and Reparations. The Johnson administration will work with the Aldermanic Black Caucus to identify a subcommittee within the City Council that will use the funding to leverage consultants and other contractors to support the Commission’s work, officials said.