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CHICAGO (FOX 32) - Mayor Lightfoot says her State of the City speech Thursday night will start a "conversation" with Chicago taxpayers about shelling out more money from their paychecks.
She says the speech will also reveal her estimate of what's likely to be a more than one billion-dollar budget shortfall. There's also the cost of upcoming union contracts with police and firefighters and public school teachers.
Right before raising taxes, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told Chicagoans Rich Daley left him a big budget mess. Now, Mayor Lightfoot plans to say Emanuel did the same to her.
"There are some jaw-dropping moments when we get to that part of the discussion," Lightfoot said.
The Mayor will spell out just how jaw-dropping the budget shortfall is in a speech, but she won't say which tax increases she prefers to fill that gap for several more weeks.
"We're not going to do that until October," Mayor Lightfoot said.
The Mayor and her top appointees spoke of what they've done in her first 100 days, including city council reforms and steps toward racial and gender equity. Mayor Lightfoot's voice cracked as she spoke of vivid encounters with troubled youngsters.
"I've seen firsthand what is lost when a young person can't see how great their potential is," said Mayor Lightfoot.
The Mayor said she's not satisfied, but spoke of progress against Chicago's epidemic of shootings and killings, down by 38 percent compared to 2016.
"The facts and the data are unmistakable, that we are trending in the right direction. And, if we keep doing the hard work that we've been doing all summer for the balance of the year, we might reach historic lows in our city," said Mayor Lightfoot.
With the first 100 days behind her, it's not getting any easier for Mayor Lightfoot.