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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Much of the Illinois Statehouse appeared to be girding itself for battle with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson before his Springfield visit Wednesday.
After dramatically announcing to Chicago reporters earlier in the week the city’s families are “owed” $1 billion from state government, particularly education, Gov. J.B. Pritzker sent two distinct messages to the building.
First, Pritzker notified state agency directors to start preparing for $800 million in budget reductions next fiscal year because of lack of legislative support for the governor’s revenue proposals. The directors were told to focus on “grant programs and other discretionary spending that has increased in recent years.”
Then, the governor’s office issued an extensive background memo laying out how much more money Chicago’s school system has received from the state, including a $265 million increase in its annual General Revenue Fund outlays since fiscal year 2019, which worked out to a $1,542 per student hike, or a 30% increase.
The annual Early Childhood Block Grant appropriation was increased by $66.4 million in the same time period. Plus, more money for teacher pensions and enough money from the state’s evidence-based funding formula mean Chicago Public Schools is now funded better than more than 400 Illinois schools and has moved out of the critically underfunded Tier One level to Tier Two.
And then, the Senate Executive Committee, tightly controlled by Senate President Don Harmon, unanimously approved Harmon’s bill, opposed by Johnson, to protect selective enrollment schools from closure, changes to admissions and disproportionate budget cuts until a fully elected school board is seated.
The measure (House Bill 303) was scheduled for a hearing before Johnson made known he was coming to Springfield. But instead of delaying passage out of deference to Johnson, it was put on the agreed bill list, which was quickly zoomed to the floor without debate, where it may be amended.
Perhaps sensing the headwinds, Johnson’s lobbying crew belatedly distributed a one-page memo to legislators containing far more modest budget requests than Johnson had previewed to city reporters and nothing about direct public school funding.
The mayor’s office asked for a little more money from the Local Government Distributive Fund; some lead service line replacement debt forgiveness and more money for lead removal from licensed daycare centers; a change in state law to allow the city to collect more for its 911 services; and money to replace what ultimately turned out to be a federal budget cut for domestic violence hotline funding.
As a result, the mayor did not bring up the $1 billion “owed” for schools during meetings with any of the leaders, I’m told. Instead, he focused on that one-pager, which in one instance was printed from my website to be used during the discussion.
The governor’s office starts putting the budget together in the fall, and they work through February to craft it. That’s the best time to make initial budget requests. A mayoral visit to Springfield in May should be for a victory lap, or to shore up last-minute support for the budget.
A reporter asked Johnson if maybe he should be in town more often or make his budget requests earlier in the process. “Well, look, we’re at the right time,” Johnson said. “As you all know, you all have been covering Springfield for a very long time, you know when stuff gets done. So we’re down at the right time.”
Um, now is when things are finalized. The governor, advocacy groups and legislators have been pushing their own budgetary priorities for weeks, even months. Coming to town with two weeks left can mean settling for leftovers, and if the budget is as tight as the governor says, there may not be any leftovers.
Meanwhile, the Chicago City Council’s Black Caucus was in Springfield the same day for a long-planned lobby day. For whatever reason, the mayor did not attempt to coordinate with the caucus after he belatedly announced his Statehouse trip. That seems odd.
The mayor also held a Springfield press conference. Asked about education funding, the mayor said he wanted to push for that $1 billion over time. When asked whether his proposals would “jump the line” ahead of other school districts, Johnson said, “This is not a zero-sum game. There’s more than enough for everyone.”
Except there’s not, which is what the mayor’s top allies at the Chicago Teachers Union will be told when they visit Springfield en masse for their own lobby day to demand that billion dollars the mayor didn’t bring up.
* Also, the mayor didn’t bring up either of these two topics when he met with the leaders, but Politico asked him about them anyway…
Q: During your trip to Springfield last week, did you get a sense lawmakers might be willing to give an inch on the Bears or Chicago Public School students?
A: Regarding school funding: “The state of Illinois recognizes that the algorithm or the funding formula that they voted on [in 2016] shows the people of Chicago are owed $1.1 billion. So that’s just a fact. Now whether or not they decide to provide the city of Chicago what they deserve. I mean, that that’s something that I’m going to continue to push for. But that really comes down to leadership in Springfield to determine whether or not the largest school district state of Illinois deserves its just right.”
A: Regarding the Bears: “The proposal that the Bears have put forward provides public benefit and public use. It would build a dome stadium that gives public benefit and public use with billionaire dollars and visitor dollars [i.e. hotel taxes]. This stadium would not only be built by billionaires and visitors, it would be publicly owned. If someone thinks we can do better than 72 percent of it being financed by ownership and the other 28 percent with visitors, they should speak now.”
Regarding the Bears, the mayor apparently forgot about the $1.5 billion he agreed to spend of state taxpayers’ money on the project. And he apparently wasn’t reminded via a follow-up question, either.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 13, 24 @ 9:50 am
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“If someone thinks we can do better than 72 percent of it being financed by ownership and the other 28 percent with visitors, they should speak now.”
This is me speaking now.
Comment by ElTacoBandito Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:01 am
I’m more and more convinced everyday that Johnson just doesn’t get it. The more he demands and acts as if Chicago and CTU are entitled to certain things the worse it looks. Chicago has numerous issues it’s facing right now such as crime and a deteriorating downtown and business district. Yet he comes to Springfield more worried about what is owed ( supposedly) to CPS/ CTU and a BILLION DOLLAR football stadium for a team worth BILLIONS. The days of Lori Lightfoot look so refreshing in hindsight.
Comment by Long Time Independent Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:06 am
==provide the city of Chicago what they deserve==
==to determine whether or not the largest school district state of Illinois deserves ==
This sort of talk isn’t going to get him anywhere. It’s off-putting and arrogant.
Comment by Demoralized Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:07 am
What a disaster. And, just think of how the brain trust on the 5th floor will handle the August convention. Scary.
Comment by NotRich Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:28 am
I mean this with no disrespect–the mayor’s team needs to take a closer look at how EBF works.
Comment by Who else Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:29 am
Nothing wrong or unusual about mayors coming to Springfield to ask for state funding. But there’s an art to it — and it doesn’t involve holding a press conference in which the mayor demands the money he is “owed.”
This was another example of Johnson’s inability to transition from the rhetorical combat of an activist to the diplomacy of a chief executive. It’s still kinda early-ish, so the question is can he adjust, or is the bomb-throwing simply an inescapable part of his political DNA?
Comment by Roman Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:31 am
All I know is Chicago was hell on earth until Mayor Johnson came along. Now we can finally turn it into utopia, all we need to do is pretend money grows out of the sidewalks and that billionaires are here to give us free things.
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:37 am
==This stadium would not only be built by billionaires and visitors, it would be publicly owned.==
With the McCaskeys getting all the revenue and the public saddled with 40 years of debt. I’m waiting for the Scooby Doo reveal when MBJ is actually BVR in disguise. /S
Comment by Jocko Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:47 am
I have reached the conclusion that Brandon Johnson is not a very popular guy on this web site.
Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Monday, May 13, 24 @ 10:52 am
=It’s still kinda early-ish, so the question is can he adjust, or is the bomb-throwing simply an inescapable part of his political DNA?=
The mayor seems to think he’s hitting his stride. I’d expect more of the same.
Comment by Pundent Monday, May 13, 24 @ 11:03 am
“…Chicago Public Schools is now funded better than more than 400 Illinois schools…”
Sounds like CPS is complaining about becoming so adequately funded relative to the 400 districts that it moved to Tier Two.
Comment by Two Left Feet Monday, May 13, 24 @ 11:07 am
CTU’s upcoming contract negotiations should be both interesting and nightmarish as Johnson still thinks he works for Ms Gates
Comment by Sue Monday, May 13, 24 @ 11:11 am
Let’s not forget that CPS has lowered their property tax ask for decades assuming they will be covered by everyone else. Perhaps they should ask for more local money first.
Comment by frustrated GOP Monday, May 13, 24 @ 11:13 am
==I have reached the conclusion that Brandon Johnson is not a very popular guy on this web site.==
If Rich turns on the Wayback Machine to this time last year, you’d see that the Mayor was very popular here. Since then he has squandered most of the goodwill he had through a series of missteps and poor judgement.
Comment by low level Monday, May 13, 24 @ 11:30 am
=CPS has lowered their property tax ask for decades assuming they will be covered by everyone else.=
I have not looked into this in detail but I am not so sure that is an accurate statement. More accurate would. be that they have failed to adequately levied, based on available resources, for CPS financial needs. Maybe semantics, but I do think there is a difference.
Another posted suggested they take a look at the EBF and gain a better understanding, I would say that is good advice but they don’t care. CTU has always been toddler like in simply wanting what it wants without regard to where it would come from and the fact that there are 9 million other people in the state of Illinois that might want funding for their local schools too.
Comment by JS Mill Monday, May 13, 24 @ 11:48 am
I’ll speak now, Mayor Johnson.
Tell your “friend” President Warren that he needs to give George a lift to the bank. Then you and him can help him apply for a Business Loan for the new headquarters.
And why do you support a tax increase on 28% of the people paying for the Bears proposed HQ?
Comment by Jerry Monday, May 13, 24 @ 11:57 am
===all we need to do is pretend money grows out of the sidewalks and that billionaires are here to give us free things.===
Billionaires and visitors
Comment by Leslie K Monday, May 13, 24 @ 12:28 pm
The mayor of Chicago goes to tell the billionaire businessman governor who lives in Chicago how Chicago is the economic engine of the state. Really? I hope his plan was for this to be a photo op and not to actually get anything done - he didn’t. Seriously, I think my mayor would truly benefit from a tour of the rest of the state and get very involved in the IL Municipal League. It may help him understand Springfield better.
Comment by levivotedforjudy Monday, May 13, 24 @ 12:44 pm
I don’t think people really would have minded bomb-throwing. They probably even expected it. Instead - since he likes education metaphors - he seems more like one of his talented but unmotivated and lazy pupils who shows up without having studied.
Nothing bomb-throwing about insisting that migrants can live in tents, in January, in Chicago, at a toxic waste dump, or being the latest and if there is a God perhaps the last sucker in America to pay for a billionaire’s stadium.
Comment by granville Monday, May 13, 24 @ 1:07 pm
Johnson says there is more than enough money for everyone. There is a term in math called “imaginary numbers”. That name seems like it would be a good description of the numbers Johnson is imagining.
Comment by Dupage Monday, May 13, 24 @ 3:28 pm
==== If someone thinks we can do better than 72 percent of it being financed by ownership and the other 28 percent with visitors, they should speak now.”====
The billionaires pay 100% of the stadium the billionaires want to upgrade/build and 0% for the stadium from taxpayers, which the hotel tax could go to other needed areas- roads, schools, social services, food for the impoverished, pensions, etc.
Comment by T.S. Tuesday, May 14, 24 @ 3:37 pm