Mayor Brandon Johnson presented the City of Chicago’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget, outlining a comprehensive plan that prioritizes strategic and equitable investments in affordable housing, mental health services, public safety and youth employment while maintaining fiscal responsibility and honoring pension obligations. Despite facing a projected $986 million budget deficit, Mayor Johnson’s administration put forth a balanced budget that invests in the city’s residents and communities without resorting to damaging mass layoffs or severe austerity measures. The budget includes investments across key areas. It allocates $52 million for youth jobs across the city, empowering 30,000 young people with professional experience and career opportunities. This budget expands internship and trainee programs across City departments to create pathways to public service careers. In 2025, Chicago and the State of Illinois will launch the One System Initiative (OSI), a $40 million investment that will more than double the number of beds in the city’s shelter network from 3,000 to 6,800. A $30 million commitment to the rapid rehousing program aims to move households living in unsheltered locations into stable housing. An additional $2 million investment will strengthen the city’s mental health network, including supporting the continued capacity building within newly reopened clinics and the creation of a new mental health dispatch unit within the City’s emergency management department. The budget makes revenue streams more equitable. The City is implementing the Water Leak Relief Pilot Program and planning a new parking ticket amnesty program in 2025.
