(Bloomberg) -- As Chicago faces a nearly $1 billion deficit next year, the city needs to bring every possible solution forward to figure out how to address the budget crisis, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said on Wednesday.
The nation’s third-largest city announced the projected 2025 budget shortfall in late August. Mayor Brandon Johnson is expected to outline how he will close the gap and present his spending proposal in the coming months. Last week, the city froze hiring and limited non-essential travel and overtime expenses to help mitigate the deficit.
“This is a wide gap,” Pritzker said in response to a reporter’s question at an unrelated event. “Everybody in the city of Chicago, that’s relevant to their budget, needs to come to the table, and every possible answer needs to be brought to the forefront.”
“It’s usually not one thing that’s going to solve a budget crisis, it usually is a plethora of things,” Pritzker said.
Government budgets are under increasing pressure. Illinois, which is on a different budget cycle than the city, passed a spending plan several months ago for the year that started July 1, which was among the tightest in years for the state. And now in Chicago, the progressive agenda items that Johnson campaigned on, are competing for limited funds as the city grapples with higher pension and labor costs.
Pritzker said that while state and city staff members are communicating about the Chicago budget, there has not been a specific ask made for funding from Springfield.
The governor, now in his second term, empathized with the city, noting that he’s had to close the state budget gap “a couple of times” during his tenure. While the economy isn’t in a downturn, growth in revenue has returned to normal, and the state has a responsibility to also ensure it’s balancing its budget, Pritzker said.
“With all the needs that still exist in Illinois that could be addressed in a budget, there’s only certain things we can do,” he said. “So we have to say no to some people along the way, as they come to Springfield with their hands out.”
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