>> Mayor Brandon Johnson is fighting for his political life on 2 fronts as budgeting and his reelection bid collide after reviving plans for a corporate head tax that his city council opposition rejected last year.

Johnson making the pitch for progressive revenue as the threat of another credit downgrade looms our Heather sure around sat down with the mayor on City Hall's 5th floor earlier today to talk about all that and more.

>> Last year the city council rejected your proposal for head tax to it.

Tax corporations, large corporations based on the number of employees.

We tried again this Lot.

>> because it's the smart thing to do.

This is a fair balance budget that makes critical investments in the neighborhoods, improving the quality of life for everyday Chicagoans.

That is my top priority and challenging corporations and the ultra wealthy to pay their fair share.

That's a reasonable expectation.

In fact, look, nearly 90% of Chicagoans who have been survey agree with me, right?

And so what we did in this particular budget, we ensure that we're investing in community safety, housing homelessness.

Investing in the quality of life program through Washington, Senate Asians division to make sure that trees are trending more potholes or field.

That's what the people of Chicago want and challenging corporations to pay their fair share in taxes.

That's that's a reasonable expectation.

Well, we've got a couple of days of budget hearings behind us.

I wouldn't say that the reception of your budget has been especially warm.

What do you need to do to make sure that Chicago is a budget on December 31st will continue to have conversations rate taken.

>> My budget proposal right to the community.

I'm having regular conversations with City Council members.

My team has made a commitment to reach out to every single older person every day I reached out to to a few of them just yesterday having continuous conversations.

That's how we're going to make sure that this budget is not just past but its past in the spirit in which the people of Chicago I'm going to show you a clip we had Jamie Dimon on the show.

>> I find astounding when people say fair share and they have no idea what the facts are.

If you think that we don't pay our fair share, that's absolutely wrong.

That to make a political choice.

You know, Jane will make its choice but to make a political choice, they should do more now taxing head count, what Let's check out just by the nature of that act.

>> Well, you know, listen, first of all.

You know, the city of Chicago has experienced a revolution, quite frankly, we are the top location or relocation for corporate headquarters, 13 years in a row voted the best big city, 10 years in a row.

What I've heard over and over again from whether you're a corporate CEO or the your child care worker.

What I've heard is that the city of Chicago has to get a handle and safety in and we are obviously move in the right direction.

I'm having some predictability around what revenue streams we will rely upon and driving violence down.

Those were always 2 of the top 3 aspects that I've heard from every single resident in constituent and stakeholder.

The other thing that I heard from corporate leaders is to streamline the process, make it easier to do business and Chicago.

We've done that.

So we've experienced a 60 year low in homicides.

We just broke ground on Foundry Park.

We got that done in 10 months.

The 19 0, 1, project on the west side of Chicago.

The soccer stadium that we're building in the South Loop.

right.

We have a hotel occupancy rate at 90% and our airport is the busiest it's ever been ensuring that corporations put more skin in the game to improve the quality of life for working people.

That's a reasonable expectation.

And in fact, you know, corporations just experienced the largest up for a transfer of wealth at the expense of the services that people rely upon just in the 2nd quarter alone.

You know, corporations had a profit margin of 483 billion dollars.

That's essentially 4.8, 3 trillion dollars annually.

Great.

And so we want our corporations to do But again, you know, with the employee, the equitable employer tax, that would provide essentially tax rebate if they are hiring from communities that have been historically disadvantaged, this corporate, you know, responsibility is something that the people of Chicago overwhelmingly one right.

And then if you look back and see this tax was removed, it caused a 35 million dollar budget shortfall that had to be made up in fines and fees on the backs of working people at a time in which affordability is one of the top issues that Chicagoans and Americans are thinking about.

You know, corporations who just received an incredible tax break from Donald Trump.

It's a reasonable expectation to challenge them asked them to put a little bit more skin in the game.

>> The other part of your budget that strong, a little bit of fires.

The proposal to borrow 481 million dollars to cover the cost to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct.

Your chief financial officer said the plans to borrow 350 million dollars in 2027 and that is likely to cross the city 190 million dollars interest.

Why is that the right thing to do given that extraordinary cost?

Well, first of you know, the size of these settlements really speaks to.

>> The longstanding damage that has been done to a number of people in the city.

Right.

Overwhelmingly black and brown men who wrongfully convicted addressing this is something that think the people of Chicago deserve.

In fact, the 2 cases that are centered in the settlements.

Watts in Guevara.

They comprise 72% of the settlements right most of these occurred in the 90's.

And then the 80's, you know, look, there's no easy pathway forward.

What we do know this new era that I've assured in global settlements, it's estimated that we're going to save the taxpayers anywhere from 800 to 900 million dollars.

Right?

And so this one time demand an using a one time fix, I believe is the responsible thing to do.

And quite frankly, the even the estimated amount of interest was a little.

All of the good thing is we are moving closer towards constitutional policing.

Thank you for all the coverage around 98% preliminarily over 30% in full compliance.

What I took office, think it was around 6 or 9%.

So we're moving in the right direction towards constitutional policing.

And I'm grateful that our police department has turned the from a a very dark past sticking with the police department 2023 20 between 2023 in 2025.

The police Department overspent its budget by more than 520 million dollars.

>> I can't.

Cpd stay on budget.

Well, you know, I put some safeguards in place last year's budget.

One, there is a public face.

>> A public facing dashboard around.

Please over time, there's a monthly review police overtime and through an executive order.

If the CPD expects to spend beyond what has been budgeted, they have to notify my office furs and thus of course, be appropriated 200 million dollars for overtime of they've spent roughly 158 million dollars in overtime, which the 6.6 million dollars less than what it was this time last year.

So we're moving in the right direction and in this and we were able to, you know, put things into a stronger accountability.

And this is raises, right?

So you're seeing the reduction of hours at a time in which our officers are earning better salaries.

So, yeah, look, we're going to make sure that that public dashboard is still available.

We're going to remain transparent, monthly reviews if they believe that they have to spend more than what's been appropriated through my executive order.

They have to notify my office first.

But again, 158 million dollars so far of the 200 million that that has been appropriated just a couple of more months to go.

And I know, Heather, you will be watching closely the city seen its credit downgraded to several times in the last couple of years.

The ratings agencies warned 2 things will prompt another downgrade.

>> increased political fighting between U in the city council and an inability to sort of find structural solutions are new revenues.

How concerned given the tenor of the these budget hearings and the lack of sort significant sort of progressive revenue that the city even has the ability to raise will trigger another downgrade.

>> Well, you know, listen, they also mentioned that, you know, spent close to revenue.

Sources also are problematic.

Unfortunately, City Council moved on speculative revenue sources that turned out to not only ineffective, but they didn't yield any real revenue.

The city council's made a commitment that they're not going to do that again, which is a good sign that they've learned that lesson.

I'm going to continue to work with city council members have really regular conversations around what the people of Chicago won in deserve and that we do it in a cordial way.

Listen, you know, having you know, you know, back and forth in a budget.

That's that's normal.

But ensuring that we are investing in youth employment, that's something that we should all be committed to doing.

We hired over 33,000 young people for paid summer jobs, the largest investment in the history of Chicago.

This budget increases at the 40,000 because 56,000 people applied, we're doubling our crews at street sanitation so that we can remove tree debris, especially because we're having 100 year rainfall.

That's right.

We're going to reopen another mental health clinic.

We put 30 million dollars into housing and homelessness.

You another 30 million dollars into our libraries.

And so the structural, the proposals that I put forward have proven to be effective, right?

And so the expectation is that the people of Chicago have their voices heard and that city council as well you know, the mayor's office work hand in