CBS News reports Chicago Faces $982 Million Budget Shortfall for 2025

Mayor Brandon Johnson is projecting a $982 million city budget shortfall for 2025, nearly double the spending gap he faced in his first year in office, thanks to rising personnel costs, drops in some key tax revenues, and expiring one-time budget solutions he relied on to balance the 2024 budget.

Johnson declined to say if he would raise property taxes, authorize legalizing video gambling in Chicago, or approve placing slot machines at the city's airports as ways to raise new revenue to balance the budget for 2025. He also would not rule out the possibility of layoffs or a hiring freeze.

"The chickens have come home to roost. It is time to get busy," said Joe Ferguson, president of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan public finance watchdog group.