Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett in conversation Thursday

Mayor Lori Lightfoot laid out for city investors on Thursday how she tackled the $1.2 billion budget gap for 2021 and described her priorities for spending the $1.9 billion city officials anticipate Chicago will receive from the federal American Rescue Plan.

City leaders hosted the daylong Chicago Virtual Investors Conference Thursday via Zoom for more than 375 attendees, including real estate investors, according to an introduction from the city’s Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett.