Understanding Chicago’s finances and the 2022 budget

Mayor Lori Lightfoot pitched her $16.7 billion budget plan for the 2022 Fiscal Year as an “investment in the success of generations to come.” But can the plan really help climb Chicago out of the financial hole it has been digging for decades? And will it position the city for financial stability after its $1.9 billion share of American Rescue Plan funding dries up? The Daily Line editor Alex Nitkin spoke to Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jennie Bennett, Budget Director Susie Park and Comptroller Reshma Soni about how they tried to build the mayor’s budget to stand the test of time. And Amanda Kass, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, shared her reactions to the mayor’s budget plan and delved into the history of how Chicago got stuck with its infamous pension crisis.