Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson touts deficit reduction in 2027 budget forecast

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released his 2027 budget forecast on Thursday and said the city's financial hole is not as deep as once feared.

The projections estimate that the city's budget deficit has been reduced to $882.4 million, down from an estimated $1.2 billion shortfall the year before.

The mayor said progressive policies he put forth are what helped knock the gap down from its previous number. Critics on the city council said "an election is around the corner, and silly season is here," but that it was their budget that made the difference.

"This forecast shows that while significant fiscal challenges exist, my administration's approach is working. Through our responsible stewardship of public resources and our use of proven, structural progressive revenues, we are addressing the City's long-term financial health," Mayor Johnson said in a news release. "At the same time, Chicago's diverse economy is growing, violent crime is at historic lows, and we are making critical, community-driven investments in our residents' futures. In the coming weeks, we will propose a balanced budget designed to protect essential services, bolster our community safety efforts, expand investments in our neighborhoods, and build the safest, most affordable big city in America."

The Mayor's office said the budget gap reduction was made possible by an overperformance of local revenues such as the Online Sports Wagering and Personal Property Lease Tax, as well as the city's control of expenditures through cost-saving measures, monetization of city assets, and doing more with available resources.

While taking credit for bringing down the deficit over the past year, the mayor also criticized the alderpeople who created last year's budget despite his objections.

The City Council approved a $16.6 billion spending plan opposed by the mayor in December 2025. While Mayor Johnson had backed a corporate head tax, his opponents' budget relied on an increase in the city's plastic bag tax, overhauling the tax on off-premise liquor sales, legalizing video gambling terminals in Chicago, and opening up new advertising opportunities.

Mayor Johnson declined to veto the budget that was approved. But he blamed the budget for the forecast that the city will end 2026 with a shortfall of $85.1 million, which he said was driven by "underperformance of speculative revenues."

Speaking to CBS News Chicago Thursday, Johnson said the ultra-rich will pay more going forward. We asked if that would once again take the form of a corporate head tax or a Bring Chicago Home property tax concept – both of which failed last year – but the mayor would not answer in specifics.

"Right now let's celebrate every progressive proposal is working and outperforming what we projected," he said.

The Johnson administration said it recently announced it would close the 2026 budget gap by realizing up to $71 million in savings by refinancing city bonds and redeploying reserves from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

"No mayor can say they oversaw the city at a time when the economy was growing and violence was going down," Johnson said.

We asked if his low polling numbers despite those successes bother him.

"I don't think about poll number," he replied.

Johnson is holding a special announcement on Sept. 13, at which time we expect to learn whether he will run again. He played coy when we asked him about it directly, but indicated he wanted to serve for multiple terms when talking about the Chicago Bears. We asked him to place a $10 bet on whether the Bears would be in Illinois or Indiana halfway through the next decade.

"First of all, their lease isn't up until 2033," Johnson said. "I'll be into my third term."

Johnson did signal that he might be open to talk to President Donald Trump about crime trends, including how incidents like last weekend's deadly shooting in Washington Park can send chills through voters being told crime numbers are improving, which they are.

The full interview with Mayor Johnson will air on CBS News Chicago and our 24/7 live stream Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on The Angle, right before CBS Sunday Morning.