Mayor Johnson says sense of urgency needed for mass transit funding as city faces budget shortfall

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Brandon Johnson said creative revenue ideas are needed for Chicago to deal with its looming budget problems.

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The Chicago mayor adding that there needs to be a sense of urgency after lawmakers failed to come up with a plan to fund mass transit.

Chicago is looking at a projected budget shortfall of more than $1 billion for next year.

Lawmakers wrapped up the spring session without voting on any revenue measures to help the CTA, Metra and Pace.

"I have expressed with a tremendous amount of urgency, that we have to continue to make sure that all of our stakeholders are at the table," Johnson said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Several proposals to raise money for the CTA, including a new delivery tax and higher taxes on rideshare failed to get enough support in Springfield.

The mayor suggesting lawmakers look in other areas.

"The ultra rich continue to get away with not having to put more skin in the game," Johnson said. "So, we do have to have some conversations around revenue streams that challenges the rich in this state to step up in a way that does not continue to place the burden on working families."

However, Chicago faces its own budget problems, including another downgrade in credit rating.

The mayor favors keeping the one percent tax on groceries when the state stops collecting it later this year. That still needs to be voted by the city council.

"I'll say this: I'm confident that my colleagues are not going to leave $80 million on the table," Sixth Ward Alderman William Hall and Chair of the Revenue Committee said.

Alderman Hall said that bringing the Formula 1 race to Chicago could also help raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

As city hall continues to work with Springfield to find new progressive revenue sources that require state approval, the focus remains local.

"If you look at some of the trends for our revenue growth, the areas of revenue that the city of Chicago controls, those are the revenues that are showing the strongest promise. It's the local taxes, because we have direct oversight over," Johnson said.

The Mayor also blamed the Trump administration for creating uncertainty in the economy and further complicating the budget process.

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