Mariah Woelfel
Reporter
Participatory budgeting offers people a chance to vote on spending projects in their wards. It started in the United States in Chicago, but its growth has stalled.
El grupo de residentes de Chicago que coordina comidas, duchas y ropa para los migrantes sabe que esto es solo el comienzo de un viaje mucho más largo para ellos: buscar el estatus de asilo.
As of last week, more than 770 people were staying in police stations in Chicago and three dozen were at O’Hare Airport, waiting for a spot in shelters already housing more than 5,260 people.
Johnson will take office just two weeks before the city’s deadline to apply for summer employment, and he will be locked into a budget set by the previous administration.
The candidates exchanged barbs in the hour-long debate held by WBEZ’s Reset. There was little new in their remarks, except for their reaction to former President Donald Trump’s indictment and a question about Chicago’s Public Health Director, Dr. Allison Arwady.
A shy boy with a severe stutter in the Roseland neighborhood, Paul Vallas grew up to lead school districts in Chicago, Philadelphia, Louisiana, Haiti and Chile. He also ran a string of failed bids for elected office. “Paul gravitates toward big challenges,” said Ald. Brendan Reilly.
Despite following very different paths, both now have their sights trained on Chicago’s City Hall.
Under state law, local governments can prohibit video gambling machines from operating at restaurants or bars within their city limits. But both mayoral candidates favor lifting Chicago’s longstanding ban on the machines.
Brandon Johnson is proposing a slew of new revenues, mostly new taxes on big businesses. Paul Vallas promises to use budgetary acumen to work within the existing budget’s bounds. Neither plan is failsafe, experts say.