Welcome to Springfield
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Media advisory…
The Public Schedule for Mayor Brandon Johnson – May 8, 2024
Mayor Brandon Johnson will travel to Springfield, Illinois.
* Tahman Bradley at WGN…
“There are a host of things that I will be requesting on behalf of the people of Chicago,” Johnson said about his impending trip to Springfield.
The mayor will try to help the Bears, who are seeking public funding for a new lakefront stadium, but that’s not his focus. Team President Kevin Warren is leading the charge.
“I know that President Warren has been in conversations with the General Assembly along with Governor Pritzker,” Johnson said.
Johnson is also keeping a close eye on school funding.
“It’s been very clear that I’ve been pushing for that,” he said. “The families of Chicago are owed $1 billion from the state of Illinois in order to build a better, stronger, safer city but particularly investing in our public school system. Now that’s something we can all get behind.”
I’m not sure how he’s made it clear that he’s pushing for state school funding. He and his people haven’t been doing much of anything in Springfield on this topic.
Also, they’re owed a billion dollars? I’d like to see the receipts.
* Tribune…
With the expiration of federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds in September, CPS faces a budget shortfall of at least $391 million next school year. Johnson has said his Springfield wish list, in part, includes $1 billion in state funds that are “owed” to the “families of Chicago,” including greater state aid under the evidence-based funding formula and additional teacher pension funds.
But Johnson’s wish list is likely to be viewed as wishful thinking in budget-conscious Springfield. and his visit comes as the school closings moratorium debate has, at times, pitted progressives against each other as CTU pursues its far-left agenda.
Not to mention that the mayor was silent after the CTU, his most important ally, called that school closure bill “racist.”
* Politico…
The take-away: Johnson may not get far with state lawmakers, but he’ll be able to tell residents he tried — putting the onus back on the General Assembly.
I mean, he can try to point fingers. I doubt it’ll succeed. The city is his. The “onus” is on him.
- Red Ranger - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 8:59 am:
Thats a really bad take by Politico. Striking out in Springfield this Spring will only add to the image of a weak and ineffective Mayor. I doubt doubt the large number of suburban Dem legislators feel much pressure at all saying no to a weak and unpopular Chicago Mayor.
- James - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 8:59 am:
I’m at the point where I think you could take a mayor from any town in America with 4 years experience and replace MBJ with them and the city would function more smoothly. Never seen such amateur hour stuff. Who takes the stand that you are “owed” a billion? For what? From whom? What time has he taken to build relationships and lay the groundwork for such an ask?
- low level - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:06 am:
==The families of Chicago are owed $1 billion from the state of Illinois ==
Yes, along the same lines as James said above, starting with that attitude is likely not to get very far w legislators. I dont understand their strategy at all. Maybe someone can explain it to me.
- just because - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:13 am:
Owed 1B$ so he can sweeten his contract for CTU? Ha good luck with that one. CTU will not get anything from the GA after the way they responded to the school closure bill. And MBJ is has no street cred wiht springfield.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:15 am:
If you can look into the seeds of time and tell which insult will go viral and which will not, then you should, like, tell me bro so I can copy off you.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:23 am:
“He and his people haven’t been doing much of anything in Springfield on this topic.”
Do indignant tweets mean nothing to you?!?
- ChicagoBars - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:24 am:
Today is going to be interesting. That’s my bold Statehouse prediction.
- Steve - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:25 am:
Mayor Johnson might have to explain to state reps, who don’t represent Chicago, on why CPS is asking for more money when they dozens of half-empty government schools. Why can’t a declining school district ever make cut backs in their budget?
- JS Mill - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:26 am:
=in part, includes $1 billion in state funds that are “owed” to the “families of Chicago,” including greater state aid under the evidence-based funding formula and additional teacher pension funds.=
Notone penny beyond what they get from the EBF which is already very generous to Chicago.
Everyone in school leadership knows or should know that you don’t start new programs or fund ongoing operations with temporary funds. I do not feel sorry for them.
- Charles Edward Cheese - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:27 am:
Mayor Johnson’s comments and his amateur level actions (or inaction) are honestly starting to convince me he thought being Mayor of Chicago was more of a ceremonial figurehead position, a la Queen Elizabeth, than an actual job.
- Annon3 - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:29 am:
Gone are the days when the mayor and the mayor’s lobbyists and supporters worked out 80% of the deal and this was mostly a photo op. The biggest question was what to eat at the Taste of Chicago tent on E Capitol St.
It was a lot of work for the city of Chicago but ….
- pragmatist - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:39 am:
Brandon Johnson’s approach to Springfield is why there is animus towards Chicago—not just on the right but across the political spectrum. Chicago is the economic engine but it isn’t the center of the universe and CTU can only get away with fear-based tactics so long as they are feared and the House school closing bill showed the limits of CTU’s politics. Sigh.
- Juice - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:42 am:
On the money that the Mayor claims CPS is “owed.”
One of the items was $75 million for the Chicago Vocational School (the alma mater of Dick Butkus), which was a capital appropriation in the bill that passed in 2009. But CPS could never figure out how they were actually going to spend the money outside of items that weren’t in line with that specific appropriation. So they never got the money. I have no idea if its still in the budget or not.
There are millions of other dollars in capital appropriations from DCEO where CPS signs the initial paperwork to get the first 25% of the funds, but then has never followed up to claim the remainder of the funds.
He has also requested that the State fund CTPF like they do for TRS. First, the State does cover a portion of the costs through the EBF, which is something that Rahm was able to get in at the last minute that the BTIA agreed to, so its now being somewhat covered. Second, its completely unrealistic. I think the state now realizes some of the dangers of agreeing to cover retirement costs for employees that are not state employees, and they’re not going to go further down that road. They might not know how to handle suburban and downstate districts since the cost shift was not popular. But I would be shocked if there is an even greater pick-up of Chicago’s costs, unless CTU is willing to give up their majority control of the board.
And lastly, the mayor is pushing to get rid of some of the larger TIF districts in the City. This is going to increase the EAV that CPS is able to tax, which will also increase the EAV that is used as part of the EBF, reducing the amount of money that CPS gets through the formula (and possibly putting CPS in Tier III, though I doubt it.) Has anyone asked the mayor how much money CPS is likely to lose in state funding because of his deliberate actions on this front?
- ;) - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:45 am:
I couldn’t even tell you who the city’s liaisons are Springfield, they’re literally invisible and nonexistent. I thought Chicago’s Springfield operation was bad with Lightfoot, but Johnson proved that wrong.
- SWSider - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:48 am:
==Notone penny beyond what they get from the EBF which is already very generous to Chicago.==
Thank you for speaking in support of austerity. When will the state recover from BVR’s reckless spending spree… /s
- vern - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 9:54 am:
Johnson is a high-level principal official. Rule of thumb is to not send him in until everyone is ready to say yes. That’s doubly true for an out-of-town trip, which eats whole days of schedule.
It doesn’t sound like anyone is ready to say yes to anything right now. Johnson is basically volunteering to live-fire test that negotiating principle. My bet is with Red Ranger: Johnson’s gonna come out worse.
- Frida’s boss - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 10:03 am:
Governor popularity high Mayor popularity tanking continuing to throw under the bus helps no one
- Bob - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 10:11 am:
==Thats a really bad take by Politico.==
Hardly a first.
- Jerry - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 10:12 am:
Let President Warren know the Bears already got a free stadium on the lake. There is no money for another one. And no space in that location to build.
- low level - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 10:18 am:
==I doubt the large number of suburban Dem legislators feel much pressure at all saying no to a weak and unpopular Chicago Mayor.== Red Ranger
Indeed, saying No to MBJ may wind up on suburban Dem campaign mailers. For example, “Rep. X stood up to the mayor of Chicago and held the line on taxes” or something to that effect. Thats how unpopular he is.
- Save Ferris - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 10:29 am:
“President Warren”
The guy is so starstruck it’s pathetic. He’s the mayor of Chicago. People should be awed by him. If he understood that, he might be having more success.
- low level - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 10:48 am:
Wow. Really good comments today from everyone, especially this:
==Rule of thumb is to not send him in until everyone is ready to say yes.==
Absolutely, 1000% spot on. The 5th Floor needs to learn this asap.
- Friday Addams - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 11:00 am:
– Mayor Brandon Johnson will travel to Springfield, Illinois. –
I appreciate the Mayor’s office clarifying that it’s Springfield, Illinois and not Springfield, MO or some other Sfield.
- Meghan - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 11:02 am:
==Not to mention that the mayor was silent after the CTU, his most important ally, called that school closure bill “racist.”==
And yet public schools continue teach students that “silence is violence…”
- One Time - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 11:16 am:
The mayor has a lot to apologize for when there. Not a great way to start when asking for billions.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 11:37 am:
=Thank you for speaking in support of austerity. When will the state recover from BVR’s reckless spending spree… /s=
Maybe you should know what you are talking about before you make a snarky comment. Not/s
Every year since the EBF was passed CTU gets the largest addition to the base funding minimum. This year it was almost $25,000,000 on top of the $1.7 billion they received the year before. And every year their enrollment has experienced significant drops.
CPS receives about $5400 per student exclusive of transportation, special education, and nutrition funding.
For comparison, our district receives about $1,500 per student inclusive of all state funding sources. CPS receive more than 5 times the per pupil funding our students do. And we are a high poverty district.
This isn’t about austerity.
- Rudy’s teeth - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 11:47 am:
So MBJ steps out of the bubble on the fifth floor to visit Springfield. Perhaps his community organizing skills and tactics are falling flat with the legislators.
Demanding that $1 billion is owed to the families in Chicago is a huge ask. For that, he may be shown the door.
- Jerfy - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 12:07 pm:
Pick your poison. Prisons cost $30,000.00 to $70,000.00 per person. Plus those are Union jobs.
- Jerry - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 12:08 pm:
That was me at 1207.
- Annonin' - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 12:14 pm:
Capt Fax wants receipts. It might be fun to get the methodology so other IL towns from Mayberry to Maywood could calculate how much they are owed. Then we can all get a seat on the gravey train before it pulls out.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 12:28 pm:
=I appreciate the Mayor’s office clarifying that it’s Springfield, Illinois and not Springfield, MO or some other Sfield.=
Don’t forget the Simpsons’ Springfield.
- Politix - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 12:36 pm:
BJ’s PR team really needs to clean it up. You can’t just make bold statements without evidence. Don’t try to shame the legislature into meeting your demands. Rookie mistake.
- SWSider - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 1:12 pm:
==Every year since the EBF was passed CTU gets the largest addition to the base funding minimum.==
Yeah, man. It’s almost like urban education is drastically underfunded all across our country and needs more funding to equalize the level of ed. offered in the rich suburbs. Not /s.
I never thought someone would say, with apparent sincerity, that BVR’s ed funding plan was more than sufficient for the needs of Chicago.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 1:18 pm:
=I never thought someone would say, with apparent sincerity, that BVR’s ed funding plan was more than sufficient for the needs of Chicago.=
Is this the ILGOP? Your strawman is ridiculous.
Just a fact or two for your fact-free FB world:
1)EBF isn’t the BVR plan.
2)Urban poverty isn’t the only poverty.
3)Kind of gross that you think the only kids that count are the ones in Chicago.
- snowman61 - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 1:41 pm:
While we are amazed that the mayor is going to Springfield with hat in hand asking for more money, think about it. He has shown that he is not the problem but finds a scapegoat for his problems. So now he can say he tried and they refused his request so the problem is Springfield (IL), not the 5th floor to the voting public. Just a thought.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 1:43 pm:
===So now he can say===
He can say whatever he wants, whenever he wants. I doubt it’ll be believable.
- Teve Demotte - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 2:16 pm:
My goodness.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 2:33 pm:
“Don’t forget the Simpsons’ Springfield.”
Eh, it’s more of a Shelbyville thing.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, May 8, 24 @ 4:35 pm:
=== Also, they’re owed a billion dollars? I’d like to see the receipts. ===
At least he didn’t demand it.
- Just a guy - Friday, May 10, 24 @ 1:22 pm:
The Mayor has done nothing in his first year except point fingers. We can’t “demonize our youth” as we see what happens on a daily/weekly basis throughout the city. “Name one thing that I said I was gonna do that I haven’t done. You won’t be able to.” Except he couldn’t get his Bring Chicago Home pipe dream home, nor can he handle/explain the issues around funding and support for the migrant crisis. And now in Springfield, when talking about the Soldier Field and what, in his mind, is needed, “that’s what this is about, providing solutions to a problem…like everything else I’ve inherited.” To say his “leadership” is a farce would be detrimental to the word farce.