“Concerns Arise Over Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Leadership Amid Stalled Budget Negotiations in Chicago”

CHICAGO (WLS) — The stalled budget deal has some questioning the ability of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his staff to govern effectively.

A budget vote that was supposed to take place was canceled on Friday because Johnson lacked sufficient votes. Some criticized this as a novice mistake for a mayor who is almost halfway through his first term.

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This action was deemed by David Greising, President of the Better Government Association, as unwise, stating, “You don’t schedule votes when they’re not going to be there with you. And we’re seeing that kind of amateurish operation right now.”

City Hall observers and aldermen, who have served under previous mayors, attribute the current budget turmoil to the Johnson administration’s lack of experience.

“Every mayor I had worked with prior to Mayor Johnson always had a concise timeline, concise budget amounts that they were ready to roll with. They had done their homework,” 32nd Ward Ald. Scott Waguespack said.

Johnson is Waguespack’s fourth mayor. The North Side alder voted against Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel several times. Yet, Waguespack said both mayors personally made a point to reach out to him.

“Even if I had disagreements about the budget, they would come and try to talk to me, and say, ‘what are those two or three things that you disagreed on, and how can we bridge that gap?'” Waguespack said.

Mayor Johnson claims he and his staff are doing the same thing, and will continue over the weekend to work out a deal.

“My style is very much open and loving,” Johnson said.

The mayor has repeatedly called himself “the collaborator in chief.”

But, several alders say Johnson has not personally spoken with them throughout the budget process, including Waguespack, who is the former Finance Committee chairman and very familiar with the budget process.

“They’re not interested in hearing from people like me, but that’s on their shoulders,” Waguespack said.

If the mayor and alders do not come up with a budget deal by Dec. 31, the government will shut down, meaning city workers will not get paid, and residents will not get city services. It would be a first in recent memory.