Chicago – February 27, 2025
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration said Tuesday his latest pension payment and borrowing plan for Chicago Public Schools is imminently needed to avert a city budget deficit, the latest twist in his struggle with CPS leadership over the fate of the school district’s finances.
At a City Hall news conference, the mayor and Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski addressed their March 30 deadline to persuade the school board to make a $175 million pension payment that is blowing a hole in last year’s budget. His team’s pitch for the similarly cash-strapped school district to cover that cost — as well as the start of the upcoming Chicago Teachers Union contract — is to issue $242 million in bonds, the Tribune reported last week.
Now, Johnson’s team is arguing that if the school board doesn’t follow suit, he must then ask aldermen to authorize dipping into city reserves to close the 2024 deficit. A significant drawdown of the city’s reserves could trigger another credit downgrade from the ratings agencies. S&P already placed the city on the second-lowest notch above junk status because of Johnson’s 2025 spending plan.
