>> Mayor Johnson is going to be in the hot seat at City Council tomorrow outlining for older people how he plans to close the city's 1 billion dollar budget gap.

Meanwhile, we learned of another resignation at City Hall this week and in the final stretch towards Tuesday's election, millions are being spent on the inaugural class of school board candidates here with all that and more is our spotlight.

Politics team Amanda, header, Sharon and Nick Blumberg, again team.

let's look at what we're expecting will come out in the mayor's budget address tomorrow.

We're hearing reports proposed property tax hike that is despite what we heard him promise on the campaign trail.

>> What my plan does is very simple.

We eliminate the my first also making up to a billion dollars of investment without raising property taxes.

>> Right, Heather, what do you expect to hear tomorrow?

Well, I mean, a little bit of an awkward position because the mayor's office has already briefed reporters on what he's going to say tomorrow.

But I've agreed not to report that until he starts speaking tomorrow.

I will say what I've been saying all along.

The city has a limited ability to raise new revenue and the easiest and most effective way do that is to raise property taxes, which is why Mayor Johnson finds himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

The city is facing a but projected budget gap of nearly 983 million dollars next year.

There is no simple way to raise that kind of money without raising property taxes, laying off city workers and slashing city services.

Now we just went through weeks of chaos at CPS with Mayor Johnson refusing to sort of accept cuts to the city's public school system.

I asked him if he wasn't going to accept cuts like that to the school system.

Would he accept cuts and layoffs to the city services?

He said he didn't want to.

So there really a limited amount that he can pain to go around a month ago.

just going to say, I mean, in this comes as there are still additional pressures, right?

So we as Heather indicated, >> that chaos or whatever you want to call it at Chicago.

Public Schools not yet done.

I mean, a contract isn't finalize.

We don't know yet.

What is going to happen with management there in their own fiscal solutions.

And then you also have additional ask.

I mean, there is pressure to put more into the public health system to put more into housing.

So that's all there.

And I do think that you sort of recognition this what, what, even when he was a candidate that the fiscal situation, the city of should not have been a surprise.

So while you're going to have critics at what your reversing a campaign pledge.

>> That is going to be to me very fair.

He knew that as a candidate roughly what he was looking at and what he wanted to do and that was going to cost dollars to do so.

will kind of push back to you think the mayor is going to from city council in this?

Well, I think as we often say in the spotlight segment.

>> It depends.

It depends councilmember top bigs.

Exactly.

Well, and it depends on what the mayor lays out in his address tomorrow.

If you know, certainly he and his allies have been setting the table for the potential of a property tax increase.

Obviously one of the few options that is available.

But that's the kind of thing that gets you push-back from business leaders from all who represent.

>> Ward's with higher value properties.

That's really going to hurt their constituents in the pocketbook.

You know, there's also a question of what might we see in terms of other taxes and fees.

You know, there have been lots of ideas floating around about Uber and Lyft taxes about upping the bag on single use plastic unison.

A single use plastic bags about, you know, the garbage collection fee.

The Civic Federation had a big report with a lot of these ideas.

But, you know, some of those fees can be more aggressive, can hit lower income Then you're going to hear from members of Johnson's progressive base from all those who represent wards with a higher population of low-income Chicago winds.

And again, the personnel questions here, you know, are there going to be layoffs?

Are there going to be furloughs?

Those are things that need to be negotiated with Chicago's labor unions who have the ear of the mayor and a lot of folks on the council.

So it depends.

But he really has the potential to be, you know, taking fire from all sides.

Heather, of course, about get breaking any embargo that you've agreed to what parts of the budget you're going to scrutinize first when you see it tomorrow.

Well, I'll be looking at the Chicago Police Department's budget to see if the mayor is sort of cutting back on spending on public safety.

I will also be looking to see how much he plans to promise to spend on enforcing the consent decree.

The city spent a significant spent a significant amount of money in previous years.

Whether that continues in midst mean budget year, I think is an open question.

I'll also be looking to see whether the American continuing to build up the city's mental health services.

That was.

>> Really the center of his campaign to that promise to invest in people.

The city now has a limited ability to make those investments.

And it's a 0 sum game.

If he spends money there, it's not available to spend elsewhere.

All right.

So looking past tomorrow, there's little you might have heard about it was a talking So let's start with congressional races.

One that looks like it'll be tight 17th district, which includes Rockford, Peoria, Quad Cities, Bloomington, normal >> and Republicans are hoping that they can flip this district.

Tell us about why it's important.

So I mean, this is the second election after the borders were redrawn for congressional districts and >> that's in part why you don't see more competitive race.

Certainly in Chicago suburbs, you have Republicans really making a go of it.

But you can look at the National Party's finances is an indicator of what races they believed to be winnable.

And this is really the one where you have seen investments from the GOP, granted, not as much where it was the case before Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee.

This is really where you have seen some backing from federal financing of retired Judge John McGraw who's running against first term incumbent Erik Sorenson.

He is a weather forecaster typically like conventional wisdom says that it's in your after your first term that you're going to be easiest to flip the seat.

And so that's in part also because of just the demographics of this district.

But again, Democrats going into it feeling pretty confident.

And I do think this is a race that we're going to be watching because it is again, the one of Illinois's congressional districts that is seen as somewhat competitive in that, of course, could have huge ramifications nationally in this really close fight for control of the U.S. House right next week.

We're also going to be letting the Chicago school board for part of it for the first time, Nick, millions of dollars being spilt spent on these campaigns.

Where is this money coming from?

There are a couple of a very well-funded packs and very active.

If you know, I'm and don't know about in your mailbox.

I came run for a few days and it was filled to the brim with mailers.

>> There are a couple of Chicago teachers, union affiliated PACs as well as a couple affiliated with a charter school supporters.

See to you about 2 million dollars and about 2.8 from the charter affiliates.

These PACs are, you know, not new necessarily, but the seats are.

And there's been some concern raised.

>> From supporters of the elected school board about just how much money is flowing in with interesting in particular with the charter backers is that a lot of the money is coming in from out of state since 2021.

The year the elected school board bill was passed.

The Illinois Network of Charter Schools PAC has gotten about 1.6 million dollars in out of state contributions.

We're seeing, you know, an image of some of the CTU backed candidates.

There's also the charter network back candidates.

But those out of Staters, you know, the Waltons of the Wal-Mart family for many years.

We've also seen pro charter contributions from Reed Hastings who co-founded Netflix, you know, from the very wealthy in town or in state philanthropists, Craig Duchess was Helen Zell also from Joe Man's way.

Do you know billionaire businessman, owner of the Chicago fire?

So there's a lot of interest here and been interesting to see the tactic, some of them you some of them are just hey, vote for so.

And so there've also been some saying this person's basically a Trumper and they're saying like, no, I'm I'm a Democrat.

I I just might supporters, but I'm still at them.

So it's been a really interesting race to watch.

Really?

Pretty dirty.

frankly, which is, I guess not surprising that there are certainly a lot of high stakes.

I think it is worth remembering that no matter what the mayor is going to have a majority.

>> Of the board.

However, these turn out because he's going to be able to appoint the 10 not elected members.

Plus, a citywide school board president.

So there will be 10 people elected from these districts and there are a lot of resources like our voter guide where you can check out their positions because there are, by the way, other candidates who are not supported by the CTU or by these more pro charter organizations.

>> And they're trying to make a go of it as well.

So I think, confusing for a lot of voters because there are just so many candidates and to be honest, it's not clear like you said, my mailbox is overflowing with mail and you might understand because legally they have to say who is paying for it.

It's not necessarily going to say something like by the Chicago teachers union I CNS.

I mean, it's not going to necessarily say something like that.

It could be an affiliate in PAC.

>> So you really want your Easter?

it's also interesting to see like this much money flowing into a school board election because that in the past has been a criticism in a reason that, you know, critics have said, like, let's stay away from this because now we're infusing all of this money into schools, which are already complicated local council elections.

These are far from it.

In fact, okay.

On something else that's going to be on the ballot next and a property tax referendum and sometimes these can be deceptively worded.

Is this one pretty easy for voters a think so.

really what you need to know, though, is that it's advisories are actually going to be 3 questions on every adviser on ballot, meaning non-binding.

This is really just a way to take temperature or the pulse of the people.

And so this asks whether there will be a 3% surcharge as what is called an any income over a million dollars.

>> Illinois has kind of tried this before.

Actually.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan had on the ballot and advisory question of should there be a millionaire's tax?

That's something that I think sounds really good to a lot of people.

But it comes as you have the Chicago teachers union calling on the state to try it again, potentially at going for a graduated income tax.

This was a binding constitutional amendment question in twenty-twenty that voters rejected.

I believe it was 53% of voters said no to that.

This is this another opening window or is this really just a Democrat to tactic?

They were the ones that Democrats in the state legislature that put these 3 advisory questions on the ballot.

Some would say it was an attempt to crowded out so that other questions couldn't get on there.

And sometimes it's also a way to just get people excited, maybe get some additional.

There are want to push it again later looking this nonbinding referendum x percent of Illinois and said that this is the thing they wanted.

>> You And that's at sea.

I can spotlight to So another leadership change City Hall this week, tell us about Tracy Scott.

Yeah, she was the head of the Chicago Housing Authority for 4 and a half years.

She her last day is Friday and she was really tapped by Lori Lightfoot just before the pandemic swept Chicago to sort of.

>> You know, revitalize the city's public housing system that never really happened.

And our friends over at Block Club Chicago, Don, a lot of work looking at the number of units that have vacant and have fallen in disrepair at a time when the mayor has made expanding the stock of affordable housing, a real priority.

It seemed to me that maybe perhaps their visions were not quite aligned and now she is on her way out.

Now the mayor had is the controls, the Chicago Housing Authority, much like he used to control the Chicago public schools.

He appoints the CEO.

He appoints the board members who then must be confirmed by the city Council.

What's interesting is that there are a number of board members, 5th that were first appointed by Rahm Emanuel still there.

So that is an agency that I think has flown under the radar.

But it's going to have a lot of attention on it coming back for some changes that is actually spotlight, though, because we've got an election next So we'll have a lot to talk about then looking forward to it, that spotlight game and thrown lumber thinks everybody.

Thank >> And be sure to check out our W T Tw News Voter Guide.

It is a one-stop shop for everything you need to know before voting.

You'll find candidate profiles and questionnaires as well as key dates to know and how to find