Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday removed rank-and-file members from City Council meetings on the 2025 budget proposal after residents loudly protested massive funding for immigrants.
Johnson's 2025 budget narrowly passed on Monday after the mayor ordered a temporary recess to allow police to remove residents from the hall to allow councilors to vote.
It took six weeks of debate for Mr Johnson to secure the 26 votes needed to pass the bill. budget planning, Opposition parties succeeded in withdrawing a proposed $300 million property tax.
The plan also features a $40 million short-term loan that would allow the city to delay debt payments, a major point of criticism for many protesters.
“You funneled all this money to illegal immigrants,” one resident told Johnson during a public comment period. “Everything you go through is not real.”
Another resident accused Johnson of failing to “protect the people of Chicago from invasion.”
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is facing severe public criticism of his budget plan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“He's pulling out a $40 million loan line and trying to push the city further into debt,” said another resident. “It's your fault for giving half of your money to illegal aliens.”
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Mr Johnson also faced criticism for hiring too many staff and paying them too much. Chicago reporter William Kelly Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Fox News that he employs more than 100 staff members, each earning a six-figure salary. He also argued that many positions appear frivolous.
“The deputy mayor was a man named Alderman Barnett, who was convicted of bank robbery and armed robbery and spent time in prison. “But he's not really given any responsibilities other than waiting to potentially become mayor if something happens to Mayor Johnson,” Kelly said.
Chicagoans blasted Mayor Johnson's budget, which he struggled to pass for weeks. (Fox News)
Dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Johnson's immigration policies has also reached the ears of President-elect Trump. Tom Homan, President Trump's pick to be the new administration's border czar, warned that Chicago would be one of the first areas to experience deportations.
“Chicago is in trouble because the mayor and the governor are terrible, and we're going to start right here in Chicago, Illinois,” Homan said last week.
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“Now, if the mayor of Chicago doesn't want to help, he can step aside. But if he gets in our way or knowingly harbors or hides illegal aliens, I will prosecute him.” “I will,” he threatened.
