'Declared war on our city': Mayor Johnson talks proposed budget, Trump admin lawsuit, ICE in Chicago

Chicago mayor talks proposed budget, Trump admin lawsuit, immigration tensions | FULL VIDEO

Mayor Brandon Johnson stopped by Good Day Chicago on Tuesday to discuss a range of topics.

CHICAGO - Mayor Brandon Johnson stopped by Good Day Chicago on Tuesday to discuss a range of topics, including his proposed budget, the city's lawsuit against the Trump administration, and immigration tensions that have been mounting.

Johnson says his proposed city budget aims to protect working families, keep streets safe, and push back against what he described as harmful federal cuts from President Donald Trump.

Here are the highlights:

EXPLAINS BUDGET

"It protects working people from Trump's cuts. As you know, President Trump has cut education, he's cut Medicaid, he's cut transportation. I mean, every single area where working people rely upon, that's what this administration has cut. And so my budget ensures that we're protecting vital services, education, health care, youth employment, and it also allows for our investments in community safety to expand, right? Because we saw the fewest amount of homicides over the summer since 1965. There's more work to be done, but this budget really gets at the heart of what the people of Chicago want, which is a safe and affordable big city."

CONCERNS ABOUT PROPERTY TAXES AND BUSINESSES

"Yeah, well, the first thing is that this budget does not raise property taxes. This was important to the people of Chicago. What we saw from the Trump administration, you saw the largest concentration of wealth shifted from middle class, working class people into the hands of the ultra-rich and big corporations, right? We're talking about a trillion dollars worth of cuts that benefit large corporations. And so what I've done is we put forth a community safety surcharge for our largest corporations, which really is only going to impact about three percent of those large corporations. And that revenue that we'll be able to receive from those corporations that received a tax cut from Donald Trump, it's gonna fund mental health for our first responders. It's gonna fund domestic violence programs for domestic violence survivors, it's gonna make sure that we continue to hire young people, and of course it's gonna invest in our violence prevention programs, which is our CVI community violence intervention workers. These are workers that work to de-escalate violence on the ground, right? So this budget is responsible, it protects working people, and it challenges those with means, the ultra-rich, these large big corporations, to put a little more skin in the game to make sure that we can keep communities safe."

WILL IT DRIVE BIG CORPORATIONS AWAY?

"Well, look, we have been voted the best big city by Condé Nast for nine years in a row. It's the top relocator, the Chicagoland area, for large corporations, right? We've had one of the busiest summers downtown with our hotels generating more than $900 million dollars. Our airports are busier than they've ever been. This is the most diverse economy in the entire country, right? And so again, we're talking about 3% of large corporations who just received a tax benefit from Donald Trump. So I think when it comes to the number one issue in Chicago, which is to keep us safe, these investments and our police officers, these investments and survivors of domestic violence, our investment in young people, which is important to me, and of course our investments in violence prevention, our CVI workers, that's a worthwhile investment to continue to drive violence down on the city of Chicago."

WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO GET BUDGET PASSED?

"Yeah, well look, this is the democratic process, right? So I'm gonna have conversations, not just with alders, but residents. You know, Friday I took a stop in Albany Park. I was in West Garfield, I was in Woodlawn, and so I'm gonna talk to residents all over the city, and here's what I do know the people of Chicago want. They want a budget that really reflects our values. Now, as we continue to drive violence down and as we continue to build more affordable homes, as we continue to make sure that we're hiring young people, that's my conversation. As long as we're all committed to building a safe and affordable city for everyone, then this budget really has all of the benefits to do just that."

Chicago alder criticizes mayor's proposed budget: 'Unacceptable'

Chicago Ald. Ray Lopez spoke to FOX 32 on Tuesday about why he thinks Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed city budget is "unacceptable."

CHICAGO'S LAWSUIT OVER TRUMP'S FUNDING CUTS

"Yeah, the Trump administration has really shown a great deal of animus towards the city of Chicago. He's declared war on our city and cities across America. And he has worked outside of the constitutional frame that's provided for him, the way the framers intended. And we're talking about millions of dollars. Now here's what he's cutting. We're talking about, you know, in the case of an emergency, services to allow for medical equipment to reach people in the case of an emergency, defusing bombs and in those type of threats, right? These are real consequential threats that this administration has administered against working people, and then his claim, nothing to do with what these funds go towards. But this is on par for him. He has withheld over $2 billion dollars of investments that would extend our Red Line. And you know how important this public transportation is. He's you know, threatened to take away resources from our public schools because we believe in Black student success. Like again, he is clearly inimical to the interests of working people, but I'm gonna stand firm, defending the people of this city. That's what my budget does. It protects everyday Chicagoans from Trump's cuts."

TALKING ABOUT ‘NO KINGS’ RALLY DOWNTOWN

"Well, look, it's estimated that over 100,000 Chicagoans showed up. Some say as many as 250,000 people were assembled in the city of Chicago, seven million across this country. What it says to me is that people are starting to really wake up because you know what the authoritarianism that's coming from the Trump administration is really harmful to working people. And my message was really simple; is that we have to stay united. Black, brown, white, Asian, young, old, rich, poor. This is not what our country should be about, right? When we're talking about, you know, the president spending more money on ICE than he is on healthcare, right? Giving these tax breaks to the ultra-rich. When we think about the corporate leaders versus the everyday worker, once upon a time, corporate CEOs made twelve times the amount of their average employee. Now it's 212 times more than their average employee. This is not sustainable for our country economically. And my message is, working people across the city of Chicago, we have to unite to push back against the Trump administration. And that's what I'm gonna do, and that's what we saw on Saturday."

IMPACT OF MILITARY-LIKE PRESENCE DOWNTOWN

"Well, people are afraid. I mean, that's you know, no question there. What the Trump administration is doing is absolutely, first of all, unconstitutional. Terrorizing working people, you know, is just absolutely abhorrent. You know, we saw Blackhawk helicopters descend on South Shore, where black families were put in one van, immigrants were putting in another van. You saw a Black man being choked, armed masked men in military gear sticking long guns in the faces of working people, separating families apart. This is not the way to do it. In fact, that's why my executive orders for ICE-free zones, my executive order to make sure that we can protect the First Amendment, and of course our executive order to make sure that our local law enforcement and the community as a whole that we actually know our rights. And so I'm gonna use every single tool that's available to me to beat back against this occupation that this administration has administered against working people across the country. And Chicago's gonna stand firm. We're gonna protect every single Chicagoan with every single tool and with everything that is in me."