Lightfoot, Chicago officials project $733 million budget shortfall

Lightfoot releases Chicago's 2022 fiscal year budget

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released the city's 2022 budget forecast on Wednesday.

CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released the city's 2022 budget forecast on Wednesday.

The mayor was joined by Budget Director Susie Park, Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett and Comptroller Reshma Soni.

They are projecting a $733 million gap for the 2022 fiscal year, 40% less than last year's historic $1.2 billion gap, which was attributed to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the two largest gaps in the city's history.

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Lightfoot says the city is fiscally bouncing back from the pandemic.

"We have shifted from a pandemic budget to a recovery budget," Lightfoot said. "We still have hard work to do in order to close this gap, but this figure is yet another great indication that our city is fiscally bouncing back from this crisis."

The city also announced investments in youth prevention programs, neighborhood recovery initiatives and childcare assistance.

That will come from the remaining $37 million Coronavirus Relief Funds.