Bad politicians come in all stripes, but it seems as if Democrats have the market cornered on bad mayors. If there is a blue city in a blue state, that’s where you will find them. However, in Chicago, a place that has turned political corruption into a fine art, Mayor Brandon Johnson may be leaving his fellow bad blue city mayors in the dust, and he has found a simple way to do it: just ignore your constituents, and if they get too loud in a meeting, kick them out.
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WATCH: Chicago residents protest Mayor Brandon Johnson using city money for illegal aliens.
Americans across the country are FED UP with the FAR-LEFT! pic.twitter.com/b88myADlJJ
— Center for Renewing America (@amrenewctr) December 17, 2024
That is exactly what happened Monday during a 2025 city budget meeting in the Windy City after residents loudly made their feelings known about the inclusion of funding for illegal immigrants. Johnson’s 2025 budget managed to squeak by and pass, but not before he called for a temporary recess so police could clear citizens out of the hall for council members to vote. It took Johnson six weeks to secure enough votes among City Council members for the budget to pass, a budget that originally included a whopping $300 million property tax hike. Opponents of the tax hike managed to get it removed from the proposed budget and scaled back to $60 million, but still in the budget is a $40 million short-term loan that enables the city to postpone paying off the city’s debt.
READ MORE: WATCH: Chicago Residents Let Loose on Mayor Brandon Johnson Over Illegal Aliens
Residents have been upset over the amount of money spent on illegal immigrants for quite some time. Some of the comments Johnson chose not to hear from his constituents included one resident who said, “You caused all this money to go to illegal immigrants. Anything that you all pass is not genuine.” Another stated that Johnson had failed to “protect the people of Chicago from invasion.” Still, another stated, “He wants to pull a $40 million line of credit and put the city in even more debt. It’s your fault, because you gave half of the money to illegals.”
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Since Donald Trump’s election and his promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants, Johnson has insisted that Chicago will remain a sanctuary city. But the tug-of-war between what residents want and what Johnson wants has been going on for some time. Back in March, I wrote about rowdy city council meetings where Johnson refused to tell residents exactly where millions of tax dollars were going to pay for illegal immigrants. At that point, it had reached around $300 million.
A BIG THANK YOU to @FoxNews and @FoxFriendsFirst for having me on to talk about the passage of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $17 BILLION budget and $165 MILLION in new taxes on residents and businesses. In the end, Johnson was forced to drop all property taxes—but he left in… pic.twitter.com/9A1fXFIowu
— Reporter William J. Kelly #thatreporter (@Williamjkelly) December 17, 2024
In the end, Johnson was forced to drop all property taxes—but he left in plenty of “goodies” for his allies who voted yes. That includes Vice Mayor and Alderman Walter Burnett, a former convicted bank robber who now collects a $500,000 salary. The irony is that this budget is nothing short of highway robbery on the people of Chicago and the people think Johnson is a thief for pushing it.
Then, there was the less-than-transparent deal involving an industrial building on the city’s South Side that Johnson wanted to renovate and move illegals into. Alderwoman Nicole Lee said not only was it never on a list of suggested shelter sites, but she did not think the building was safe and she was getting resistance to the idea from residents. The building’s owners were never contacted by the Mayor’s office regarding leasing the building.
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But immigration is just one thing on the list that residents should be getting loud about. In September, Johnson announced a hiring freeze on city government employees, including a woefully understaffed and overworked police department, to make up for an almost $10 million deficit in the budget for fiscal year 2025.
And finally, from the you-can’t-make-it-up-file, Johnson has a staff of more than 100 employees, all making six-figure salaries, including the “Vice Mayor,” a city alderman who was convicted and served time for bank robbery and armed robbery. He is paid his aldermanic salary, as well as a salary of around $500,000 for his Vice Mayor duties, of which the only responsibility appears to be being in line to become mayor if something were to happen to Johnson.
At one recent City Council meeting, one resident told Johnson to his face he was “the worst mayor in America.” Brandon Johnson is so bad he’s making his constituents long for the days of Lori Lightfoot. You really have to work at that.
Just another sanctuary city run by Democrats that doesn’t have enough funding to provide school bus rides for children to school anymore 🙄
Good job Mayor Brandon Johnson. Keep threatening Trump, keep funding illegals, and keep denying your own citizens’ basic needs#Chicago https://t.co/KO4fg67AcZ— mitrajoon (@mitrajoon246071) December 16, 2024
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