A day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled a plan to balance the city budget with the largest property tax increase in a decade, his top three budget officials are arguing that the unpopular decision could be prudent.

Plus, an Election Day liquor ban question is posed to Lincoln Square residents, while a Bronzeville alderperson pushes for one

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget plan for Chicago police slashes several offices that are critical to the ongoing federal consent decree, sparking alarm from policing experts who say now is not the time to take the foot off the gas with reform.

The police superintendent and his leadership team will still have a chance to make their case during city council budget hearings.

Under the mayor's plan, spending for the office charged with implementing reforms to get CPD out from under the costly constraints of a federal consent decree would shrink by 45%, and more than half the positions would be eliminated.