Mary Dixon: You're listening to WBEZ. You may call this spooky season, but in Chicago it's also budget season. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has unveiled a plan to spend $16.4 billion next year on the city's debt, pensions, progressive programming and more. The mayor delivered her annual budget address yesterday, kicking off a series of budget hearings ahead of a city council vote by the end of the year. WBEZ government reporter Maria Woelfel is here with highlights from the massive spending plan. Good morning, Mariah.

Mariah Woelfel: Good morning, Mary.

Mary Dixon: So first things first, how spooky is this for taxpayers?

Mariah Woelfel: Yeah. So one of the main things that residents look out for, obviously, is, are my property taxes going to go up. What new taxes am I gonna pay? Top level, no, property taxes are not going up. The mayor had previously pitched a 2.5% property tax increase and that was gonna translate to around $34 bucks for the owner of a $250,000 property. But Lightfoot says better than expected revenues allowed her to forgo the increase. It is worth mentioning that this is an election season. She happened to find that money in the couch cushions a day after she was publicly criticized by aldermen who have to vote on this budget.

Mary Dixon: That was quite a coincidence, but at the same time the city is facing a $128 million dollar budget gap between expenses and revenue. How will the mayor fill that hole?

Mariah Woelfel: So the mayor is painting that as the lowest budget deficit in her tenure. So she says that's good news. The city is expecting to close this fiscal year with more revenue than they expected as the city bounces back from the pandemic. So that will help close that hole. This is also the first year the city is going to see gains from that future casino we're going to get in the city. The city got a $40 million dollar upfront payment from the developer of that casino, that they're going to use to put towards helping close that gap.

Mary Dixon: Let's turn to federal Covid relief money last year. Lightfoot used some of the nearly $2 billion Chicago got on progressive programs. Are we seeing the same type of proposals for this year?

Mariah Woelfel: So yeah, the city still has a few more years to allocate that funding, until 2024. So the mayor is once again pitching programs that will use some of that money to go to residents. Um, she's trying to use those dollars also to make headway on some progressive issues that have frankly made national news across the country in the past year; immigration, abortion. She's proposing $3 million to help reproductive rights organizations amid the overturning of Roe v. Wade. $5 million towards helping migrants being bused to Chicago. She's also creating a tiny house program using federal relief dollars, though advocates are critical she's not doing enough to address homelessness. But yes, so this is an election season. Lightfoot is trying to make some value statements in this budget plan.

Mary Dixon: What can we expect now going forward?

Mariah Woelfel: Well there are some very popular things in this budget, including the no property tax increase. That will make it easier for aldermen who are also up for re-election to vote positively on this. But there are some unpopular things, especially among progressive aldermen. The city council has many, including increased spending on police. Lightfoot has increased spending on police every year in her three budgets now. This year proposes $1.9 billion on Chicago police. But also say we have a long way to go before a vote. We have weeks of budget hearings to come where alderman will question department heads on their funding for the next year, and you know, where their funding went in 2022. So lots left to unpack.

Mary Dixon: Okay, to be continued. WBEZ's Mariah Woelfel covers Chicago city government for WBEZ. Thanks for being with us this morning, Mariah.

Mariah Woelfel: Thanks Mary.