Chicago's Mayor, Brandon Johnson, is grappling with a crisis that is plaguing communities nationwide, a crisis that has been attributed to President Joe Biden's flawed border policies.
As the sanctuary city of Chicago continues to lose money, Johnson has indicated that the city is nearing a breaking point due to the surge of undocumented immigrants.
In a recent interview on CNN, Johnson pleaded with Biden for assistance, stating, "We have reached a critical point in this mission that absent real, significant intervention immediately, our local economies are not designed and built to respond to this type of crisis."
However, when questioned about how Chicago will finance the fallout from Biden's policies and whether taxes will be increased for Chicago residents to fund the crisis, Johnson evaded the question. This occurred during an interview with CBS 2's Sabrina Franza, despite being asked about three times.
Investigations by CBS Chicago revealed that from October 2022 to date, Chicago has spent at least $138 million to cater to the needs of undocumented immigrants. Additionally, $95 million in Covid relief funds have been redirected to cover housing costs.
In the course of discussing the funds already expended and the evident need for additional funding, Franza asked, "Will you be adding a tax to help pay for this?"
Johnson responded vaguely, "Well, I think people are clearly familiar with what my vision is for revenue in this city, and my revenue, of course, is committed to making sure that we are doing everything we can to address the unhoused crisis in this city. 70,000 people who are unhoused in this city are black families, and thats why I invested a quarter of a billion dollars in my budget to do just that.
Franza, seemingly confused by Johnson's response, repeated her question, "Will you add a tax to help pay for the migrant crisis?"
An apparently exasperated Johnson replied, Heres what Ive said repeatedly. This is an international crisis that requires
Interrupting Johnson, Franza stated, Weve heard you say that.
Okay, then you know the answer then, Johnson retorted, still not directly addressing Franzas question.
Persisting, Franza asked, Are you adding a tax?
The answer is, the federal government has to do its job, Johnson responded. When Franza pressed him further, asking, What if they dont? Johnson diverted the conversation to Ukraine, avoiding the direct question of whether Chicago taxpayers will have to bear the cost of Bidens failures and Chicagos sanctuary city status.
Franza responded, Right, but that is not the question that the people of Chicago are asking. The people of Chicago want to know, will you raise a tax, whether it be property tax or implement something else.
Well, it is interesting, Johnson said, once again evading the direct question. No one has ever asked me if Im going to raise a tax.
With Johnson's refusal to answer the question, Franza moved on to other topics.
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