>> Hey, everyone, thanks for joining us on the week in review.

I'm Amanda rather than watch it.

Sail Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson last-minute cancels a budget vote.

>> The reality is we're very close, but we're still not there yet.

Which means members of the city Council will spend the weekend in negotiations.

got to get a deal by the end of the year.

If not, if we don't have a budget, there's no appropriate appropriations line for the services that people rely Meanwhile, the city and state prepared to become ground 0 for deportations has threatened this week by President-elect Donald Trump's so-called quarters on we have laws to protect undocumented immigrants.

And I'm gonna make sure to follow the law.

I'm I'm concerned.

>> That the Trump administration and you know, he's Lackey's.

>> We're going to start sending people out of the country.

presented threat to us and should never been here to begin with.

>> Calls for a crackdown on unregulated intoxicants like and Delta.

8, these harmful products.

What are in our streets there on our local gas station.

But had businesses say Illinois about to kill a flourishing industry and Cook County discovers problems with how assessors value commercial property effects could impact your property tax bill.

>> And now to talk about all that and more our week in review panel.

We've got Mitch, our Mont rout of the Chicago Sun-Times, our very own Heather Sharon of Wt Tw news.

Rufus Williams of W Vo and and also Gregory Pratt of the Chicago Tribune.

Now, Heather, no budget vote after all.

Was there really a risk that it was going to Yes, it's clear that the mayor does not have 25 votes much less.

26 votes.

>> And the mayor said today that if he had gotten to 25 or thought he had gotten to 25, he was prepared to break the tie and passed the budget.

But it shows you just how deeply unpopular his budget plan is.

And in particular, his proposal to raise property taxes by 68.5 million dollars.

So, Greg, is there any sense of either how much room he has to make up to get this over the finish line?

>> Well, all the remember had and was talking today about how this isn't necessarily even about the issues anymore.

It's about people have a problem with the mayor and it's about that relationship.

So I think he has a serious problem with that.

And, you know, actually WTTV is W own Heather Sharon and really great story about.

How he lost control of the budget crisis of the budget process and that still playing out.

And it's it's, you I wouldn't bet money anything involving this right now.

the fundamental question is in the fundamental issue is, is that if you're going to ask older people to take deeply unpopular vote to raise people's taxes, you've got to give them something to go to their constituents and say, look, this is what you're going to get in return.

But there's not really any new programs in the budget.

>> And for progressives, it means that it's another year where the mayor isn't sort of making good on his promises to invest in the city.

Social safety note to help working class Chicagoans and in fact, it will actually be a step back under the current plan, 30 million dollars that was supposed to renew the city's guaranteed basic Income program goes away.

And that's a really hard pill for a lot of progressives to swallow.

But Rufus, is this just maybe members of the city council ignoring the harsh reality that there isn't the money to do all of those things.

You either need to raise taxes or cut programs or combination thereof was a lot of what the city council's talked about.

What cook to coming in.

>> What are the things that we can't afford to do?

What we continue to look at this in raising property taxes are getting revenues from other places which all comes from the citizenry.

And that is where the rub is.

The mayor doesn't want to cut any services.

He doesn't want to cut any programs.

But appears that we just can't afford all the things that they are.

That seems to be the missing link and what's trying to be made in this budget.

But Mitch, the mayor calls himself the collaborator and she's right.

is kind of trying to spin this as a sort of a new way of doing things which is really feels new to all of us.

I mean, this is really been a jarring process just because, >> you know, we're used to the ministrations of Rahm Emanuel, Daily.

>> To a lesser extent, Lori Lightfoot who specifically Mayor Emanuel, you know, just to really skilled politician in terms of doing the horse trading behind the scenes to make sure he has the votes before anywhere you know, coming to a meeting to put it up for a And friend of Johnson's really just he's kind of he's feeling has been fodder for last month or so to try and make things happen behind the scenes.

I thought perhaps there was a situation that may be indicative of where things are, where a lot of questions today about funding required.

is snow a sidewalk.

>> Snow shoveling program and it refusal by the mayor to commit to saying whether or not it's in the budget because if you have it, I hope people aren't going to vote for the spending plan.

But if you have it in, you're going to upset other people and perhaps lose those votes.

>> my right is this sort of indicative of what he's dealing with chronic?

>> Yeah, there's a real lack of trust between a lot of aldermen and the mayor and a lot of aldermen and the mayor's office.

And to the point about like collaborator in chief, you know, I mean, that's a title he gives himself, right?

I can call myself the Batman and it doesn't mean that I'm beating criminals.

Tonight.

trying pick up.

That makes it if you'd like, it's a it's just it's just a he's given himself the title and hasn't really put in the work, put in the work to earn it.

So can he do it this weekend?

>> Well, there are 2 possible paths to a budget deal.

So they have to find essentially 69 million in the next 72 hours.

Let's just United property, correct?

Because nobody believes up a property tax hike of any amount will pass the city council.

So one they could cancel some of the advanced pension payment with that.

The city is not required to make under state law and sort of use that money to balance the budget.

However, that with Wall Street ratings agencies downgrading Chicago's credit, making it more expensive for the city operate.

That will be deeply unpopular.

There also was a lot of talk today about essentially 170 million dollars in the Chicago Police Department's budget.

That is used to fund vacant positions.

And I think a lot of the talks this weekend is going to be figuring out how much money they can take from that pot, assuming that those positions will not be sold this year because it's hard and complicated to train new officers and get them on to the to the rolls and whether that can service a service cuts, even though there won't be any service cuts or any, you know, people won't, you know, see fewer officers on the streets.

However, that is going to be a difficult sell for some people who consider themselves very pro police and are worried that they'll be tagged with voting to, quote, unquote, defund the police, however, doesn't make budget sense in a tough year to have essentially 170 million dollars in reserve in the Chicago Police Department budget which makes up more than 43% of the city's discretionary fund.

I think those are hard questions that the older people are are going to be confronted covering government for a long time, though.

Once you lose that money from department's budget, it is hard to get it back with a let's be clear.

This is to Mitch's point.

This is not the same city council.

>> That existed under Mayor Daley or under on the manual.

It even under Lori Lightfoot.

This is a very empowered City Council that feels strongly and being a strong city council versus a strong mayor that we've had on the the others and they're flexing their muscle in showing their teeth.

And I think when the budget begins within untenable 300 million dollar property tax increase.

Then you got to lose control of it.

At that point.

>> Is this the case of a different city council, a different makeup of just the older people representing Chicago's wards or is it a weak mayor?

And so it I guess that that is to say if a different mayor were on the 5th floor, would we be hearing the same sort of push back that because the times in just the makeup of the city council have changed or are we getting this sort of Empowered City Council because its Mayor I think it's a little bit of both, honestly, because you no longer have started the party structure that trains people sort of brings them up through the ranks and then they run for older people and then they serve on the city Council.

>> On the other hand, you have a mayor who has said I want to have these discussions in public not behind closed doors because I don't have any doubt that the discussions were just tough and or Rahm Emanuel and under Richard am daily, it's just the public didn't see that.

And they think Brendan Johnson has said that he sees the value in sort of having these discussions in public and sort letting Chicago and see how the sausage is made.

The call you the issue is is I think many Chicagoans longtime Chicago and see this as chaos and they wonder, can Brandon Johnson govern Chicago is this, you know, sort of going to are we going to sort of get to a place or are we going to shut the budget going is going to shut down the city in 18 days.

And I think it's really important to say that if the budget, if the budget deal doesn't get done in the government, shuts down, we'll nearly 30,000 city workers wondering if they're going to get their first paycheck in January.

And I imagine that that's making this holiday season, relatively tough for a lot of sense, of course, about all of the residents who depend on the services those employees carry out just over to you to do you agree with that assessment?

Is this mix of both changed city council?

>> And who's in the office?

>> I think in general, you have all the men that are much more serious and much less scoundrel less than than previous alderman who are much more.

You know, the we've been to a series about the history of corruption in Illinois, Chicago, you had a lot of all men who were just stumble, stumble down, drunks crooks in the city council.

They were proud of it 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 40 years You don't have that anymore.

You know, it's just a very different to get people to take their work more seriously.

And we've had back-to-back week Mares and Mares that had very limited executive experience, which which Laurean Brandon do have limited executive experience and they're running into a lot of trouble because of it.

>> Let's move on to because we've talked about some about property taxes and how that may or may not be part of this final package.

Looking more like a now, but we have an unprecedented review of commercial properties out from Cook County looking at some millions really believe to couple million of commercial properties that things like apartments where houses office buildings.

Mitch, what this assessment finds, right?

So the county commission, another study of the property tax system that I think, you know, a lot of homeowners certainly have suspected for a long time that the process is flawed.

>> But this really took a look at >> valuations of commercial properties over the years and but as we found that, you know, it's just kind of slip shot system in terms of different buildings being valued.

It, you know, just not.

Just discordant rates across the board that's resulted in higher bills for some folks in lower bills for others.

And, you know, this is obviously playing out a lot for homeowners in the south suburbs where seen massive property tax hikes and it just raises more questions about what can be done make things fairer across the board approve.

This was something like this report to do to people that are already annoyed wary of those bills.

>> You know, property taxes continues to be the issue and it continues to come up right.

And so the way the system works is that there's a number that's needed and the numbers going to come either from residents or it's going to come from commercial.

>> What a slap shot in this way when there's no way to really understand.

How this actually works, then you lose trust in the system?

And makes it very difficult to pass anything.

When we talk about the city budget or any other budget because you're relying on people who don't have any faith.

information has been given in Gray can also seem to indicate that the assessor's office and the Board of Review where question those who?

>> believe that they were over assessed would go appeal.

Those entities aren't speaking to each other.

And we know that there's a bit of a political courage.

Is this part of part of the Chicago Way or an instance of get it together despite your political, you'd.

>> So it's a it's it's not a professional system that we have rights and elected system in there.

and you have people making a lot of political choices sometimes and then the assessor and the board don't like each other and you have all that conflict.

It's really, really unfortunate because of people get hurt.

Are the people who pay the tax powers and normal people, the people with the bungalows and little shops and and they're getting screwed left the right face.

It's going to get fixed.

No.

>> it's a simple answer if you'd like, but what?

But we'll see.

I do think I do think there are a lot of I don't want to be overly cynical.

think there are a lot of people trying their best.

I also think that the problems are very big as complex unfortunately people are playing nice with each other.

>> talking about not playing nice.

Let's go to the incoming president.

Of course, Donald Trump and orders are whatever position that is.

I don't believe that's in the constitution of official Cabinet spa a lot of things on in the Constitution that will be happening over What do you what are you predicting here?

Because in in Chicago promising that the city and Illinois are going to ground 0 for deportations I think that will make a ground 0 for deportations.

There's clearly.

>> You know, the incoming president has said promises made promises, kept.

And he's been very clear about being vindictive on a number of things.

Clearly he and the governor don't get along.

And they've been things that happening with the mayor as they Governor Abbott Texas Cent so many migrants here throughout the years model his and but it really created some difficulties here in Chicago.

And so when they talk about when they talk about coming in and they talk about getting out of the way the mayor has to get with the mayor will be prosecuted because what they're going to do.

We were gonna have to be set up for some real strong, harsh legal battles in all of these things.

And we'll see how they come out.

But I I think we take him at his word what >> powers do.

The mayor and governor have?

Well, they can direct law enforcement.

Both Illinois State police and other state agencies and Chicago police not to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement, assuming that they do send federal agents here to Chicago.

Now we should be clear is sometimes we've heard the president elect say that he's only looking to deport people with criminal records who've been convicted of crimes ice is entitled to do that today.

That can be happening in probably is happening right now.

question that I don't think clear is will they target undocumented immigrants who have not sort of it interacted with the criminal justice system?

And I think that's where you've got a lot of fear because if you talked to people, our own Joanna Hernandez has talked to people saying that will I don't think I'm at risk because I'm not a criminal.

I just go to work.

I come home.

I raise my family.

The question is whether the president elect will address will direct federal agents to sort of, you know, going to church is going to schools going to, you know, going to places of business.

And we simply don't know the answer.

That question.

It's clear, though, that they're going to do that without the help of the Chicago police or state officials, whether that sort of lack of assistance will make any difference, I think is unclear.

What do you make of this focus on violent offenders?

The hearing this week in Washington led by Illinois's on Senator Durbin.

>> And that was really the bulk of the focus.

You had the governor this week repeatedly saying if there is somebody with a criminal past or who commits violence, you're not welcome in Illinois.

So why this focus?

>> I think it's kind of was an interesting shift in messaging for Democrats looking at this from a political perspective.

Coming up, a presidential election that was pretty decisively, obviously want to the Republicans.

think Democrat sort of feel like voters.

They have been tough enough in some respects.

And obviously, you know, saying you're going after criminals is not controversial policy shift for Democrats.

But, you know, trying to get ahead of that and trying to present more of a tougher on crime approach of this when it comes to immigration.

I think that's a pretty clear policy shift.

But there's the other side that they say and they're saying that if you're here illegal.

>> The legally, then we'll coming for you as well.

Those aren't are criminals.

Those are the people who are working every day and going on about.

>> Their business, who also at risk and mixed messages.

It seems from Trump and his allies on one hand saying we're going to focus on those who are violent offenders.

And on the other hand saying biggest mass deportation history ever.

>> But he keeps taking saying he you know, he was alluding to in an interview, I think with Time magazine this week that they'll do, they'll deport the.

Us citizens children.

You know, you your family game you get out of here to, you know, it's it's cruel to separate them.

So send them all out, which is escalating language.

And that's going to be one of the concerning things in the next few months is how much how many workplace raids happened?

You know, every once in while you have some giant were 4th place raid that really disrupts families.

Are we going to have more of those?

How many more of those you have?

How many?

How many more normal people, for lack of a better term get caught up in this and then they start going after families and it has the potential to be really, really dark.

>> This is our very own unit.

Self reported that more than 155,000 of these IDs and driver's license for non citizens were issued just like regular licenses.

Does this help or change the dynamic at all in terms of folks being able to?

They'd federal authorities will.

Of course, the fear is that the state will have a list somewhere and that they will either willingly or unwillingly give that to federal agents.

And that will be used as sort of, you know, to target people.

>> The you know, the issue with this is is that, you know, the state passed that law to issue those licenses and those identifications because it helps people get the services that they are entitled to, whether they are citizens or non-citizens.

And, you know, we are going to, I think, have to look very carefully to see whether we are seeing immigrant community sort of retreat into the shadows, not calling police when they're victims of crime, not sort of asking for help.

We not going to emergency rooms, not sort of seeking really necessary care because they fear being sort of identified by that federal government and those identified, you know, those that sort of card was designed to sort of help people.

You know, make a new life and become, you know, quote, unquote, productive members of Illinois, whether that will continue.

I think we'll have to see.

I'm sure this came up as Democratic governors that got together and it seems which that there some talk of.

>> I really working with the Trump administration, really, frankly, trying to up to him in hopes that it wouldn't hurt states.

Is smart strategy years that just weakness on the part of elected officials who really been singing, fear of authoritarian government?

>> You know, I think it's it's going see how the Democratic governor sort of come out against Trump next year.

You know, the got another month to prepare.

You know, you we've heard from Governor Pritzker, the governor of Colorado.

Any number other Democrats who evaluating project 2025 and everything Trump has promised to do in his first 100 days in office.

You know that.

>> With That's concerning.

Angering in frightening, quite frankly, to see that there will be some acquiescence to the loyalty, the demands which becomes fealty, all these other places.

It's got to be guardrail somewhere.

It's got to be some stand up and say this is wrong.

And so to the extent that people are trying to move in line to make him happy, not not to the Constitution, but to the person is struggling.

>> Mitch, I want to move on to some other, perhaps regulations that will be coming in to play in Illinois.

And this is after Governor JB Pritzker has endorsed a package that will regulate what is not regulated on the federal level in currently, of course, obviously not at the state level.

And that is this intoxicating hemp products.

What is the plan here?

So you've probably seen like gas stations, convenience stores across the city.

Delta 8 is what it's called.

It's.

>> It acts a lot like pot.

It has a lot of time.

Facts a spot, but for legal reasons based on its chemical composition, it's not pot.

And for the last 2 years, you've got Illinois is burgeoning.

Cannabis industry has been trying to push regulations on What they view, as you know, a strong competitor from, you know, businesses that don't have to go through the stringent regulations, but they do to get very expensive licenses.

And today, Governor Pritzker announced his support for this bill that effectively will ban the production and sale of hemp-derived products.

Unless you do get that cannabis dispensary license, which, you know, this is already a business that's worth about 800 million dollars a year.

The hemp-derived product business in Illinois and a lot of those folks are worried if this bill passes in early January that they say maybe 10,000 people could be out of a job but Governor Spitzer says this comes down to, you know, keeping a a psychoactive drug out of kids hands.

You know, there's no age restrictions on this or anything.

They're packaged to look like Candy.

So this going to be really fierce battle in Springfield in January.

What would that do Chicago?

If you have say 10,000 jobs lost?

>> Well, you know, we've got a lot of jobs that have been created by the cannabis industry.

So the loss of jobs obviously is problematic.

you know, the risk as you point out of having this available to people who shouldn't have been having this available to young people.

already seen that happen with with vaping and some of the flavors that are there.

So it says the health, the health issue has to be taken not knowing what's in these products exam whatsoever.

Really?

exactly are they making Fruity Pebbles M P >> I'm sure really to know.

The governor did a holdup packets that look factors.

I think they're called near Bears are some they would like nerds.

Yeah.

There's all kinds punny names.

My favorite is trips.

Ahoy.

>> But yeah, I mean a kid, you know, okay to potentially, you know, is no to read.

Look at that.

It looks like a cookie or candy and all even just 500 milligrams of something that no kid should be on a little concerning We're concerned about children eating detergent to because it's a >> beautiful packaging.

You know, we have to exercise some carrots.

Some point in the adult after adult in the room.

>> Greg, want to go to you because the Tribune he's done some reporting on one of the mayor's top advisors.

Of course, that's Jason Lee.

And voted apparently in Texas despite having to be a city resident in order to work for the mayor.

It is this going to be something that the mayor continues to defend or have we seen distance himself at all firmly since that report?

>> You know, I do.

I do want to get into the psychology of it.

I thought he could have spoken a little more strongly in defense of his 8, but he defended his ad.

You know, it said that that we'll see what happens, which is which is not as big a bear hug as as maybe you would have thought.

the mayor also has a lot of other stuff going on.

That is a very don't That is a very interesting situation.

And and the mayor keeps alluding to, you know, that the authorities in Texas will figure it out and and I guess, Wolf, it will.

We'll see what they come back.

What anything?

>> Heather, we've got a minute or so left to add to it had a judge that is overseeing the consent decree situation.

We didn't in really stark terms this week.

She said that the pace of reforms were unsatisfying both to her and to the public.

And this is important because it's really the first time that we've heard U.S. District Court, Judge Rebecca Paul Meyer.

>> Express any sort of displeasure about the city's pace of consent decree reforms, which are now almost 6 years old.

If you can believe that.

And the city is only 9% in full compliance.

I actually asked the mayor about that today at his press conference after the City Council meeting and he said that in some ways the consent decree is, quote, unquote, cumbersome.

And he talked about how do you have to go through a lot of steps to reach full compliance?

It's more Frank language coming from both side.

we're going to have to leave it at that because we are out of time.

Our appreciation to Mitch arm and Trout other Sharon.

>> this Williams and to Gregory We're back to wrap things up right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexander and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation, additional support is provided by.

>> And that is our program for this Friday night.

Don't forget, you can get Chicago tonight and the week in review streamed on Facebook, YouTube and on our website that's Wt Tw dot com.

Slash news lots of news there.

But also some fun festivities.

If you're looking for something to do this weekend.

Now for the week in review.

I am a man dove in to keep.

Thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have great night.

>> All right.

you had a story this week regarding regulations for nursing homes.

It that this is an effort that stalled in the legislature was going on.

You know, there's this bill hanging out in the Senate for almost a year has to deal with allowing nursing home residents to sue over retaliation claims.

You know, I think we've all heard.

>> stories about things going on nursing homes, but basically advocates for this bill.

>> If Senate President Don Harmon holding it up and they point to the massive campaign contributions with >> Closed captioning is made possible by Robert a cliff and Clifford law Chicago, personal injury and wrongful death