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CITY HALL — Mayor Brandon Johnson is backing away from his earlier support to possibly launch a city-run grocery store, but is open to exploring the possibility of bringing New York-style congestion pricing to Downtown Chicago, he said Tuesday.
During a brief interview with Block Club on Tuesday afternoon, Johnson also defended his handling of the protracted and often bitter 2025 budget process while looking ahead to what he hopes to accomplish this year — if he can find the necessary backing from an increasingly defiant City Council.
The mayor said his goals for 2025 include expanding a signature youth hiring program, building more affordable housing and adding public health resources, including boosting a 911 response model where mental health professionals respond to non-violent calls.
But implementing — and funding — the next steps of Johnson’s agenda could be difficult with an emboldened City Council still licking its wounds from last year’s budget season.
Speaking on Tuesday, the mayor broadly dismissed criticisms over his administration and the budget, which passed by a 27-23 vote after six weeks of contentious debate, narrowly averting a city government shutdown.
“You’re hearing more voices come alive. That’s a good thing. And maybe there’s a benefit of growing up the middle child. Because I don’t get overwhelmed when there are variant degrees of expression as well as desires,” Johnson said.
“We didn’t lay anybody off, no furloughs, no cuts to services. You know, previous administrations relied upon those type of tactics. We were able to avoid that and stick to our values.”
Mayor Backs Off Supporting City-Run Grocery Store
In September 2023, the Mayor’s Office announced it was exploring the idea of launching a municipally run grocery store to address food inequity in the city.
Stretches of the South and West sides have struggled with access to fresh groceries for decades, a problem that’s been exacerbated by numerous supermarket closures in recent years.
A longstanding pattern of disinvestment in the South and West sides has created “inequitable access to food retail across Chicago,” Johnson said in a statement. “All Chicagoans deserve to live near convenient, affordable, healthy grocery options.”
If the idea is pursued, Chicago would become the largest city in the country to operate a grocery store with public funds.
But according to a report from the Tribune this week, Johnson’s administration failed to apply for a state grant last year that would have helped launch a grocery store, despite saying earlier it planned to do so.
On Tuesday, Johnson said that’s because his administration is now backing away from setting up a publicly owned grocery store, at least “at this time.”
Instead, the mayor said the city will partner with local grocers to open stores in food deserts, though he didn’t share specifics.
“Stakeholders came to me and they appreciated our initiative. And they said, ‘Look, you know, Mayor, we want you to consider doing it in a way that works with companies who also share that vision.’ And so that’s what we’re exploring,” he said.
Congestion Pricing In Chicago?
On Sunday, New York City began its long-awaited congestion pricing program, which charges an automatic fee to drivers traveling below 60th Street in Manhattan.
The controversial model aims to reduce traffic in Downtown Manhattan while raising funds for public transit agencies.
Would a similar program work in Chicago’s Loop? The idea has been floated before, and on Tuesday Johnson said he believes it’s something the city “should explore” — especially to collect fees on drivers who don’t live in the city.
“I think being able to have robust conversations about how we respond to congestion, and of course, how we generate revenue, particularly from individuals that take full advantage of our city resources, but don’t necessarily live here … I’m all for that conversation,” he said.
Johnson’s comments come a day after a new study found that Chicago is tied with New York City for having the second-worst traffic of any city on earth, behind only Istanbul, Turkey. The average Chicagoan spent 102 hours in traffic in 2024, according to research published by transportation analytics firm INRIX.
Mass Deportations Expected In Chicago Under Trump
Last month, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar” Tom Homan promised that undocumented immigrants in Chicago and elsewhere would face mass deportations under the new presidential administration — and said he would prosecute Johnson if the mayor continued to “harbor and conceal” asylum seekers.
“Because of [Johnson’s] actions, we’re going to be arresting a hell of a lot more people than our priorities,” Homan said at a Dec. 9 event sponsored hosted by Chicago Republicans. He added that he’d sue sanctuary cities that don’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois all have sanctuary laws in place, meaning local law enforcement officers are not allowed to coordinate with federal immigration officials. That does not mean ICE agents cannot enter and work in the city, however.
On Tuesday, Johnson reiterated his support Chicago’s “welcoming city” status, and also urged Trump to pass an immigration reform bill.
“Our local law enforcement is not going to participate in any way with federal agents. We’re going to adhere to the law here in Chicago,” he said. “You control the House and the Senate and the judicial branch as well as the executive branch. Pass a law, right? We haven’t had substantive immigration reform policy in over 30 years.”
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