Chicago’s Next Mayor Must Have a Plan to Tackle the City's $34 Billion in Pension Debt
- City’s pension debt has ballooned to nearly $34 billion
- Rebounding economy helped boost city revenue last two years
Paul Vallas, left, and Brandon Johnson
Photographers: Nam Y. Huh, Paul Beaty/AP Photo
Chicago is guaranteed a new mayor after voters rejected incumbent Lori Lightfoot’s bid for a second term. With the looming leadership change, investors want to know whether the city will keep up recent financial momentum or return to old bad habits.
The third-largest US city escaped from junk-rating territory late last year after paying more into its long-strained pensions that are still short nearly $34 billion. The mayoral runoff contenders — Cook County Board Commissioner Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas, the former Chicago schools chief, have starkly different approaches for how to address that shortfall and the rest of the challenges facing its 2.7 million residents.