Chicago's Mayor Takes Bold Steps on Budget and Debt

Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson has made some big moves recently. He's decided to go ahead with a different budget that the City Council approved. This budget doesn't include a tax on big companies. Even though Johnson didn't sign it, the budget will still become official in a few days. Johnson made sure to say that the city won't shut down because of this. He also signed two important orders. One order stops the city from selling medical debt to private companies. This is to protect people from unfair debt collection. Johnson believes this shows the city cares about its residents and wants to be fair.The other order is about police overtime. It sets rules to control how much overtime police can work. Johnson thinks this will help manage city money better and make sure police are treated fairly. Before this, Johnson hadn't said much about the budget. He's not happy with the idea of allowing video gaming in Chicago. Right now, these games are illegal in the city, but legal just outside. Some business owners want to bring them to Chicago to compete. Johnson wants to limit these games to just the airport. Bally's Casino isn't happy about this either. They say these games take away from their business. They also point out that the city makes less money from these games than from casinos. So, if video gaming becomes legal in Chicago, the city might not make as much money as they hope.