It’s Tuesday. We have the latest on the city’s budget woes as well as local reaction to the death of Pope Francis.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson addresses the news media on Monday, April 21, 2025. (Heather Cherone/WTTW News)
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday sounded the alarm about the financial crisis facing the city, warning Chicagoans that the city “will have to do more with less” as President Donald Trump threatens to upend its finances and officials confront the results of decades of financial mismanagement.
“We essentially need to do more with less,” Johnson said, just before signing an executive order to form a working group to craft solutions to the city’s fiscal crisis. “The truth is that the city is at a crossroads right now.”
Chicago’s finances have long been out of whack, pinched by soaring pension costs, spiraling personnel costs and a massive amount of debt. The city’s fiscal stability is also threatened by the crises facing the Chicago Transit Authority and the Chicago Public Schools. Both agencies survived the COVID-19 pandemic with federal financial assistance and must now stand alone after the ravages of the pandemic.
Some backstory:
Chicago faces a likely budget deficit in 2026 of nearly $1.2 billion, according to the city’s most recent budget forecast, released in August. If the economy worsens significantly, that gap could swell to $1.6 billion. Assuming a robust economy, that shortfall could shrink to $634 million in 2026, according to the forecast that no one at City Hall believes is likely.
The city’s financial position is set to worsen once again in 2027, with a likely deficit of $1.3 billion, according to the budget forecast. If the economy worsens significantly, that gap could swell to $1.93 billion. Under the rosiest scenario, the city’s 2027 gap could be as small as $703 million.
More context:
That dire financial outlook is complicated by Trump’s attempts to revoke all federal funding from Chicago because officials have refused to stop protecting undocumented immigrants from deportation Johnson said, calling the federal government “hostile.”
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Walgreens headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. (JHVEPhoto / iStock)
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As part of a settlement with the U.S. government, Deerfield-based Walgreens, one of the largest pharmacy chains in the country, has agreed to pay at least $300 million to settle claims it illegally filled millions of invalid opioid prescriptions.
That settlement comes after a complaint filed in Chicago’s federal court early this year alleged Walgreens pharmacists filled illegal prescriptions for excessive quantities of opioids and prescriptions for a particularly dangerous combination that includes opioids, benzodiazepine and carisoprodol, known as a “trinity.”
The Justice Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General jointly announced the settlement Monday. According to the feds, the settlement amount will jump another $50 million in the event Walgreens is sold, merged or transferred prior to 2032.
What the government alleges:
The federal complaint alleged Walgreens pharmacists filled these opioid prescriptions despite “clear red flags” and a high likelihood that the prescriptions were invalid because they lacked a legitimate medical purpose or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice.
Walgreens also allegedly pressured pharmacists to quickly fill those prescriptions without first confirming that each prescription was lawful, according to the complaint, while company compliance officials allegedly ignored “substantial evidence” that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions.
More context:
Through the agreement, the feds agreed to dismiss their complaint against Walgreens, which continues to deny the government’s allegations while noting the settlement is not an admission of liability on the company’s behalf. Walgreens in 2022 agreed to pay around $5 billion to settle multiple other opioid-related lawsuits.
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A portrait of Pope Francis is displayed for the people to offer their respects, following the announcement of his death, during a multi-faith assembly at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Piyush Nagpal / AP Photo)
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Pope Francis died Monday after making his last public appearance to bless thousands for Easter Sunday. He was the first Latin American and Jesuit pontiff, known as a humble change agent who often clashed with traditional Catholics.
Roman Catholic leaders are now reflecting on his 12 years in the papacy and the future of the church. Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence Sullivan of the Archdiocese of Chicago said although there is sadness and sorrow, the church is thankful for the pope’s guidance. “We’re certainly going to mourn the loss of a truly wonderful leader, someone who was a great example, who lived their faith in word and action,” Sullivan said. “But it’s also a time to really be grateful for his phenomenal leadership.”
Michael Murphy, the director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago, echoed that sentiment, calling Francis a “listening pastor.” “It doesn’t mean you’re changing doctrine, but it does mean you’re accompanying,” Murphy said. “You’re being more humane and being more of living out the Gospel. And Pope Francis modeled that better than most anybody I can think of, quite honestly.”
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Back in the Day: April 22, 2015 - Art Institute of Chicago Announces $400 Million Art Donation
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On this day, 10 years ago, the Art Institute of Chicago announced its largest-ever gift courtesy of local philanthropists Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson. The two donated a major private contemporary art collection with an estimated value of around $400 million that included pivotal works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Cy Twombly, Roy Lichtenstein, Cindy Sherman and many more. These 42 pieces bolstered the Institute’s pop art collection and Douglas Druick, the museum’s president and
director, called the donation “one of the landmark gifts in our 136-year history” and “a great gift to the city of Chicago.” As part of the agreement with Edlis and Neeson, the museum and gallery agreed to display the works for the next 50 years. You can visit them at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations
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Every Tuesday, WTTW News staffers highlight their favorite things about Chicago. Here’s reporter Heather Cherone on Ardmore (Osterman) Beach.
Heather Cherone: Every Chicagoan has their favorite beach, and I’m no different.
Between mid-May, with any luck, and late September, if we’re extremely lucky, there are always at least a few perfect beach days meant to be seized and savored.
A native of Edgewater, I was lucky enough to grow up just steps from Lake Michigan and what was then Ardmore Beach. Far enough north that it didn’t attract many tourists, it was the perfect destination for someone like me, who was always on the hunt for the perfect place to read or a place to spend some time away from the prying eyes of my parents.
Even the way it was created is uniquely Chicago, carved out of the lake by extending the landfill that created much of Lincoln Park in the 1950s. The beach at the tip of the park was finally completed in 1958, just a few years after former Mayor Richard J. Daley seized power.
Ardmore Beach is also the place where I met a member of the Chicago City Council for the very first time, firing my imagination about what was possible for a woman interested in politics. A long time Edgewater block club president, Kathy Osterman beat 10 other candidates to represent the 48th Ward in 1987.
Osterman served on the City Council for only two years before being diagnosed with the cancer that would kill her in 1992, but advocated for the rights of LGTBQ+ Chicagoans and demanded that city officials do more to protect the lakefront and the beach I had grown to love.
Ardmore Beach was renamed Osterman Beach in 1993, and became one of the few Chicago parks to be named in honor of prominent women.
It’s still my favorite place to be during Chicago’s too-short summer, which demands to be savored.
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The trees are blooming, and the city is getting green again. What's your favorite thing about
spring in Chicago?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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