Invoices and receipts from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration has raised new questions about extravagant spending in the face of a nearly billion-dollar city budget shortfall.
Documents uncovered by local news station NBC 5 revealed that amid a fiscal crisis, the city spent more than $80,000 to renovate an office at the Chicago Cultural Center for first lady Stacie Johnson.
“Invoices and receipts obtained by NBC 5 Investigates through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests show that work order requests began in February and continued through August of this year for the renovation and re-decoration of Room 306 at the Chicago Cultural Center,” he added. the report stated.
According to an invoice issued by the city's Department of Fleet and Facilities Management, also known as 2FM, city-employed electricians, carpenters and painters were hired to do the work, according to NBC 5. The workers put in more than 350 hours of work at a cost of more than $25,000.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's office is facing scrutiny after the city spent $80,000 to renovate First Lady Johnson's office. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Another invoice shows the city paid more than $43,000 for furniture, including a $2,200 office chair and a $4,400 desk labeled “First Lady's Desk.” According to the outlet, the city spent another $4,600 on an employee desk and more than $8,300 on two club chairs.
According to NBC 5, the invoice was dated August 13 and had a due date of September 12.
Mayor Johnson's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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Under Johnson, Chicago will face a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion in 2025. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images)
Confronted with invoices and asked to defend city expenses, Johnson told NBC 5, “So the Cultural Center has always been a location for dignitaries; every first lady had an office there. Renovations in my office or any other office are standard procedure. Our commitment to investing in people remains to invest in people.”
The mayor deflected further questions about the optics of overspending at a time when his administration is considering laying off city workers to cut costs.
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Johnson was elected in 2023 as the favored candidate of the left, which favors increased spending on city services. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“Buying a desk won't change the financial damage that has been going on for a very long time. So we are asking – and I say this with respect – we are asking much deeper questions. We're asking questions about how we can make sure that the structural damage that has occurred over the decades – we're redirecting rivers, if you will, to make sure we get to places where there is dry land. And that's what we do. “he said.
When NBC 5 pressed the issue, Johnson criticized the network's questions. “So I've been mayor for 17 months and you have a question, what do I think about optics? Just go back and review the tape. If I were to allow my leadership to be based on someone else's opinion of me, I would be abandoning my responsibilities. I never question my position on investing in people. I don't do it for the optics. I'm doing this to change lives.
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The mayor said he is more focused on hiring young people for summer jobs, building affordable housing and providing counselors and social workers in schools, as well as investing on Chicago's South and West Sides.
However, Johnson still has not presented a plan to close the city's projected $982 million budget gap.
