Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters this week that "everything is on table," including the potential layoff of city workers, which Johnson said he hopes to avoid, as the city grapples with how to address a nearly billion-dollar budget shortfall.
But invoices and receipts uncovered by NBC 5 Investigates are raising questions about why during a time of financial crisis did the city spend more than $80,000 redecorating and renovating an office in the Chicago Cultural Center for First Lady Stacie Johnson.
The 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 to renovate and redecorate Room 306 in the Chicago Cultural Center.
An invoice from the city's Fleet and Facility Management department, known as 2FM, show the Johnson administration used city-paid electricians, carpenters and painters to do most of the work, accruing more than 350 hours of labor at a cost of more than $25,000.
One invoice shows the city was billed more than $43,000 for furniture, including a $2,200 high-back executive chair and a $4,400 desk that's referenced on the invoice as "First Lady's Desk." Another $4,600 is listed for what appears to be the desk for a staffer. The same invoice shows more than $8,300 was spent on two club chairs.
The date of the invoice was Aug. 13, with a due date of Sept. 12.
When asked to define the First Lady Johnson's role in his administration and how the city justifies spending $80,000 during a fiscally challenging time, Mayor Johnson said:
"So, the Cultural Center has always been a location for dignitaries; every first lady has had office space there. Renovations for my office or any other office is standard procedure. Our commitment to invest in people is still to invest in people."
When pressed about whether he had any concerns about the optics of the expenses during a time of the city's financial hole, Johnson criticized the questions from NBC 5 Investigates, saying:
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"The purchase of a desk is not going to change the financial structural damage that has been in place for a very long time. So this is why we ask – and I mean this respectfully – we ask far more profound questions than that. We ask how do we make sure that the structural damage that's been created over the course of decades – we reroute the rivers, if you will, to make sure that we get to the places where there is dry land. And that's what we are doing."
When pressed further about the optics of these purchases against the backdrop of a very contentious council meeting, the mayor said: "So I've been mayor for 17 months, and you have a question of how I feel about optics? Just go back on review the tape. If I were to allow my leadership to be based on someone's opinion of me, it would be a derelict of duty. I never question my position to invest in people. I don't do this for optics; I do this to transform lives..."
Johnson went on to say he was more focused on the optics of hiring young people for summer jobs, building affordable housing and ensuring schools have counselors and social workers – and investing in the South and West sides of the city – talking points he has re-iterated before.
While not uncommon for mayoral first ladies to have a role in an administration or office space in the Chicago Cultural Center, a spokeswoman for former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration told NBC 5 Investigates they did not do any major renovations or redecorating to Room 306 during her term in office.
