CHICAGO— Mayor Brandon Johnson marked three years in office, highlighting progress toward building a safer, more affordable, and more equitable Chicago for working families across every neighborhood.
The following release highlights achievements across eight core areas: Building Safer Communities Across Chicago, Building an Affordable Chicago for All Investing in a Healthier Chicago, Protecting Chicago, Building Better Together, Investing in Our Future, The Greatest City in the World and Of the People, For the People.
“Over the last three years, we have worked to build a safer, stronger and more affordable Chicago for working families in every neighborhood across our city” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “We’ve made progress by reducing violent crime, expanding affordable housing, investing in our schools and young people, and strengthening public health and mental health services while protecting the rights and dignity of Chicagoans in the face of a vitriolic and hostile federal administration.
Every part of this work reflects a simple commitment: that every Chicagoan deserves opportunity, dignity, and a city government that shows up for them.”
BUILDING SAFER COMMUNITIES ACROSS CHICAGO
Driving down violent crime and investing in the resources needed to forge both immediate and long-term community safety continues to be the primary focus of Mayor Johnson’s administration.
Through the Mayor’sPeople’s Plan for Community Safety, the Johnson administration has emphasized Constitutional policing practices which foster community trust while investing in youth opportunity, mental health care, wellness resources, and thorough community engagement.
Over Mayor Johnson’s three years in office, shootings, homicides, robberies, and violent crime have all declined significantly from their pandemic-era peaks.
Chicago recorded its fewest homicides since 1965 while shootings have continued to fall as CPD works to remove illegal guns from the streets of Chicago.
The Johnson administration secured a major victory in its fight to reign in the proliferation of illegal firearms, leading a successful legal effort to pressure Glock Inc. to discontinue the manufacture and sale of pistol models which were easily convertible to submachine weapons with “Glock Switches.”
These downward trend come amidst the administration’s efforts to address the root causes of crime and violence in communities that have endured decades of disinvestment through community activations, including the Take Back the Block series which directs the full force of government to deliberately send resources to historically neglected areas and host safe space activations with community members.
In large part, the most substantial decreases in violent crime have been concentrated in the same community areas which have historically experienced the greatest number of homicides and shootings.
Following Mayor Johnson’s launch of a Robbery Task Force in 2023, increased coordination between departments contributed to a precipitous decline in both robberies and vehicular hijackings—36.1% and 50% in 2025, respectively.
Robberies have continued to decline in the first four months of 2026, falling 27.6% compared to the same period in 2025.
Mayor Johnson also exceeded his commitment to hire 200 detectives, helping the Chicago Police Department modernize investigative operations.
CPD reached 77% homicide clearance rate—its highest level in decades.
The administration has continued advancing constitutional policing and accountability reforms aimed at rebuilding community trust, improving public safety outcomes and reducing costs while better protecting taxpayer dollars from misconduct and settlement expenses.
Under the Johnson administration, more than $100 million has been invested in Community Violence Intervention organizations in partnership with the Government Alliance for Safe Communities, strengthening collaboration between peacekeepers and law enforcement while helping drive down shootings in neighborhoods most impacted by violence.
In 2024, the City established its first-ever Mayor’s Office of Reentry, funded through cannabis tax revenue, the City expanded comprehensive support for returning residents through housing, workforce development, mental health care, and wraparound services.
The administration also launched new initiatives to address gender-based violence, including investments in more comprehensive and responsive we survivor support and the creation of a transfemicide task force.
BUILDING AN AFFORDABLE CHICAGO FOR ALL
As part of its effort to create a safer, more affordable city, Mayor Johnson has advanced one of the most ambitious housing and affordability agendas in modern Chicago history.
Through historic initiatives including the Mayor’s $1.25B Housing and Economic Development Bond, the launch of the groundbreaking Green Social Housing program, and the investment in neighborhood-scale homes through the Missing Middle infill housing program, the Johnson administration is reshaping and advancing housing production while directing long-needed investment to communities on the South and West Sides of our city.
The Mayor’s first-of-its-kind Green Social Housing initiative established a City-backed nonprofit developer that operates a $135 million revolving loan fund to finance permanently affordable, and mixed-income housing.
The fund represents the largest municipal social housing program operating anywhere in the country, with initial developments expected to break ground later this year.
Chicago’s 2025 Qualified Allocation Plan directs more than $300 million into 15 developments citywide, producing or preserving 1,223 housing units, including 1,164 affordable units.
These projects represent approximately $711 million in total investment and leverage a mix of City funding, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and private capital to expand affordable housing options, including Equitable Transit-Oriented Developments and Chicago Housing Authority partnerships.
At the neighborhood scale, the Missing Middle infill housing strategy is delivering more than 750 new homes across North Lawndale, McKinley Park, Garfield Park, Chatham, South Chicago, Morgan Park, and more.
The HED Bond funded program provides up to $150,000 in City support per unit in addition to $1 lot transfers, advancing two-, three-, and four-flat developments led by minority-owned and community-based affordable housing developers.
The administration has also implemented major regulatory reforms to expand housing supply and reduce development costs.
The citywide expansion of Additional Dwelling Unit construction by right allows basement, attic, and coach house conversions across zoning districts, with affordability requirements for every second unit and grants for low- and moderate-income homeowners.
Minimum parking requirement reform has eliminated or reduced minimum requirements near transit, including up to 100 percent reductions in transit-served areas, freeing space for additional housing while lowering construction costs.
The Johnson administration has advanced more than 100 developmental reforms through Mayor Johnson’s Cut the Tape initiative, streamlining housing and commercial development processes to advance projects across Chicago, with nearly all recommendations complete or underway as of 2026.
In the first year of this administration, the initiative:
Reduced valuation timelines for City-owned parcels from six months to one month;
Reduced right-of-entry timelines for purchasers of City land from months to days;
Reduced Zoning Board of Appeals meeting times by more than 70%;
Reduced hearing wait times for Zoning Board of Appeals cases by a full month;
Removed longstanding barriers that once caused ground-floor commercial to residential conversation to take 9-12 months, allowing eligible proposals to now be approved in as little as three weeks;
Reduced Type 1 zoning application fees by $500 per request.
Through LaSalle Street Reimagined, the City is converting underutilized downtown office buildings into more than 1,000 apartments, including at least 319 affordable units, supported by $151.2 million in TIF investment.
These projects are restoring residential density in the Loop while activating long-vacant commercial corridors.
Acting proactively to allow for future development, the Johnson administration has upzoned over 5,000 properties along major commercial corridors on the South, West, and North Sides in order to facilitate new denser projects and additional housing construction.
Alongside production and reform, the administration advanced targeted anti-displacement measures, including the Jackson Park Housing Affordability Pilot.
The program spans 30 City-owned lots and includes Right-to-Return preferences for residents displaced since 2015, property tax relief grants for long-term homeowners, vacant property rehabilitation support, and expanded fair notice requirements for lease non-renewals.
Strengthening economic security and support for working families across Chicago, the administration expanded workplace protections through the Paid Leave and Safe Leave Ordinance, which guarantees up to 40 hours of paid leave and 40 hours of paid sick leave annually.
These protections ensure workers can address health, family, and personal needs without losing income.
The administration has also prioritized labor stability through close partnership with organized labor, securing multiple collective bargaining agreements that improve wages, improve working conditions, and support frontline workers while avoiding major work stoppages and maintaining continuity of City services.
In addition, the administration has supported raising the subminimum wage for tipped workers through One Fair Wage, advancing pay equity and increasing earnings, particularly for Black and Latina women in tipped industries.
INVESTING IN A HEALTHIER CHICAGO
As part of Mayor Johnson’s commitment to creating a healthier city for all, the administration has expanded access to mental health care, overdose prevention services, and housing support across communities.
Most recently, through the citywide expansion Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement program, Mayor Johnson strengthened and expanded the city’s non-police mental health emergency response, connecting residents in every neighborhood with behavioral health clinicians and paramedics.
Upon taking office, Mayor Johnson reversed the legacy of disinvestment in the City’s public mental health infrastructure by reopening and expanded public mental health services at three sites—The Roseland East 115th Street Health Hub, the Pilsen South Ashland Health Hub, and the Legler Public Library Branch—while increasing funding support for community-based behavioral health providers.
The administration’s public health investments contributed to a 20% reduction in opioid overdose deaths and emergency responses citywide in 2025 compared to the same time period in 2024, with particularly strong progress in communities on the South and West sides.
Chicago also recorded historic improvements in life expectancy, including major reductions in racial disparities across health outcomes.
Life expectancy in Chicago reached an all-time high of 79.5 years, establishing a new baseline for the city and reflecting sustained progress in population health.
At the same time, the racial life expectancy gap between Black Chicagoans and other residents narrowed to 9.4 years, the first time it has fallen below 10 years since 2020 and a reduction from a peak of 12.7 years in 2021.
The gap decreased by 1.2 years from 2023, with Black Chicagoans experiencing a 2.1% increase in life expectancy, or approximately 1.5 years, the largest increase among all groups.
In 2023, Mayor Johnson established Chicago’s first-ever Chief Homelessness Officer and released the City’s Five-Year Blueprint to End Homelessness.
Through the One System Initiative, the City transformed emergency shelters into permanent shelters expanding legacy shelter capacity, modernized shelter infrastructure by adding more non-congregate configurations, and strengthened coordination between City, County, and State partners to provide more dignified, high-quality shelter and better support unhoused residents.
The administration also fulfilled Mayor Johnson’s pledge to restore and fully fund the Department of Environment, advancing environmental justice initiatives while equipping the dedicated department to safeguarding public health and confront inequities in communities which have disproportionately borne the impacts of pollution and environmental burdens.
PROTECTING CHICAGO FROM FEDERAL OVERREACH
In response to unprecedented executive overreach, massive cuts to essential federal programs hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans rely on, and the Trump administration’s vitriolic attacks on immigrant communities, Mayor Johnson launched the Protecting Chicago initiative.
The initiative coordinates City departments and community partners to defend civil liberties, protect access to public services, and safeguard all Chicagoans from harmful federal actions while ensuring Chicago remains a welcoming city in the face of federal actions that undermine local priorities and strain working families.
In response to the Trump administration’s militarized immigration enforcement campaign, the Johnson administration expanded Know Your Rights outreach, built out family preparedness resources, and coordinated legal support services for immigrant families.
Mayor Johnson built upon these efforts with additional executive orders establishing ICE-Free Zones, protecting the First Amendment right to peacefully assemble, responding to the federal SNAP “benefits cliff” with microgrants, and directing the Chicago Police Department to document alleged misconduct by federal immigration agents operating in Chicago for investigation by appropriate entities.
Specifically earlier this year, Mayor Johnson signed the “ICE On Notice” executive order, making Chicago the first city in the nation to establish a formal framework directing local law enforcement to document alleged violations of local or state law by federal immigration agents, preserve evidence including body-camera footage, and refer felony matters for potential prosecution.
Cities throughout the country have embraced Mayor Johnson’splaybookfor pushing back against the Trump administration.
Officials from Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, New York, and more in addition to cities throughout Illinois have worked collaboratively with the administration to implement many of the measures pioneered by Mayor Johnson while looking to Chicago as a model for responding federal immigration enforcement.
Approximately 10% of the U.S. population, representing more than 30 municipalities, is now under executive orders or local laws modeled on Chicago’s response to the Trump administration's overreach.
Defending Chicago’s values, the City’s Law Department filed more than 40 legal actions against the Trump administration, including 10lawsuitschallengingthe Trump administration and more than 30 amicus briefs rebuking harmful federal action.
These legal actions pushed back against the withholding of SNAP benefits, attempts to end birthright citizenship and DEI programs, restrictions on transgender rights, and more.
Mayor Johnson responded immediately to the Trump administration’s threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, making it clear our communities need resources and investment—not militarization.
In December 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in the City's favor, blocking the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard in Chicago.
BUILDING BETTER TOGETHER
By prioritizing infrastructure improvements that strengthen neighborhoods, improve mobility, and prepare Chicago for the future, Mayor Johnson is advancing a long-term effort to modernize core city systems and deliver equitable investment across every community.
Through the Build Better Together initiative, the Johnson administration resurfaced more than 170 miles of streets and alleys in 2025, filled over 151,000 potholes in 2026, repaired thousands of sidewalks, modernized lighting on hundreds of blocks, and installed more than 6,000 ADA curb ramps citywide.
The administration is also leading the nation’s largest lead service line replacement effort, replacing approximately 400,000 lines to end disparities in access to drinking water and public health.
Mayor Johnson is committed to making streets safer and increasing Chicago’s overall walkability through the administration’s historic Complete Streets investments.
Since Mayor Johnson the City has added 100 new miles of bikeways, nearly 100 pedestrian refuge islands, and more than 740 curb extensions.
These investments have driven measurable street safety gains and progress towards achieving Vision Zero, with 15 wards experiencing zero traffic fatalities in 2025.
Major transit and aviation investments are reshaping regional mobility while enhancing Chicago’s status as a nationwide hub for connectivity.
At O'Hare International Airport, the $8.2 billion ORD Next program is underway, with more than $2 billion in active construction supporting thousands of jobs across the region.
At Midway International Airport, the City also invested more than $47 million in runway improvements in 2025 to strengthen operations and reliability.
The next phase of the O’Hare 21 Capital Improvement Program, ORD Next includes the $1.3 billion Concourse D project which will add 19 flexible gates, expanded lounge and commercial space, and enhanced passenger amenities aimed at improving capacity, connectivity, operational efficiency, and the overall travel experience for the millions of passengers who pass through O’Hare each year.
Mayor Johnson made good on a promise made to Far South Side residents more than six decades ago by securing the federal funding necessary to advance the Red Line Extension, add 5.6 miles of rail and four new fully accessible stations on the Far South Side.
Mayor Johnson celebrated the grand opening of four new stations along one of CTA’s busiest corridor on the Far North Side following the completion of phase 2 of the Red and Purple Modernization project.
At the same time, Chicago is building climate resilience through expanded tree planting, green stormwater infrastructure, flood mitigation, and renewable energy investments.
The City is on track to meet the Our Roots Chicago program’s goal to plant 75,000 new trees throughout the city later this season.
INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE
Efforts to invest in Chicago’s future under Mayor Johnson have focused on strengthening neighborhood schools, increasing support for educators, expanding youth employment opportunities, and investing in public education from early childhood through higher education.
The number of Sustainable Community Schools has nearly doubled under this administration, bringing wraparound services to additional school communities throughout the City.
For the first time in 15 years, Mayor Johnson secured a historic contract for CPS teachers while avoiding a strike.
The agreement expanded resources for students and families, including librarians, nurses, social workers, smaller class sizes, and expanded after-school programming.
Mayor Johnson delivered the largest Tax Increment Financing surplus in Chicago’s history—more than $1 billion—a historic investment to stabilize the City’s financial footing amid federal uncertainty.
This record-breaking surplus was allocated to Chicago Public Schools, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Park District, and Chicago Public Library, to support operations and protect essential educational, youth and community services at a time when federal funding is being reduced or withheld under the Trump administration.
Mayor Johnson has worked closely with City Colleges of Chicago to improve enrollment and programming at CCC.
Overall enrollment has increased from FY23 to FY25 by 14.9%.
Among credit enrollment, Black male enrollment has seen the most dramatic increase at 23.1%, followed by Black women at 19.3% and Latino men at 17.3%.
Youth employment remains a cornerstone of the administration’s violence prevention and economic opportunity strategy.
Through the Mayor’s rebranded Chicago Youth Works program, nearly 10만 young Chicagoans have benefited from paid employment opportunities over the past three years.
In 2025 alone, young people collectively earned more than $30 million in wages while gaining leadership development and workforce experience.
In total, 31,199 Chicagoans between the ages of 14 and 24 were hired through the program in summer 2025—a 55.6% increase since Mayor Johnson took office.
Increased youth employment has coincided with declines in violence, with the community areas where the greatest number of youth were hired experiencing historic declines in violence during summer 2025.
Understanding the importance of youth engagement and providing safe spaces for young Chicagoans, the Johnson administration has expanded year-round youth programming through the Chicago Youth Service Corps and My CHI.
My Future, in addition to launching youth peacekeeping initiatives and community-based safe spaces programming in neighborhoods facing historic disinvestment.
These efforts elevate youth leadership and engage young people in shaping safer, stronger communities for their peers.
THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD
Under Mayor Johnson, Chicago has continued to strengthen its position as a global hub for business, tourism, culture, and innovation.
Chicago remained the No. 1 city in the nation for corporate relocation and expansion while attracting billions in investment through projects like the Illinois Quantum, Bally’s Casino, and Microelectronics Park, the 1901 Project, and The 78 development.
Under Mayor Johnson’s watch tourism and hospitality has reached record highs, with Chicago seeing more hotel bookings during summer 2025 than any year in history.
The growth has been driven as people from across the globe have traveled to Chicago for marquee events including Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago, Sueños, the Premier League Summer Series, the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, Riot Fest, the Chicago Marathon, the 61st Chicago International Film Festival and Pride festivities.
Summer 2025 summer surpassed the previous record set in 2019 and saw a 4.3% gain in revenue from 2024 Chicago broke records over Memorial Day weekend when 46,450 hotel rooms were filled Saturday, May 17—an all-time single day Chicago record.
The historic holiday weekend saw $84.7 million in hotel revenue and generated $14.7 million in hotel taxes.
The City has also seen continued investment in Chicago’s arts and culture ecosystem through grants, festivals, neighborhood programming, and support for local theaters, artists, and musicians.
OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE
Mayor Johnson has centered community engagement and equity throughout every aspect of City government.
The Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement has worked to expand outreach efforts across all 77 community areas by hosting budget roundtables, faith-based engagement events and neighborhood conversations designed to strengthen transparency, accessibility and co-governance between City Hall and Chicagoans.
The Johnon administration also launched Chicago's first ever Co-Governance Framework in partnership with the Office of Equity and Racial Justice, Chicago United for Equity, and a cross-sector Co-Governance steering committee.
The framework was shaped through the 18 community conversations involving more than 200 participants from 57 neighborhoods, ensuring residents directly informed how the City approaches shared decision-making and public accountability.
This initiative reflects Mayor Johnsons broader vision to fundamentally transform how government works with communities—particularly those most impacted by racial, health, and economic inequities, by moving beyond traditional engagement and toward true partnership in shaping Chicago’s future.
The administration created Chicago’s first Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs position, launched the Reparations Task Force, and continued advancing policies focused on racial equity, inclusion, and accessibility across City services.