A Chicago economics professor has questions about the potential effectiveness of the city’s new budget restrictions. City Budget Director Annette Guzman outlined the changes this week, after Mayor Brandon Johnson projected a budget deficit of nearly a billion dollars in 2025. Guzman said a citywide hiring freeze would take effect immediately. Frances Lee is an economics professor at Loyola University of Chicago. Lee said economists have a saying when it comes to hiring. “We can achieve full employment if we hire half of the population to dig a hole and the other half to fill it. If we are eliminating these kinds of government jobs, then, yes, by all means do the hiring freeze,” Lee said. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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