By Heather Cherone, includes “Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $733 million budget gap in 2022 relies on $385 million in federal relief funds, approximately $298 million in savings and cuts and bets that the city’s economy will improve quickly as the COVID-19 pandemic finally wanes. … Ald. George Cardenas (12th Ward) … said his colleagues’ muted reaction to Lightfoot’s speech was understandable. ‘People were shocked,’ Cardenas said of the spending outlined by the mayor. ‘Their demands are being met. Thank God, obviously, for federal stimulus money.’ …”