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Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman Abruptly Resigns on Monday, August 3, 2026

Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman resigned saying she made the personal decision to step away in order to care for her family and her aging mother.

Her sudden departure is the second high-profile exit from Mayor Brandon Johnson's senior financial leadership team in less than a week, following the resignation of Acting Chief Financial Officer Steven Mahr.

Deputy Budget Director Jonathan Ernst will immediately serve as acting budget director.

During a Tuesday press conference, Mayor Brandon Johnson defended the stability of his administration, saying that "one person does not run the operation" and emphasizing that city operations will continue uninterrupted.

Several aldermen have pointed to ongoing friction within the budget office, saying Guzman struggled to work effectively with other key fiscal departments.

The leadership shakeup comes less than two months before Mayor Johnson is expected to present Chicago's Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

The incoming financial leadership team faces significant fiscal challenges, including:

• Projected $1.16 billion budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2027

• $90 million shortfall in the current 2026 budget

Growing concerns from credit rating agencies as Chicago prepares for an upcoming investor conference, with the city's bonds remaining just above junk status.

Guzman's resignation adds to a growing list of senior departures from the Johnson administration. Recent exits have also included the city's health commissioner, the deputy mayor for community safety, and the police superintendent.

Sources ... Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, WTTW News, WGN-TV, CBS News Chicago, ABC7 Chicago, and Crain's Chicago Business

Corruption ... Illinois Attorney General says police do not have to provide information to the media under FOIA requests.

Transparency for thee, but not for the press?

Reporter’s email literally said FOIA and asked for number of victims, their conditions, and status of the scene/investigation.

AG’s response:

“Although your email mentioned FOIA, it was a press inquiry… rather than a request to obtain copies of public records.”

So they closed the file.

Media doesn’t get answers under FOIA if the AG decides it was just a “press inquiry.”

DOC Hidden Gun Philip Robinson ... On July 29, at approximately 9:36 a.m., Cook County Sheriff’s Office correctional staff recovered a loaded firearm from an incoming individual in custody after it was detected during routine intake screening.

The firearm a 9mm Ta**us loaded with 13 rounds including one in the chamber was safely recovered before it could enter the secure facility.

23-year-old Philip Robinson now faces additional felony weapons charges, in addition to the misdemeanor charges that originally brought him into custody.

As a reminder, every person entering the Cook County Jail is screened and thoroughly searched.

Attempts to bring weapons or other contraband into the facility will be detected and charges will be pursued.

Nice job by our correctional staff catching it upon intake.

The public is reminded that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Myspace’s owners confirmed they still plan to relaunch the site that once dominated the social spheres of the 2000s.

By Hayley Santaflorentina
Jul 31, 2026 10:57 AMTags

More than 20 years since Myspace launched, making and breaking friendships and allowing users to show off their music taste, the site’s owners Chris Vanderhook and Tim Vanderhook confirmed they’re planning to relaunch the platform.

“We still own Myspace,” Tim told Tommy Avallone’s new documentary, Myspace, according to People. “We are stewards of the Myspace brand at this point, and we are going to relaunch Myspace. We’re just waiting for the right time to do it. And if that one doesn’t work, we’ll do it again.”

After all, Myspace never technically disappeared, and over the years many different owners have tried to revamp and relaunch the platform to its former glory—including Chris and Tim.

In fact, when the pair bought Myspace in 2011, they spent two years planning a complete redesign to be largely music-focused, though it failed to pluck at the heartstrings of users.
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“We built an entirely new Myspace,” Chris explained in the doc, while Tim added, “We really tried to modernize it, but it was a different company at that point. It wasn’t the same Myspace.”

No, it was not. As Chris points out in Myspace, the social platform “had been through four other sets of management and CEOs” before he and his brother signed the deal to take over.

“I think that there were a lot of the people who were really just done,” he added, noting that “the minute the deal closed, things just started unraveling. Everything that could go wrong, goes wrong.”

Among the series of unfortunate events was every advertiser cancelling their contracts, allegedly preferring Facebook to Myspace.

As Tim put it, “It became just an onslaught of losses.”

But for those of age in the aughts, Myspace was more than just a social media platform—it was a way of life.

From curating a publicly displayed Top 8 friends list to choosing which song would play when people clicked into your profile, the platform—where everyone was co-founder Tom Anderson’s friend—was wildly popular in a time when the Internet was still finding its footing.

In fact, Adele even credits Myspace with helping launch her career. After her friend Lyndon (whom she affectionately called “Mr. Myspace U.K.”) uploaded a demo of her music to the site, it blew up.

"I was on it from, like, New Years Eve 2004 and it blew up because of Lily Allen and the Arctic Monkeys," Adele told E! News in 2008. "My best friend Jack was in Lily's top friends, Lily was huge, and then I got spotted like that. That was literally it."

SpaceX In "Final Stages" Of Securing New Massive Rocket Launch Site In Louisiana

Several Louisiana media outlets report that Elon Musk's SpaceX is in the "final stages" of securing approximately 130,000 acres on Pecan Island for a massive new spaceport to launch rockets into orbit.

The Times-Picayune reports a source with knowledge about the deal said SpaceX is poised to take control of roughly 130,000 acres at Pecan Island, more specifically, the coastal Vermilion Parish as part of a settlement resolving long-running coastal lawsuits against ExxonMobil. Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to announce the agreement this month.