If elected, Rahm Emanuel said he wouldn't wait until 2012 -- the first year he could draft his own budget -- to begin shoring up the city's finances.
Speaking at Threadless, the successful and popular West Side T-shirt company, Emanuel said he would initiate changes to Mayor Richard Daley's final budget to realize $75 million worth of savings.
"I will order a government-wide spending freeze and to ask every department head to review all operations and produce a plan for their dept within 60 days to cut city spending by at least $75 million," said Emanuel.
But the city's budget deficit is expected to range between $500 and $600 million. Emanuel offered few specific details, instead pointing to ideas illustrated on his website, on how he would manage that.
He said healthcare procurement, managing the city's car fleet and changing the way charities and non profits are billed for water are all first steps.
"The real change will happen when we rethink city government... to ask the hard questions about what government should be doing, and to deliver those services as efficiently as we can," he said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Emanuel was at Threadless to talk about his plans to create jobs and promote business development in the city.
