NOTE: NBC Chicago will offer a live stream of Johnson's budget address beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will deliver his highly anticipated 2025 budget address during a City Council meeting Wednesday morning as the city faces a nearly $1 billion shortfall.
The address will take place beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to a press release from Johnson's office. NBC Chicago will stream the address live in the player above, on the NBC Chicago News streaming channel and live on NBC 5. It will also be streamed live on the NBC Chicago YouTube channel.
The address is expected to include a proposal for a property tax hike -- a plan that Johnson steadfastly promised against during his run for office.
Details around the proposal remain to be seen, and its unclear if Johnson will be able to garner enough support to push a measure through.
In order for a proposal to pass, Johnson needs 26 votes by Dec. 31. As of Wednesday, 14 alderman signed onto a letter to Johnson yesterday, sharing their community's demands and concerns and saying they would not support a budget that includes a tax hike.
"We cannot support a budget that includes a property tax increase," the letter read in part. "Period. The recently released poll shows that 90% of Chicagoans oppose increasing property taxes as an action the city could
take to raise revenue. Of those 90% of residents, 79% strongly oppose raising property taxes. This is a non-starter for us and our constituents."
The letter also supported a renewed ShotSpotter contract, finalizing a a contract for Chicago firefighters and keeping the police budget in tact.
The Civic Federation, a non-partisan government research group, suggested the city look at other alternatives -- like layoffs, furloughs, eliminating job vacancies or raising trash collection fees -- before a property tax hike.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
While Johnson did announce a hiring freeze last month, labor unions, which helped get Johnson elected, have pushed back against extensive cutbacks.
According to estimates, the city’s projected budget deficit for FY 2024 will clock in at approximately $222.9 million, which is still below previous estimates from earlier in the fiscal year.
With the expiration of COVID assistance and other factors taken into account, the budget deficit for FY 2025 is estimated to be $982.4 million, according to city Budget Director Annette Guzman’s office.
The Chicago City Council still needs to vote on a new budget for the coming fiscal year, but Johnson has told reporters he was willing to consider a variety of options to help close the gap.
According to the city, budget hearings are set to begin next week.
