What began as a proposed $300 million property tax hike in Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget has been removed entirely as the full City Council is set to vote Monday on the latest proposal.
Though property taxes were seen as the most significant hurdle in getting Johnson's budget to pass, the current proposal is not a guarantee despite the changes.
While this proposal won't enact any new property taxes, alderman said it does utilize $40 million in financing.
"When you’re talking about borrowing $40 million, in my opinion, that’s not responsible. All we’re doing is delaying the inevitable of rightsizing government," 36th Ward Ald. Gilbert Villegas said.
Ald. Andre Vasquez of the 40th Ward disputed that the $40 million is a loan.
Just because misinformation isn’t helpful, there is NO “borrowing of $40M” in this latest proposal. It is more akin to skipping a payment of $40M that’s already owed to bring down the property tax.
— Ald. Andre Vasquez (@Andrefor40th) December 16, 2024
A group of 15 City Council members, including Villegas and other frequent Johnson critics, demanded an additional $823.7 million in spending reductions, headlined by the elimination of the Office of Vice Mayor and the $175 million 2025 CTU non-teacher pension payment.
Local
"We highlighted broad financial increases across multiple departments
ripe for reductions; however, you have routinely mischaracterized our efforts as
attempts to eliminate police officers and fire fighters, then garbage men and tree
trimmers, and lately homeless support and youth employment programs. Our focus
has been on the midlevel administrative bloat within the bureaucracy, the supervisor
and administrative jobs that create supervisory/employee ratios nearly 1:3," the letter read in part.
The letter also calls for the following:
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- Reconnection with SoundThinking for gunshot detection technology until a
successor provider is awarded. - Authorization to enter into an agreement for the acquisition & investment into a
new 008 Police District - Authorization to enter into an agreement for the acquisition & investment into a
new 012 Satellite Police District - Finalized public safety contracts with Firefighters Local 2 and Police Sergeants as well as the New Retention Bonus, COVID Discipline Board, and VRI Overtime
settlements.
While the group of City Council members is pushing for a wide expansion of cuts, the latest proposal does include some reductions, which Johnson was long-resistant to.
The cuts include trimming 10 positions in the mayor's office and other reductions to middle management while aiming to improve efficiency in the city's energy and security spending.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, an ally of Johnson, called the proposal "a fair compromise."
"This is the time to pass a responsible budget and get together to talk about solutions for what would be a trump administration that is looking at the city as a target," Sigcho-Lopez said.
City Council is slated to vote on the latest proposal Monday.
