Chicago City Council strikes down mayor's proposed tax hike
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
In a special meeting Thursday, Chicago's City Council voted unanimously to remove the mayor's proposed $300 million property tax increase from the 2025 budget plan.
Why it matters: The removal of the tax hike will force Mayor Brandon Johnson to make hard decisions on other ways to generate more revenue or where to make cuts to city services.
- The hike would have boosted taxes by 4.8% — raising them, for example, by $318 on a $350,000 Chicago home.
Reality check: This move does not mean the new budget won't have a tax increase. Instead, it means the mayor's office and City Council will negotiate on a litany of revenue ideas and cost-cutting measures that could still affect Chicago taxpayers.
- The $300 million property tax increase was just one part of the mayor's plan to cover the nearly $1 billion deficit in the 2025 budget.
The intrigue: This public council vote was rare, as the full council voted only on the tax hike, instead of voting on the whole budget.
State of play: The mayor's allies say the meeting was just a political stunt to make the mayor look bad, while several alders have complained that Johnson, unlike previous mayors, has shut them out of budget talks.
- The squabbles and infighting between the mayor and the council led veteran Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) to remark: "I've never seen it this bad."
- Meanwhile, the mayor recently called himself "the most collaborative mayor" in Chicago's history.
Between the lines: Other parts of the 2025 plan are falling under scrutiny.
- In a letter to the City of Chicago, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul wrote that if Johnson drastically cuts back the Chicago Police Department's Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, the mayor will be in defiance of a court order and will be held in contempt.
- That office is part of CPD's efforts to reform its policies after a 2018 U.S. Department of Justice investigation into civil rights violations led to a federal court mandating police reform.
The bottom line: The dysfunction at City Hall continues as the mayor and City Council continue their chaotic relationship, with the clock ticking to find solutions for a massive budget hole.
What's next: The budget has to be approved by Dec. 31.