"Wild" ads target alders and Johnson on budget vote
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A digital ad blasted out this week from non-profit lobby group The Urban Center. Image: The Urban Center
Inflammatory ads are flooding social media following this week's City Council committee vote rejecting Mayor Brandon Johnson's plan to balance the budget with a corporate head tax and new borrowing.
- Some of the most provocative ads portray Johnson as a property tax hiker and progressive caucus co-chair Alderman Andre Vasquez as a President Trump puppet.
Why it matters: The ad battle underscores how personal the head tax issue has become, how political action committees are fueling the fight and how desperately we need fact-checking of social media.
- The campaigns are also fraying ties among city hall progressives.
Zoom in: One digital ad from the Urban Center, a lobbying non-profit run by former UNO charter school CEO Juan Rangel, blames Johnson and allies for recent property tax hikes.
Reality check: The new tax bills were determined by Cook County officials, not Johnson, who has vowed to veto any budget that raises property taxes this year.
Yes, but: Rangel told Axios he defends the accusation based on Johnson's partial control of CPS, whose financial demands contribute to property tax increases.
What they're saying: Vasquez blamed Johnson for the puppet ad against him, calling it "wild business," while questioning the mayor's own progressive bona fides.
- "I'm old enough to remember Garda World tents on toxic land, fences to keep homeless people out of the DNC, spending two years to try to get public dollars to go to a Bears stadium. So we can talk about that progressive stuff all day," Vasquez said.
The irony: Vasquez actually supports some form of head tax, telling BlockClub the business community has to put "skin in the game."
- His big beef is with the mayor's plan to borrow more than $280 million to cover expenses, including police settlements that "pay big banks hundreds of millions of dollars" and leave the next generation with huge debt.
The other side: "Every alderperson in Chicago should be in support of this new budget," said Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, an Atlanta-based PAC that created the puppet ads.
- In a press release this week, BVM announced its "seven-figure" ad campaign to support Johnson's budget on social and streaming services. Still, reps did not answer Axios' questions about the factuality of casting a progressive as a Trump puppet.
Mayor's move: Johnson officials deflected Axios questions about their role in the puppet ads, saying only, "We cannot speak to the motivations behind the groups that are buying ads both in support of the Mayor's proposed budget and against it."
- "The Mayor's focus is on passing a budget that alleviates the tax burden on working families by asking large corporations to pay marginally more in taxes.
What's next: Alders who rejected Johnson's budget need to present an alternate path by early December.
- Expect suggestions for cuts and different fees, some of which the mayor has pledged to veto.
In other words: Buckle up for a long December budget battle, likely with more inflammatory ads.