Chicago City Council to Evaluate Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Budget Including $68.5M Property Tax Hike

CHICAGO (WLS) — City Council members are expected to vote this week on the next year’s financial plan.

The new budget now heads to full City Council Wednesday with all the changes made the past several weeks. But a vote isn’t expected until Friday.

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The mayor’s proposed budget narrowly passed through a pair of City Council committees.

It now includes for Chicago homeowners a $68.5 million property tax increase, down from $300 million initially proposed by the mayor.

There are various new fee increases, such as higher weekend parking rates, charges for plastic bags, additional costs on streaming services, and the implementation of a congestion tax on weekend ride shares contributing to the disparity.

Opponents did not mincing words.

42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, “The people deserve much better. I really do hope my colleagues think twice before they vote for this garbage.”

Addressing the challenges of resorting to property taxes, 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin acknowledged, “When you have to go to property taxes, there’s always going to be some contention around those issues. However, the options become fairly limited, and based on our ability to raise revenue, we only can control so much.”

Critics say the mayor, who ruled out city layoffs, failed to identify needed cuts.

The $17.3 billion budget is over $5 billion more than the budget from five years ago.

It needs approval from 26 of the 50 council members and the mayor’s team is working to shore up support this week.

It’s expected to be close on Friday. So close, the mayor could have to cast a tie-breaking vote.