Chicago City Council members assailed Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget proposal, which proposes a $300 million property tax increase.
Johnson is under mounting pressure to find alternative revenue sources to address Chicago’s $982 million budget shortfall, amid strong opposition from council members, Crain’s reported.
During the first of 10 Budget Committee hearings, Johnson’s finance team defended the proposed 4 percent property tax hike, claiming the $17.3 billion budget proposal allows for limited options, aside from laying off city workers or cutting essential services.
Budget Director Annette Guzman clarified that the total increase to the property tax levy would actually be $345 million, with $45 million generated by development deliveries in Chicago. The city receives increased revenue every year when properties come online, Guzman told the committee.
Johnson’s proposed property tax increase, which marks a break from his campaign promise to avoid such measures, has been met with skepticism from many council members.
At least 37 of the city’s 50 council members appear unwilling to back the tax hike, said Alderman Matt O’Shea of the 19th Ward. Twenty-six votes are required for the budget’s approval
“Either a lot of those people are being very dishonest, or we have a real problem,” he said. “We need to start having conversations about what costs, what efficiencies we’re going to look at.”
Alderman Pat Dowell, who leads the Finance Committee, asked whether Chicago could reduce its number of managerial positions to improve efficiency.
“I want to see some kind of commitment in this budget to do the analysis that’s necessary to start identifying people or departments that need to be right-sized, because that’s a way to make the structural corrections in the budget that we require,” Dowell said.
The council’s pension obligations have also been brought to the forefront. Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez suggested a potential reduction to a $272 million advance pension payment, a move some argue could ease the tax burden.
Alderman Michael Rodriguez, however, insisted that the pension payment is essential for fiscal responsibility.
The city’s chief financial officer, Jill Jaworski, warned that any reduction could lead to a credit downgrade, which would increase debt service costs by $400 million over five years.
“This is the amount we need just to tread water so we don’t get worse,” she said.
— Andrew Terrell
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