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29 councilors call meeting to vote against $300 million property tax hike

Posted on by Pranco
29 councilors call meeting to vote against 0 million property tax hike

DOWNTOWN — More than half of the Chicago City Council is gearing up to reject Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $300 million tax hike proposal — which would be a major defeat for his proposed 2025 budget.

Twenty-nine councilors signed a letter calling for a special City Council meeting Wednesday to force an early vote on Johnson’s proposed property tax increase just a week after Johnson released his proposed budget.

A vote to reject the tax increase would force the mayor’s administration to come up with an alternative to balance Johnson’s proposed $17.3 billion budget. By law, the city has until December 31 to approve the budget.

“It is time to reject the property tax increase as soon as possible so we can negotiate a real budget that actually needs to be passed before the end of 2024,” said Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) wrote in a social media post Thursday evening announcing the special meeting.

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning.

Faced with a $1 billion budget gap, Johnson backtracked on a campaign promise not to raise property taxes during his first term. Announcing the $300 million property tax increase during his budget speech last week, Johnson said he faced a difficult decision between massive layoffs of city workers and the tax increase.

The increase will translate into an estimated increase of 4.8 percent “on average” for property owners based on 2023 estimated values. according to the mayor’s office.

The proposed property tax increase was met with immediate outrage from the mayor’s critics and some of his closest allies.

“As commercial property values ​​fall, residential taxes will naturally rise – and landlords will pass those higher costs on to tenants. Now is not the time to cut another $300 million in property taxes,” said Ald. Bill Conway (34th) wrote on X.

Mayor Brandon Johnson will deliver his 2025 budget speech during a City Council meeting on October 30, 2024. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Other frequent critics who signed the letter include Alds. Brian Hopkins (2nd), Anthony Beale (9th), Raymond Lopez (15th) and Felix Cardona (31st).

The letter also included some of the borough’s more progressive aldermen, including Alds. Matt Martin (47th), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th), members of the council’s Democratic Socialist caucus.

Mayor Ally Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), although not included in the letter, previously told reporters he would vote “no” on any property tax increase. Instead, the Pilsen councilor wants the mayor’s administration to reconsider making a $272 million early retirement payment, something Johnson’s finance team says is necessary. Sigcho-Lopez has also called for an “audit” of police spending and vacancies.

Other possible untapped sources of income include reintroducing the corporate head tax, which was phased out by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2014, and adjusting the city’s jet fuel tax to bring it in line with inflation – two issues Johnson also campaigned for, although he has yet to follow through on either.

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