CHICAGO (CBS) — It took less than a month Tuesday for the city of Chicago to be legally required to approve a new budget — and there was still little consensus in the city council chambers.
There should be a balanced city budget by the end of the year. As of Tuesday, December 2, there was no deal in sight while the December 31 deadline was in effect.
A $60 million increase in property taxes Balancing the budget is now on the table. This is much lower than the $300 million that Mayor Brandon Johnson had originally proposed.
The $60 million increase is also more in line with the rate of inflation. But it won’t be enough to offset the city’s $1 billion budget deficit.
“I understand the noise surrounding my administration,” Mayor Johnson said Monday. “I do it differently.”
Mayor Johnson has called himself “aide-in-chief” and promised to listen to councilors’ suggestions on how to balance next year’s budget.
But some alders There is little consensus at city hall.
“Right now, the way the administration is trying to move forward with new revenue, without any kind of efficiencies, is a non-starter,” said Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th).
The alders emphasized that a solution must be found, but no agreement has yet been reached.
“There are still gaps that still exist, and those gaps need to be closed through budget cuts or new revenues,” Ald. Jason Ervin (28th).
Some of those ideas floated in the City Council — in addition to the $60 million property tax increase — include possible regulations for Chicago’s hemp industry to generate revenue; an increase in real estate rental taxes on cloud services, also known as online storage; and a proposal to increase the city’s tax on streaming services to generate an additional $10 million per year.
Critics of Mayor Johnson point out that none of these measures will be enough to balance the budget. In the meantime, the mayor himself has promised that there will be no layoffs.
“These particular alders speaking to individuals? I would ask them this question: Who is asking them to fire Chicagoans?’ said Mayor Johnson. “Because the people of Chicago don’t ask me to.”
CBS News Chicago asked the mayor if this meant he was committed to making sure no one is fired. Mayor Johnson said yes.
This also comes as Springfield changed the state’s prepaid telephone tax, which the city said will take $10 million from its operating fund and $27 million from emergency communications found.
