Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson abruptly called off today’s City Council vote on his 2025 budget after failing to secure support for his latest property tax proposal.
According to combined media reports, the mayor’s original proposal of enacting a $300 million property tax met with backlash, with many people pointing out that Johnson campaigned on the promise that he would not raise property taxes if elected. Lacking support from City Council members, he cut his proposal in half but still failed to garner support. Johnson made an additional reduction to the current $68.5 million increase in a budget that also featured tax increases including $128 million from cloud computing services, $11 million from increased parking garage taxes, and higher taxes on rideshare services, grocery bags, and streaming platforms.
On Tuesday, two committees of the City Council narrowly backed Johnson’s budget proposals. However, he needed 26 votes for his budget to pass the 50-member City Council – he reportedly never had more than 19 council members backing his budget.
Chicago has a Dec. 31 deadline to get the budget approved, or else it would risk a reduction in its bond rating.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Johnson’s Facebook page
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