Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has responded to pressure from City Council members and his constituents by dropping his effort to raise property taxes as a strategy for covering the city’s $1 billion deficit.
WTTW reported Johnson informed City Council members on Sunday that newly discovered “operational efficiencies” coupled with spending cuts has resulted in the withdrawal of his proposed $68.5 million property tax hike. Johnson abruptly cancelled a City Council vote on his budget proposal on Friday after he failed to secure the needed votes to pass his measure.
Johnson, who campaigned on the promise not to raise property taxes, originally sought to enact a $300 million property tax. Following a harsh backlash, cut his proposal in half but still failed to garner support. Johnson’s proposed $68.5 million increase was narrowly approved last Tuesday by two committees of the City Council, but Johnson reportedly never had more than 19 council members backing his budget – he needed 26 votes for passage.
The mayor’s budget will retain his proposals for a $128 million tax increase from cloud computing services, $11 million from increased parking garage taxes, and higher taxes on rideshare services, grocery bags, and streaming platforms.
Photo courtesy of Mayor Johnson’s Facebook page
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