Mayor Delays Final Vote On 2025 Budget To Monday

CITY HALL — Mayor Brandon Johnson and his council allies did not bring his 2025 budget package up for a final vote on Friday as was expected. Instead, Friday’s meeting was almost immediately recessed, with a potential vote now taking place Monday afternoon.

The move comes as Johnson’s spending plan — which calls for a $68.5 million property tax hike and numerous other fee and tax increases — has not won the necessary support among members of the City Council to pass.

It’s the latest setback for Johnson’s administration amid an extended and often contentious budget season that’s seen even stalwart backers of the mayor balk at the property tax increase and other measures that have been floated.

Johnson’s initial budget proposal relied on a $300 million property tax hike, a proposal that was widely opposed and later voted down unanimously by the City Council. Johnson dropped that number to $150 million before lowering it even more to $68.5 million.

The budget plan also relies on raising other taxes and fees to help close the $982 million spending gap projected by the Johnson administration this fall. 

Many of these would directly impact the daily lives of Chicagoans. They include a three-cent increase in the checkout bag tax from 7 cents to 10 cents, as well as increases in the price of residential parking permits and expansion of congestion fees for rideshare trips Downtown.

A tax on streaming services would also go up from 9 to 10.25 percent under the mayor’s latest plan. The city’s personal property lease tax, which impacts car and equipment rentals as well as cloud computing services, would increase from 9 to 11 percent. That hike would yield $128 million, according to the Tribune.

Johnson’s budget amendments narrowly passed through the necessary council committees on Tuesday. As is customary, they were deferred Wednesday by Alds. Pat Dowell (3rd) and Jason Ervin (28th), who then filed the necessary notice to bring them up for a final vote on Friday.

But Friday’s meeting was over almost as soon as it was gaveled in. Ervin moved to recess the meeting until 1 p.m. Monday, which led to shouting and outrage from the public gallery and some alderpeople — but was ultimately approved.

The council must legally pass a budget by the end of the year, a deadline some alderpeople worry may be blown.

On the campaign trail, Johnson pledged not to raise property taxes during his first term — a promise he said he’s been forced to go back on to avoid mass layoffs at the police department, fire department and reductions to key city services like facilities and sanitation.

But to avoid the property tax hike, a faction of alderpeople have since pushed for furloughs or cuts to the city workforce, especially among upper management — something Johnson has so far repeatedly refused to consider.

Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), a near-constant critic of Johnson, reiterated calls to “right-size” the city’s budget before Friday’s council meeting, but said he would not try to force a vote to kill the spending plan — which could be done through parliamentary maneuvering.

He warned that not passing a budget plan before the Dec. 31 deadline would severely impact the city’s ability to pay its bills — and blamed Johnson for avoiding alderpeople who want to negotiate.

“We won’t be able to pay any of our bills, including our payroll for those who are providing the services in the city of Chicago,” Lopez said. “None of us want to get to that point. I don’t think we have to get to that point. And the only ones who are trying to force a shutdown are on the fifth floor.”

A group of 14 alderpeople, most of them frequent critics of the mayor, held a press conference directly after Friday’s meeting to again call for more cuts and efficiencies to be included in the budget, instead of tax and fee hikes.

“What we’re here to do today is to implore the administration: Take to heart what the Chicago voters have told them, through us, their elected representatives, that this budget needs to be responsibly balanced with a blend of both cuts and revenue,” Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said.

Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), who was not part of the press conference, acknowledged that the budget process this year has been frustrating, and “isn’t helping anyone.”

The North Side alderperson said he wants to see the removal of some vacant police department positions to make up about $70 million. That way, the city could avoid a property tax hike entirely this year.

“If you look at the police vacancies you have to fill, it’s $170 million right there. You take $70 million of that, bring the property tax down to zero, and you put that on the table, so our colleagues who are all about efficiencies and about zero property tax, can then actually put their votes where their mouths are, and see if they’re actually in support,” he said.

Reilly said he and the 13 other alderpeople pushing for cuts could be open to removing vacant police positions — but only civilian jobs, not sworn officers.

Now, the Johnson administration will have to find a way to gain more support for his budget over the weekend — or risk another delay on Monday.

“I hope something magical in the air just appears, because right now, we’re going to be at the same position that we were, because there’s nothing that’s been reintroduced or not introduced, so the vote could have been taken today,” Ald. Monique Scott (24th), who represents North Lawndale, said after the meeting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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