On Dec. 10, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $17.3-billion budget—which includes a $68.5-million property-tax increase—barely made it through a couple City Council committees, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Windy City Times received a statement from Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward)—a part of the legislative body’s LGBTQ+. Caucus and a member of both committees—in which he commented on the passage of the budget. In part he said, “I voted to approve the current 2025 budget proposal to protect the progress our communities have made on funding vital neighborhood services, including youth employment, mental health services, tree trimming, and rapid rehousing to address homelessness. The current 2025 budget proposal is the result of difficult choices and challenging negotiations to close our city’s nearly one billion budget deficit while meeting our city’s requirement under state law to enact a balanced budget by the end of December.
“The final package approved today increases the personal property lease tax (PPLT) paid by corporations by 2%, helping us offset a property tax increase while generating an additional $128 million in revenue from business conducted by corporations like Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce.” To that end, Ramirez-Rosa is urging “all of Chicago’s biggest and wealthiest institutions contribute [toward] our city’s budget,” asking people to sign a petition.
However, Ramirez-Rosa also expressed disappointment with the budget: “Unfortunately, the most current budget proposal also cut the city’s expanded Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) pilot program, a difficult concession to those who wanted to see even more cuts to social programs. Rather than cutting social programs, I advocated that we cut vacant positions from the Chicago Police Department. … However, this amendment did not receive support from a majority of the Council. Acquiescing to the realities of this current Council, I voted to approve this compromise budget and avoid further cuts to the vital programs we have worked so hard to win in prior budgets.”
He added, “This has been the most challenging budget in my decade as a member of the Chicago City Council. Not since Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his Council majority closed half of Chicago’s mental health clinics in 2012 have I witnessed such a concerted effort to cut the city programs our neighborhoods need to thrive. Two weeks ago, a group of 15 alderpeople released a proposal to cut $8.2 million from the Department of Public Health, $24.2 million from Sanitation operations, $37.5 million from the Office of Public Safety Administration, $51.3 million from the Department of Family Support Services (DFSS), and $2 million from Forestry Operations. Last week, a group of 27 alderpeople sent a letter calling for further cuts beyond the cuts to GBI and departments already proposed.”
The Finance Committee passed the budget by a vote of 14-12 while the Budget Committee approved it 17-16, with both votes showing fractures in Johnson’s coalition. The full City Council will meet Dec. 11 to publish the budget, and will return Dec. 13 for a final vote, hopefully averting what could have been the city’s first budget shutdown.
The property-tax increase was actually whittled down from $300 million—a proposal the City Council recently rejected 50-0.