Chicago finance panel advances opposition budget plan amid looming deadline

Alternative Chicago budget proposal advances

Another day closer to a city government shutdown and still no budget in sight. City Council members are wheeling and dealing once again today, but will it finally yield an agreement? 

CHICAGO - With the city inching closer to a government shutdown, Chicago officials still have no budget agreement in sight.

The City Council returned to negotiations Tuesday, raising the question of whether another round of deal-making will finally produce a compromise.

What we know:

A freshly drafted alternative budget proposal cleared a key hurdle Tuesday, advancing out of the City Council’s Finance Committee on a 22–13 vote. 

Opposition alderpersons formally introduced the plan before the committee, proposing to eliminate a higher garbage collection fee and revise a rideshare congestion fee. Their plan would add a 5-cent bag tax and generate revenue by selling advertising space on bridge houses and light poles.

Allies of Mayor Brandon Johnson urged caution, asking for time to review the competing proposal before any vote.

Opposition members said their top priority is preventing a corporate head tax they argue would stifle job growth. Johnson has stood firmly behind the tax, which would impose a $33-per-employee fee on companies with more than 500 workers. 

The mayor maintains there is no evidence the measure would harm Chicago’s economy.

Opposition alderpersons now appear to hold a clear majority and may be nearing the 34 votes required for a supermajority capable of overriding a potential mayoral veto.

What they're saying:

Mayor Johnson issued this statement on the alternative budget proposal: 

"As the leaders of the Alternative Group made clear throughout their presentation, the Secret Budget that passed out of the Finance Committee this afternoon is substantially similar to the proposal we introduced more than two months ago. 

"At our insistence, the Alternative Group agreed to restore the cuts they made to youth employment, and they removed the proposal to double the garbage tax. They have finally conceded to some degree, the point that I have made from the beginning: that corporations must pay their fair share in order to protect Chicagoans at this moment.

"Unfortunately, at the behest of certain corporate interests, they chose to replace a tax on the largest corporations with $90M+ in "enhanced debt collections" on everyday Chicagoans. This seems to be in direct contradiction with their expressed desires to shift the financial burden away from working people. 

"Not only is this proposal immoral, it is simply not feasible. There is no way to sell off Chicagoans' debts that would yield that amount of revenue. If passed as is, this proposal would likely result in a significant midyear budget shortfall and leave Chicagoans vulnerable to deep cuts to city services. 

"We will spend the next few days with our budget, finance, legal, and policy teams reviewing these proposals. Chicago cannot afford a government shutdown when we are making so much progress growing our economy and reducing violent crime to historic lows.

"Tomorrow, the Budget Committee will review their proposal publicly so that Chicagoans can understand exactly what is in this Secret Budget," the mayor said.

What's next:

City officials must approve a budget by the end of the year. The council has scheduled a meeting for Saturday as a contingency if negotiations remain unresolved.