Chicago City Council passes Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget

CHICAGO - The Chicago City Council finally passed Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget on Monday with a 27-23 vote, following intense negotiations that led to the removal of a controversial property tax hike.

The spending plan passed after Johnson conceded over the weekend to drop the proposed $68 million property tax increase, which faced strong opposition from alderpeople. To close the gap, the mayor’s office relied on other measures, including a $40 million line of credit, $10 million in special event reimbursements, $5 million in gas and electricity savings, and $1 million in staff cuts across city departments.

The budget also includes a $128 million cloud computing tax hike, as well as hikes in taxes on parking garages, grocery bags, rideshare and streaming services.

Johnson’s budget aims to address a nearly $1 billion deficit while maintaining city services and jobs, a point his supporters emphasized during debates.

"Well, if these Vrdolyak tactics keep coming, then again, we will have to send pink notices to people," said Ald. William Hall (6th), referencing former Ald. Ed Vrdolyak. "Nobody wants to lose jobs."

Critics, however, remained unconvinced. Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), who voted against the budget, said relying on short-term loans and stopgap measures fails to solve Chicago’s long-term financial challenges.

"Taking out a short-term loan of $40 million is just a one-time fix to get through this moment," Lopez said. "That’s not gonna help us in the long term."

Lopez and about 15 other alderpeople called for deeper cuts, including eliminating the Office of the Vice Mayor and the Office of Public Safety Administration, while urging Johnson to maintain funding for youth employment and homelessness programs at current levels.

Johnson defended the budget as a balanced approach to stabilizing city finances while protecting essential services.

"For too long, Chicago’s budgets balanced on the backs of working people, forcing them to bear the burden of cuts to schools, clinics, public housing and critical services," Mayor Johnson said in a statement. "The budget we passed today is an investment towards a better, stronger and safer future for Chicago where our young people, workers and families are prioritized and where equity is no longer an afterthought but the foundation of our decisions."

The budget's passage averts potential service disruptions and maintains the city’s credit rating as the year draws to a close.

Background

Originally, Johnson proposed a $300 million property tax increase to help fill the budget deficit, something he said he would not do when he campaigned for mayor last year.

That idea was soundly rejected with a 50-0 vote earlier this year.

Johnson then came back with a $150 million proposed increase, which also didn't garner enough support among alderpeople.

Eventually, Johnson whittled down the proposed property tax hike to $68 million. That plan also included tax increases on cloud computing services, parking garages, rideshare services, grocery bags and streaming platforms.

Still, City Council opponents emphasized they wanted to look at cuts before tax increases. 

Some said they'd be open to cutting $170 million worth of civilian positions within the Chicago Police Department which are currently vacant. The mayor said he was receptive to the idea.

Several alderpeople said they'd heard from their constituents who strongly opposed a property tax increase.