Mayor Johnson dismisses rival budget plan ahead of year-end vote

CHICAGO - With Chicago’s budget deadline weeks away, Mayor Brandon Johnson is flatly rejecting an alternative spending plan advanced by several aldermen.

What we know:

The budget fight is approaching a deadline. The mayor and the Chicago City Council must approve a spending plan by the end of the year, and a Dec. 8 meeting where a vote was expected has been canceled.

On Thursday, Johnson rejected an alternative budget put forward by a group of aldermen. Their proposal called for doubling the garbage fee, increasing liquor taxes and rideshare congestion fees, and making additional cuts and efficiencies — all instead of Johnson’s proposed $100 million corporate head tax.

Those aldermen have said the head tax is a dealbreaker.

Johnson said the tax must remain in any final budget agreement, adding that the alternative plan falls $300 million short of closing the city’s $1.1 billion deficit. Still, he noted that some elements of the proposal could be incorporated into a final deal.

"They didn't fully complete the entire assignment. We're gonna still work with them but again, it relies heavily on garbage fees and some wards, we're talking anywhere from 15-20,000 more people will have to pay double the amount of what they paid before. I think it's pretty straightforward here that we can either balance this budget off the backs of working people or challenge 3 percent of the largest corporations in the city of Chicago to put more skin in the game. That's the conclusion that I've come to. That's the conclusion that the vast majority of Chicagoans have come to…," Johnson said. 

What's next:

Johnson has accused corporate interests of driving the push for an alternative budget.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union has been strongly promoting the mayor’s plan.

For now, the high-stakes standoff shows no sign of easing.