Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Tuesday he won’t veto an alternative budget plan passed by City Council over the weekend, but he also isn’t signing it.
Amid concerns that he would veto the proposal, Johnson announced he would neither veto nor sign the measure just days before the end-of-year deadline that could have forced a government shutdown in Chicago.
“Today I want to announce I will not veto the budget approved by the Chicago City Council. I will not add my signature affirming the budget as presented,” the mayor said in a statement. “In this moment I will not add the risk and speculation of a government shutdown to the profound worries Chicagoans face.”
Without his signature, the budget will take effect by default five business days from when it was passed, or by Jan. 1.
While he didn’t sign the budget Tuesday, Johnson did sign two executive orders – one targeting police overtime spending and another prohibiting the sale of medial debt.
Chicago aldermen dealt a blow to Johnson’s administration on Saturday passing, in a rare move, an alternative proposal that omits a central part of his plan: a head tax on the city’s largest companies.
The Chicago City Council approved the measure 30-18 after hours of debate on the chamber floor.
If Johnson had vetoed the budget, aldermen would need 34 votes to override it, or the city would have faced the possibility of a shutdown heading into 2026.
Despite its passage, Johnson voiced opposition to the alternative budget, sharing concerns about the proposal’s increase in debt collections, which he called “morally bankrupt.”
The counterproposal includes a sale of $100 million in unpaid debt, which would retrieve $89 million to help the city reduce its deficit. Johnson and his supporters have been against the move, claiming it unfairly targets working people.
Under the budget proposed by Johnson, the city would have collected $113 million in debt.
For weeks, a coalition of aldermen pushed back against the mayor’s plan, which includes a head tax aimed at corporations. Some council members have argued the tax would be job killer.
The alternative budget passed on Saturday does not include the head tax but seeks to gain revenue through increasing the bag, rideshare and liquor sales taxes. It would also allow video gaming in restaurants. Alderpeople said their budget keeps 98% of the mayor’s original plan, and he remains opposed to the other 2%.
Aldermen admitted the budget is not perfect, but said their proposal will push the city in the right direction and avoid a possible credit downgrade.
“Our goal from the start of this process was to pass a budget that did not kill jobs at a time when the city faces its worst forecast since COVID,” Ald. Sam Nugent of the city’s 39th Ward said.
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