Chicago aldermen pass budget excluding corporate head tax. Will Mayor Johnson sign it?

Chicago aldermen dealt a blow to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration on Saturday and, in a rare move, passed an alternative proposal that omits a central part of the mayor’s 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.

“Is it perfect, absolutely not. It’s not. But to Aldermen Fuentes’ point, I know a bad gambler when I see one. Mayor Johnson – you’re a bad gambler. I cannot go with you at all,” Ald. Jim Gardiner of the 45th Ward said.

Some aldermen voiced their opposition, sharing concerns about the alternative proposal’s increase in debt collections. 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 collect $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%.

“I did not think it was right to double the garbage fee,” Johnson said. “I did not think it was right to raise property taxes, what I do believe is what 80% of the people of Chicago have said, what people across America have said. The ultra-rich and big corporation paying their fair share in taxes is not a radical idea.”

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.

The mayor did not address the media after his administration’s budget defeat. He has five days after the budget’s passage to veto, a move that could result in a government shutdown. Johnson hasn’t shared what he plans to do. The city council would need 34 votes to override the mayor’s veto.

“We’ve done a lot of collaboration…” Ald. Gilbert Villegas of the 36th Ward said. “It’s time for the mayor to move forward, approve this budget so that we can get stated in 2026.”