Mayor Johnson lowers property tax hike plan to $150 million, says critics need to "grow up"
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In the wake of the City Council's unanimous rejection of Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed $300 million property tax hike, negotiations continued on Tuesday in an effort to reach an alternative plan to balance the city budget for 2025.
Johnson said Tuesday his budget team is now proposing a $150 million property tax hike, and the mayor said some members of the City Council need to "grow up" as budget talks continue.
After the unprecedented 50-0 vote against his original property tax hike plan, it remains unclear if Johnson can get the 26 votes needed to pass the smaller increase the mayor is now proposing.
"We presented a structure and a package that reduces the property tax by $150 million," Johnson said at a City Hall press conference on Tuesday.
While the mayor has cut his property tax proposal in half after the 50-0 rebuke from the City Council on his original $300 million tax hike, it's unclear how many aldermen might support his new plan.
Johnson would need 26 votes to pass any budget plan, but Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), who co-chairs the City Council's Progressive Caucus, said the mayor doesn't have the votes.
"If there were 26 votes to pass it, you would see this meeting scheduled in order to pass it. It hasn't happened, because the votes aren't there," he said.
Several aldermen have said they will not support any property tax hike, and despite his own campaign promise not to raise property taxes, Johnson said those drawing a line in the sand against any level of property tax hike might need a wakeup call.
"Some of the steps and measures that are being taken, these are some individuals that are having tantrums right now. It's time to grow up. The people of Chicago don't have time for that," he said.
As time ticks down to the Dec. 31 deadline for the City Council to approve a 2025 budget plan, two areas that might pick up some of the slack are coming into focus.
One is a possible $128 million increase in the personal property lease tax on cloud computing services – essentially, services offered in a virtual storage space online.
"It is an opportunity for us to generate revenue from corporations or and wealthier spaces," Johnson said.
Another proposal from the Johnson administration would increase the city's tax on streaming services from 9% to 10.25%, matching the city's sales tax, generating another $10 million a year.
More proposals are still being discussed to help close a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall for next year.
"There are a variety of ideas that are coming in; too many to name," the mayor said.
While some City Council members have accused Johnson of excluding them from budget negotiations, Johnson claimed his office has reached out to every alderperson.
"Everyone has been reached. Everyone has been reached. Now look, I'll just say it, there are some individuals that respond faster than others," he said. "If there's an alder that has not gotten back with us yet, they do have some responsibility to show up to this engagement. This is not a one-way street, it's a two-way street, and we fully expect – all the residents of the city of Chicago fully expect – that when the mayor's office reaches out, that is an opportunity for them to engage."
The mayor repeatedly has said he is unwilling to cut city jobs – particularly in the Police, Fire, and Streets and Sanitation departments – to balance the budget.
Johnson, a former social studies teacher who frequently references his teaching background, was asked if he believes he deserves a passing grade for his first 18 months in office, and where he could improve in his performance as mayor.
Johnson said he needs to do a better job of making sure people know that violent crime is down, and that the city's bond rating has been upgraded twice during his tenure, a sign of improving financial stability.
"In terms of areas of improvement, people for whatever reason are not hearing that homicides are down, shootings are down, that investments are up," he said.
Johnson said he thinks it's "too early" to give himself a specific grade, despite being pressed repeatedly.
"It's good that I'm the mayor of the city of Chicago, and I don't have to do anything that you ask me to do quite frankly, right?" Johnson said.
The mayor acknowledged his revised $150 million property tax hike plan remains a proposal. There is no deal to pass it. Talks are set to continue through the week.
