Mayor promises collaboration to resolve opposition to taxes

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(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will collaborate to resolve differences with aldermen over taxes and spending in his $17.6 billion budget proposal.

A group of 28 aldermen wrote a letter to the mayor on Tuesday and said his spending plan ignores the road map they sent him in September.

Last month, the mayor introduced the budget that includes a monthly tax of $25 per worker on businesses with 125 or more employees.

The plan raises the Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax from 15% to 20% and the sports betting tax from 10.25% to 20%.

It also includes a 15-cent tax on non-medical and non-food containers and packages.

The letter from the city council’s Budget Accountability Coalition reminded Johnson they would not vote for a tax on jobs, the increase in the PPLT tax or new spending.

The $17.6 billion proposal is up from the current $16.7 billion city budget.

“This version of your budget is a non-starter,” the letter said.

The mayor responded by saying he would not balance the budget off the backs of working people.

“No one has come up with a viable solution other than saying what they do not want, and so people have to come to the table saying what they do want,” Johnson said on Tuesday.

A reporter asked the mayor how he would approach the situation.

“I’m going to approach it the way I approach every circumstance and matter in this city, collaboratively,” Johnson said.

Alderman Gilbert Villegas said the mayor’s proposal looks at revenue instead of efficiencies or right-sizing government.

“There's been a lot of pushback from the council because there hasn't been a lot of collaboration, despite the fact that the mayor said he's the collaborator-in-chief,” Villegas told The Center Square.

Johnson said 97% or 98% of the budget he proposed last year was implemented.

The mayor did not sign or veto the budget passed by aldermen after they rejected his 2025 proposal, which also included a corporate head tax.