CHICAGO – Despite promises not to raise property taxes during his 2023 mayoral campaign, Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed doing just that in his 2025 budget plan.

Otherwise, the mayor says, he would be forced to lay off or suspend police officers and firefighters to address Chicago’s nearly $1 billion budget deficit.

That’s an alternative Johnson calls “not acceptable.”

Johnson proposed a $300 million property tax increase Wednesday morning as he presented the second budget plan of his mayoral term at City Hall. In a statement, the mayor’s office says homeowners would see an estimated average 4% increase in their property tax bill, using 2023 assessed values, to reach that $300 million total.

Johnson told City Council that without the property tax increase, the city would be forced to reduce its workforce by 17%.

The mayor’s budget proposal does not foresee layoffs or furloughs.

“This is a difficult decision,” Johnson said at a briefing for reporters on Tuesday, before presenting his 2025 budget proposal.

“Faced with a situation between laying off police officers and firefighters and making sure we don’t have those layoffs, this was a very excruciating process.”

RELATED: Chicago City Council approves debt refinancing plan to address billion-dollar budget shortfall

Johnson gave a speech Wednesday to publicly present his budget proposal. In his speech, the mayor reiterated the difficulty he had in deciding to increase property taxes and thus breaking his campaign promise.

But ultimately, the mayor said, that decision had to be made to fund pensions without deferring costs to the future. The other option was layoffs.

“Our city workers have their pension contributions deducted from every paycheck; they never lose or defer a deposit in the system,” Johnson said. “We must fulfill our obligations, as
Well. And when we invest in our retirees and our workers, our communities stay
vibrant and alive.

“…This is difficult. It’s something I struggled with for weeks and weeks. we didn’t do it
Take this move lightly. I directed my budget team to look at all options to close this out.
budget gap, and when it came to mass layoffs and curbing the city’s vitality
services or an increase in property taxes, we choose to increase property taxes.

“I understand that today I am asking families to lean in and do a little more in
to make sure your neighbors don’t get laid off and to make sure
“We don’t have to cut vital city services.”

The City Council has until the end of the year to approve a budget that now adds a financial burden to Chicago homeowners. The City Council approved a $588 million property tax increase in 2015 under then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel. This would be the largest tax increase since then.

The mayor needs 26 votes from the majority of the City Council to approve his budget.

When asked Tuesday by a veteran Sun-Times City Hall reporter if he was worried about getting out the vote, Johnson responded, “Do I look worried?”

“I have a value system that I don’t compromise on, but I will work on the details of my values,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday.

A ‘non-beginner’

Johnson’s property tax increase proposal is an immediate problem for at least some members of the City Council if he is to get the votes needed to pass his budget.

Fourteen council members signed a letter to the mayor, dated Tuesday, calling a property tax increase “a failure for us and our constituents.” They cited a survey indicating that 79% of residents “strongly oppose” raising property taxes as a way for the city to increase revenue.

“We cannot support a budget proposal that includes a property tax increase. Period,” the letter says.

Other demands that the 14 councilors made to the mayor, to approve his budget, include renewing the city’s ShotSpotter contract and redirect funds to immigrants.

The letter was signed by Alds. Brian Hopkins (Ward 2), Anthony Beale (Ward 9), Peter Chico (Ward 10), Marty Quinn (Ward 13), Raymond Lopez (Ward 15), Derrick Curtis (Ward 18), Silvana Torres (Ward 23), Monique Scott (24th district), Félix Cardona (31st district), Scott Waguespack (32nd district), Gil Villegas (36th district), Anthony Napolitano (41st district), Brendan Reilly (42nd district) and Jim Gardiner (45th district).

WGN caught up with Lopez on Wednesday as he arrived at City Hall.

“Several council members, including myself, have serious concerns about what the next 2025 budget will look like,” López said.

He also said there are other options to increase revenue besides raising property taxes, calling the mayor’s proposal to do so “a complete contradiction of what he ran for, what he promised and what he won.”

“We know it’s very easy to get in on the property tax bill and raise taxes to make up the difference,” Lopez said. “What we haven’t seen is a collaborative effort to work with the mayor to try to see where we can cut government spending, where we can reduce some of our obligations before we ask taxpayers for one more dollar.”

The 14 councilors who signed the letter to Johnson were scheduled to address their requests on Wednesday, after Johnson presented his budget proposal.

Other budget highlights

Additionally, under Johnson’s budget plan, the city will declare a $750 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) surplus, and Chicago Public Schools will receive a sizable portion of that surplus.

Other highlights of the mayor’s budget proposal include:

• $145 million in federal COVID relief money, through the American Rescue Plan Recovery Act (ARPA), to be used for community investments. Of that amount, $44.9 million would be spent on youth and economic development, $20 million on mental health and well-being, $31.8 million on community safety, $33.6 million on community support and housing and homelessness and $11.4 million in “effective governance.”

• The Chicago Police Department’s budget increases year after year.

• The city’s budget gap is $982.4 million, driven by rising personnel and pension costs.

• A 3.2% increase in FY 2025 spending over FY 2024. The annual allocation of the city’s various funds would be $17.3 billion, driven primarily by corporate and business funds. This represents an increase of $532.9 million compared to 2024.

Investments

Among the investments laid out in the mayor’s budget plan are $350 million in housing and homelessness support, including $40 million to expand the city’s shelter network, $29 million to help people transition from temporary shelters to stable housing and $23 million for greater broadband affordability and accessibility.

Help for immigrants has been incorporated into the city’s regular support structure for the homeless.

RELATED: Johnson announces changes to the city’s migrant population plan

Additionally, the budget proposes $200 million for community safety, including $15 million for community violence interventions, $9.4 million for victim support, and $5.4 million for reentry and workforce development.

Other expenses include $2 million for mental health network expansion, $52 million for youth employment opportunities and $30 million for small business support.

Also in Johnson’s budget proposal, the city would make a $272 million pension advance payment.

Read more: Latest news and headlines from Chicago

The mayor concluded his presentation Wednesday by thanking his staff and city employees and noting the progress made during his first year as mayor.

“It is in this spirit of collaboration that we made enormous progress in the first year of
my administration, and we set our city on the path to true equity, promising to never
leaving Black and brown communities behind,” Johnson said.

“With this budget, we lay the foundation for continued progress for years to come.”

Department and tax hearings were scheduled for Wednesday after the mayor’s presentation. A Finance/Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for Nov. 21 and a public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2.

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