The Chicago City Council passed an alternative 2026 budget Saturday on a 30-19 vote that aldermen called a historic assertion of council independence.
The $16.6 billion budget did not include a controversial corporate head tax proposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson who has five days to decide whether to veto the alternative budget. Aldermen could override that veto but it would take 34 votes. Johnson said he would make a decision by Christmas.
A budget must be approved by Dec. 30 to avoid a city government shutdown
“Today, the City Council took a large step towards council independence and voted on its own budget, a very significant step in Chicago history,” said Ald. Marty Quinn (13th). “This is an even bigger step for our community, the Southwest Side. This budget is different from the mayor’s proposal because it makes the full supplemental pension payment.”
The alternative budget as approved does not include the mayor’s corporate head tax seeking $33 per person, per month from businesses employing more than 500 people.
“I was part of the coalition that removed the head tax in 2014,” Quinn said. “That was a symbol to the business world that the City of Chicago is a world-class city that’s open for business. Today, we want to grow our economy, 29 other colleagues of mine supported that [removal].”
Mayor Johnson said removal of the corporate head tax was immoral.
Midway police station moves forward
Quinn said the alternative budget addresses the long-sought plan for a new police station for the Southwest Side to take some of the burden off of the 8th District, the city’s largest, which serves 250,000 with 249 officers — a ratio of one officer per 1,000 residents.
The budget calls for a feasibility study on converting the vacant Midway Armory into a police station. Illinois House Bill 478 sold the armory to Chicago for $1, contingent on its use as a police station.
Emergency response in the area can be delayed by freight trains blocking crossings at 63rd, 65th and Harlem — designated “911 critical” routes for emergency services, according to an August 2023 story by WTTW.
Long stationary freight trains on tracks bisecting the police district still cause safety issues today for residents despite promised solutions by the CREATE program.
Phase I of that program, environmental and engineering planning, has been completed.
Final design (Phase II) is underway and construction (Phase III) has not started, according to the program’s website. The project has a completion date in 2027.
In May, an alliance of Southwest Side elected officials and community leaders announced an additional $3 million was available from the state to help open the new police station in the long-vacant Midway Armory.
Quinn said he was happy to have played a part in winning a new area police station.
Chicago library funding restored
Another significant win was restoration of Mayor Johnson’s funding cuts to Chicago libraries, Quinn said. The Southwest Side is home to six libraries.
“We have one on the outskirts of the (13th) ward and [another] in the 23rd Ward on Archer,” he said. “It’s really important that our libraries are funded because they are key institutions in our communities.”
Chicago Public Libraries in the 13th, 14th, 15th and 23rd Southwest Side wards are home to majority Latino populations, according to the 2023 five-year ACS survey in the Chicago Data Portal.
This winter the Chicago Public Library system has partnered with Chicago city colleges and UIC’s Center Literacy to offer free GED (General Education Development; high school education) and ESL (English as Second Language) classes at some libraries including the Archer Heights and Back-of-the-Yards neighborhoods, according to its website, updated on Dec. 12.
The restoration of library funding by the passed alternative budget is “a really good development,” Quinn said.
Public safety
Another standout addition to the alternative budget taken from the $3.5 million Ernst & Young report commissioned by the administration addresses the purchasing process for fire engines by the City of Chicago, Quinn said.
“For years, the city was buying one at a time,” he said. “The report suggests we should maximize our buying power by purchasing maybe 10 a year and getting on a regular schedule so we get prioritized.”
“I’ve heard loud and clear from 13th Ward residents that some of our fire trucks are in bad condition,” he said. “They are breaking down a lot and getting into a regular schedule is something that we want to do.”
Gaming city-wide or Midway Airport?
The alternative 2026 budget plan includes legalization of video poker and slot machines in bars or restaurants holding liquor licences, according to Block Club Chicago.
Using gambling revenue from five nearby southwest suburbs – Bedford Park, Bridgeview, Burbank, Cicero and Stickney – extrapolated that Chicago could see as much as $68 million in tax revenue from gaming machines in the city, according to a Southwest News Herald story.
Mayor Johnson’s budget plan allowed for slot machine gaming only at Midway Airport.
Gaming operations (slot machines) at Midway Airport would be permitted using Bally’s Chicago Operating Company LLC (“Ballys”) as license holder under the control and administration of the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Gaming operations would be allowed in a secured area outside TSA security checkpoints. Airline passengers who are 21 years and older and members of a private club would be permitted to gamble.
Gaming would only be available to passengers. The general public would not be permitted to use Midway gaming machines.
Johnson’s plan would send gaming proceeds to the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago and to the Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, to satisfy the City’s contribution obligations to each pension fund in any year.
Other revenue sources
Quinn said there would be no garbage tax or grocery tax increase.
Increased library funding will be paid for by a $9 million property tax increase translating to $3.33 per person using a rough estimate of Chicago’s population total of 2.7 million. The tax is part of a plan to cover budget gaps instead of imposing a head tax.
Other increased taxes or fees in the alternative proposal to fill in budget gaps include:
- Single-use paper or plastic bag fee at stores of 15 cents per bag (a 5-cent increase) is estimated to generate $8.7 million; less if shoppers use their own bags.
- An increase in checkout bags used or sold in the city from 10 to 15% per checkout bag used or sold in the city, according to a Dec. 20 WTTW story. If a checkout bag is given to a customer by a store, the store will either absorb the bag tax or collect it at its discretion.
- The sale of city debt to outside collectors estimated to bring in $90 million. Mayor Johnson’s original budget relied on increased debt collection revenue.
Included in both proposals are:
- A social media tax imposed on social media businesses collecting data on more than 100,000 consumers at a rate of .50 cents per consumer; a consumer will only be counted once in the monthly calculation of tax imposed on a social media business;
- A Property Tax Increase Suspender in the mayor’s proposal would be initiated equal to the lesser of the most recently reported Consumer Price Index increase or 5 percent for fiscal year 2026. Property taxes will be suspended, according to Quinn.
Included in Mayor Johnson’s latest proposal were:
- A tax imposed on all persons who are or should be license holders “engaged in the occupation of providing ground transportation vehicles for use in the City.”
- Increased fees for impounded vehicles.
- Increased fees for parking violations resulting from the “Smart Streets Pilot Program” an automated parking enforcement system.
- Increased licensing fees and trade license fees for crane operators, electrical contractors, elevator mechanic contractors, general contractors, masonry contractors, plumbing contractors and stationary engineers. Expired licenses shall be reinstated for military personnel at no fee after active duty military service within two years of service termination without examination or payment.
- Increased general contractor licensing fees.
- General Building and construction fees including for obstructions due to construction projects in the city’s central business district.
- An imposed a tax on each primary sports licensee operating in the City. The rate of the tax shall be 10.25% of the adjusted gross sports wagering receipts from sports wagers that are placed within the City, up from 2 percent.
Noting very little change to the mayor’s 2026 budget proposal, the alt proposal primarily focuses on revenue with most of its budget cuts taken from the administration-commissioned Ernst & Young report, according to a Dec. 20 Better Government Association statement.
The democratic process
While the alternative proposal has limitations, legislative norms marked a “sea change” with Chicago’s legislators starting to legislate indicating a healthy, functioning government, according to the BGA statement.
Alderman Silvana Tabares (23rd) also noted the historic passage’s foundation in the democratic process.
“Today, I proudly joined many of my City Council colleagues in passing a responsible alternative to the mayor’s reckless spending plan,” she said. “While the administration resorted to applying political pressure and hiding information in order to muscle through their plan, the council demonstrated discipline, expertise, and trust through a transparent process focused on results.”
Tabares said the alternative council majority’s focus was on collaboration, compromise and difficult decisions taken to protect Chicago’s financial strength in the long-term.
“Democracy requires respecting the majority’s will,” she said. “The mayor must honor the council’s decision and allow the budget to stand. Vetoing a budget supported by the majority would be reckless and could lead to a city shutdown, jeopardizing city employees, essential services, and public safety.”
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